Days Away!

That's right, I'm days away from Farro's release.

I'm going to keep this short because I'm currently in the middle of editing, but I was beginning to feel as though I were neglecting this blog.

I've started polishing. My checklist in the last three days has dropped from eight pages to four. The biggest task of all? Adverb removal. Jeez, that took me a whole day, but it was worth it. By identifying and revising weak verbs I think I gave the novel as a whole some real strength.

Another task I anticipate taking a long time: Description Day, as described in the last post.

Days away.

Then I can start working on Sulfur!

Thank goodness, I'm not editor.

Love,

Arreana

The Trouble with Farro

So last night I got a very thorough, negative criticism of Farro. I will not divulge the source of this criticism, but, as my first very detailed negative review, I wanted to give it the time I feel it deserves. There are points that I disagree with the reader, that I feel our personal tastes divided our opinions. Other points are shortcomings I feel Farro honestly needs to have acknowledged. What follows is a bulleted list of the issues the critic took with Farro.

• Khensa and Bomani were unlikeable, uncommunicative, and unrelateable
• The narration was unvaried and didn't express Khensa's feelings and emotions
• Descriptions in all scenes is lacking. Not enough of Khensa's senses were provoked/described in said scenes, making it hard for the reader to throw themselves into the story.
• Khensa never describes people by their physical characteristics, but always by their emotional expressions
• The dialogue, like Khensa, was under-developed and irrelevant, it frequently related information of import
• The plot had too many points and felt like a never-ending story

Lots to think about, don't you think? Like I've said, there are a few points were I politely disagree with my reader. To me, and some readers out there, I know Khensa and Bomani to be exceedingly likable. I also feel that Khensa is frequently expressing her pain and trauma through the narration. Other points were stylistic choices, Khensa's language for instance, is restricted in a way Lateef's (should he have been the main character) would not have been. I find myself "dumbing down" the language more often than I find myself intellectualizing it. Second, the dialogue is as realistic as I possess the ability to make it, this is the way I like dialogue. I don't like monologues, I don't like it when characters reveal big chunks of the plot in large speeches, or repeat themselves again and again as if preaching to a classroom of toddlers. These were stylistic choices that obviously put me at odds with the reader.

But does that mean I disregard the whole of the criticism? Hell no!

I feel, like the reader, that Farro suffers from a lack of description. While I'll probably never flat out describe my characters (I come from a lonely school that believes eyes shouldn't be "chocolate" and eyelashes, "smoky"), I feel deep down that I can do a better job describing my scenes. It's always been something of my weak point in Farro. I was always so eager to get to the story, the plot, the characters, that the setting - while fully formed - often took a back seat.

So this is what I'm going to do: this week I'm designating a day called "Description Day". This will pretty much be exactly what it sounds like. I'm going to go through each of my scenes/settings and I'm going to highlight their descriptions. I'm going to expand it, and look again at how Khensa reacts to them. I'll add a sentence and/or a reaction to improve the scene without falling into the "purple prose" trap. There's nothing I hate quite like "purple prose". Oh wait, monologuing, I hate that too.

I invite all the writers out there to do the same. Maybe dialogue is your story's shortcoming, maybe characterization, maybe style, but set a day aside and address it. Don't leave it simmering on the back burner until it's burnt and inedible, fix it now while you can.

Approach each criticism with graciousness. Know that the reader took the time to tell you what they thought, and maybe they even gave you suggestions for how your story can be improved. Don't give in to that knee-jerk reaction of scoffing at the review and disregarding it. Remember what is likely the case: the reader is right, the writer is wrong.

(Farro is on schedule for a early- to mid-May release)

The Writing Process

...for me.

So a couple weeks ago I mentioned off hand that I initially wrote Farro in three weeks. This is true, the first draft went from nonexistent to "the end" in under a month, but I've spend many months more rewriting and editing. I go through stages and writing is (unfortunately) only a single step towards completion.

