Sheep Teeth

What an odd title for a post, right? I mean, what could I possibly have to say about sheep teeth. Well, in fact, nothing. I have nothing to say about sheep teeth, except this.

A friend of mine, Missy, is editing through Seeking Eleanor. Yeah, yeah, that same old first book I wrote. No, I won't give up on her. You can't make me! I love her, love her. And she deserves the limelight she will one day get. *insert anguished cry here* Now, where were we ...

Despite all the edits (over a million) and rewrites (at least seven) there are still typos. Mostly because, I am human and I make mistakes. God, that was hard to admit. Actually, a bit painful. The simple fact is, when I sit on my human butt and read with my human eyes, I don't see all my human mistakes. Even worse, I didn't even stand a chance at catching the ones in the draft Missy is reading and this is because, just between us, I didn't even read through it after I finished rewriting.

Yes, that means I actually handed her a semi-rough draft. I know, I am a terrible person.

So, she's actually catching things I might have caught on my own. I use the word 'might' because it's touch and go with what I actually see when I read. The truth of the matter is, there are certain things I will never catch because I know what it is supposed to say and my brain fills in the correct word and punctuation and crap. The only way for me to catch everything is to print it off and read it aloud. Because I have a huge respect for trees and an appalling disgust with the price of ink, I won't be printing out my manuscript, which is currently four hundred and thirty pages. Yeah, that's a lot of pages.

And I was supposed to be cutting stuff. Oh, that makes me laugh.

Back to the point, one of the edits Missy came across and corrected was 'sheep teeth'. There's this part at the end of the book where good meets evil and evil has sheep teeth. I actually laughed myself silly over this mistake. I mean, there's the bad guy standing in front of you, skin paper white, eyes yellow and bloody, lips cracked and bleeding, and behind them sheep teeth.

Not really the imagery I was going for. 

Sure, sheep teeth are totally terrifying when you get in there and really look at them. And maybe they would have added a certain uniqueness to my baddie, but they aren't exactly the image I was hoping to conjure in the minds of my future readers. Still, it gave me a good laugh. It also makes me wonder about how my fingers are trying to sabotage me. Sometimes the simple act of typing amazes me. I think one thing and my fingers put it down on virtual paper. Well, not all the time. Sometimes they put in a similar word. Like sheep instead of sharp. This might not surprise you, but it happens a fair amount. Which only confirms my suspicions that my hands hate me. 

Haha. Sheep teeth. 

Grateful for my sense of humour. 

The Bane Of Pacing

I have been doing a whole tractor load of editing lately. It's a yours, mine and ours situation. Which, to be honest, has been rather fantastic. I know that's crazy for you to hear coming from me because editing used to be the bane of my existence, but these days, I kind of like it. Sure, it's time consuming and aggravating when I see what a juvenile writer I used to be. I mean, I'm still a child in this word-wielding game, but I see improvement. At least, that's what I call it. 

Pacing is important this yours, mine and ours writing situation for two reasons, and I shall deliver them forthwith. 

1. Pacing to a story is essential. You want to have a plot that unfolds like a butterfly emerging forth from a cocoon, or something as equally as poetic that signifies the importance of not rushing through things. This day and age, I'm seeing people catapulting themselves into their novels, they start with a bang and whizz, a huge amount of drama and, to be blunt, I'm simply not a banger and whizzer. Does that sound weird? 

Anyway, let me clarify by saying I fully encourage people to hit the ground running. I myself sort of jog along, easing myself and the reader and my characters into things. There's always important bits and bobbles in the first couple of chapters, but I view it like poker and not wanting to give my hand away right away. In my opinion, a bit of mystery is necessary. 

This said, I fear readers might not feel the same way, so I wonder if I should change. I mean, I am aware this is part of my writing style and I don't feel it weakens the words I put to virtual paper or even the blooming plot lines. Others will most likely disagree, because not everyone likes apple wine and strawberry shortcake - whatever that means. 

To be honest, I think a lot of people struggle with pacing. Not only when it comes to plot, but also sentence structure. There are many different ways to put a paragraph together. Sometimes when you read a section aloud you will see when the pace is off. It's like poetry in some ways. You want the right beats. The correct pauses. This is something I'm working on. 

2. Now, pacing yourself when editing. I believe it is a time consuming task to painstakingly go through each and every line and pick it apart only to put it back together again in the exact same way. At times, it can feel overwhelming, which is why I strongly recommend knowing your limits. Taking on too much, yeah, I'm the Queen of that. I want to help, lend a hand, but sometimes, it isn't possible. Stress is a killer. No, really. I think stress is one of the most toxic things people cater to. 

In the last couple years, I've noticed how daunting a full manuscript can feel. Finally, I understand why agents ask for the first couple of chapters or fifty pages. It doesn't seem like such a monstrous mountain. I have a couple critique partners, editing buddies, and I've come up with the chapter by chapter method. Not only is this easier on me, but I believe it to be easier on the person I'm exchanging with. Mostly because I'm ruthless with the scalpel and have the tendency not to sugar coat things. 

Here's the thing, the chapter by chapter method allows you see areas you struggle with as you go. The changes are done more easily. And, if necessary for huge plot holes, you can fix things in advance before hitting your partner with the next chapter. Also, it helps to brainstorm as you go and get feedback so you aren't walloped over the head with a bunch of suggestions for areas of improvement. 

This, of course, may not work for you, but have you ever gotten an entire manuscript back with a crap load of red all over it and wanted to shove it in a drawer and never look at it again? 

Yeah, this method prevents those crushing feelings. 

The funny part is when I sat down to write this little post I fully intended to talk about pacing in life. Then, it turned into a little rant about editing and writing. I find it interesting where my brain takes me. 

Until next time, this is Tyson, signing off.