I thought I would share these steps with you. So prepare yourself for a rather lengthy post!

Step One: Write your book.

The biggest mistake I see aspiring authors making is writing a couple pages, maybe even a couple chapters and then reading over what they wrote. Why a mistake? Because these authors will inevitably see the flaws in their writing and come to resent the whole project. They're likely to even scrap it. This isn't where I'm going to tell you how to write a good book -- I'm not sure anyone can tell you that -- but I will impart to you this one gem of knowledge: Write. Don't make calendars and deadlines and goals, just write because you like to write. Don't look over what you're working on, and don't -- for heaven's sake! -- start a new project right in the middle of the first. You're supposed to be writing for fun, and if all the sudden you find yourself growing bored, introduce a dramatic setting, a thrilling climax, a new character. It'll spice up your story and keep your words coming. That is, after all, what's most important. Just write, we forgive you for the typos!

[Time: 3 weeks]

Intermission: Let it sit.

If you're like me and you wrote your book in a few, sleep-deprived weeks, then this is especially important. You've finished, so give yourself a break for a couple weeks, maybe even a month. Read some books you've been meaning to get to, reconnect with friends, rent those movies you've been meaning to watch. Give the writing side of you a break.

[Time: 5 months. Why so long? Because I needed it. I was tired, and unemployed and I needed time!]

Step Two: The Rewrite

This is where I sat down and focused on character/plot fixes. This is where I went through and extended scenes, cut scenes, tightened scenes, etc.. I took it chapter by chapter, the original document open to one side of my screen, the new document on the other. I reworked those sentences that weren't inline with the narration style, I altered the style completely in tense/action scenes. I did about a chapter every other day, brushing the grit from the surface of the story, bringing forth it's deeper themes and potential.

[Time: 2 months]

Step Three: The Edit

Ugh. Of all the steps this is my least favorite, for obvious reasons. I'm not great at spotting my own typos (see earlier posts for details), so I usually strong arm my husband into helping. First I take a chapter and I read it ALOUD. Why aloud? Because it's the single best way to edit for voice, style, dialogue, word choice, etc. If you do nothing else, proofreading, revisions, etc., then please -- for the love of all that is holy -- read your book aloud. Second, I send said chapter to husband, who does a pass for grammatical mistakes, further word choice advise, and style corrections. Third, check over husband's changes, make sure I agree with all of them, see where maybe I need to rework a whole paragraph in light of his changes, etc. Then it's done. I check that chapter off my list. Hooray Arreana!

[Time: 2 months]

Step Four: The Polish

So all throughout step three I was finding problems, right? Well, the ones I encountered frequently I added to the "Farro Checklist," a now-7-page bulleted list of all the problems that I will ctrl+F and double check in the final stage. I'll format my book here to make sure everything is consistent (i.e. when I say "Kah" it doesn't appear "kah"), I'll check to make sure anything I was unsure about in the editing process gets changed and inputed here. It moves fast, it's satisfying -- who doesn't like checking things off a list? -- and, after writing the novel, it's probably about the most fun you'll have with it. I get to see the final product, to see it come together at last.

[Time: 3-5 days]

So, as you can see, Farro took me a considerable amount of time. Usually books don't take me that long to complete, but life threw me a couple doozies, and I'm afraid the whole project was put on the back burner for a while. Hopefully Sulfur will go considerably faster!

For Writer's Out There

(A quick update: editing is on schedule, Farro should be released for purchase before May 13th!)

I know that some of you readers may be writers yourself or have at least toyed with the idea. Many of you might have heard of the fancy programs now available to assist you in your writing. I've played with a couple of them but have never really used any of them. Why? Because I make up my story as I go along, and many of these programs are designed to aid the writer in plotting, character building, etc. These aren't things I need. When writing I open up a word document and -- bam! -- I start writing like a mad woman.

But I've heard of other people using these programs and really loving them for outline/note purposes. Today I found one that even I was tempted to use:

Quoll Writer

What made it stand out to me? It was clean, fast, affordable and easy to use. The minute I opened the program (trial version) I knew immediately how to use it, and I'm not particularly tech-savvy. Does this mean I'll abandon Word in favor of Quoll Writer? For me, probably not. I've been using Word for over 12 years now, it's what I'm most familiar with. When considering my writing style, it's also the easiest for me to use -- when writing on the fly, you really don't need anything but a blank sheet of paper and go! I would, however, recommend writers out there to check out this program. It really could prove helpful for some of you.

Ninja Typos (a.k.a. Stealthy Typos)

What does this post serve? Not much. Consider this a public service announcement:

"Warning! Beware ninja typos!"

"Well," you ask, "what is a ninja typo?"

Let me demonstration. Say while writing you miss a letter or two, and Word autocorrects it to the nearest approximate word, and sometimes you just honestly type the wrong word (while thinking the correct one). Whatever their origination these sorts of typos are hardest for me to catch. Why? Because my brain sees "demonstra...", registers the meaning, and moves on to the next word before I've even had a chance to see that it's spelled "demonstration" instead of "demonstrate". There are smaller, sneakier words that also frequently bother me: me/my, express/expression (auto-correct loves this one), scrapping/scraping, dare/date (hilarious!).

The best/worst part? Most adults are bad at catching them. Most of these words are "sight words" for us now. Compare these words to less commonly used words like "inchoate, ethereal, ornaments." Our minds glaze over the sight-words, but they're no less susceptible to typos!

Never fear, I've thought up a solution: give your manuscript/essay/research paper to a elementary school student. Sounds wacky, right? But then these small "sneaker" typos are glaringly obvious to a child who isn't used to seeing sight words like "demonstration" and "demonstrate". Can't find a kid willing to read your novel? Then make a list of all these words, a check list of sorts, and ctrl+F all of them. Are you using them correctly in every instance. Unlikely! At least... unlikely for me!

Remember! Editing can be fun if you approach it with good humor. If you're willing to change the most disastrously bad/embarrassing typos and laugh at yourself. "Oh, Arreana!"

Oh, Arreana indeed!

"I date you!" -> "I dare you!"

Hilarious, no?

(Current length of Farro's Checklist [in typed pages]: 7)

Farro Cover!

Artist: Angela Taratuta

Please check out her wonderful art here or here.

She did an amazing job rendering Khensa, it looks exactly how I pictured her. Eerie, really! Enjoy and let me know what you think!

To celebrate this amazing cover I have written a bonus chapter. [While Khensa was off battling Bata in the desert, Bomani had his own set of problems!] I wrote it this morning to accompany the cover. A little rushed but filled with love and excitement!

Love,

Arreana

Cover in the Works!

So I've been working extra hours these last couple months. You may have heard about it. What a wonderful thing it's turned out to be. What wonderful timing, I think, for I would love to commission a cover. I had not anticipated being able to afford one. I had been submitting myself to the wretched realization that my cover must be one of my own creation. How dismal were these thoughts! I've put so much time and energy into writing and editing Farro, only to slap a sloppy cover on top!

But this month I was able to afford it, so I've commissioned an artist to help me. I have seen the preliminary sketches and have nearly wet my pants in excitement. It is like someone coming along and plucking free a character I'd thought would always be locked away inside my imagination. I had no idea a great cover could make you feel this way -- maybe no one does at first. I'm intensely gratified. I have never been more motivated to make Farro as perfect as can be. I never thought I'd see Khensa so perfectly portrayed. I'm beyond thrilled, I'm as giddy as a school girl, I'm rambling.

My artist is working on the design now, when it is finished I shall post it here for all to see, as well as reveal the name of that wonderful person who has lent me their talent and enthusiasm!

Please stay tuned! You won't be disappointed!