Revisions

I was not very happy with the first two chapters of my latest book and that seemed to be the same reaction I received from my editor. So......I took them out and started with chapter three and I am now trying to figure out how to get all those words and parts of the story weaved back into the book. Writers always think their words are golden, we've sweat over the keyboard and pulled out every word that we think fits with the story and I am no exception. But I do have a realistic side of me that steps in with a bloody knife and cuts away what isn't necessary.

We writers must have an inner muse who tries to tell us what fits and what doesn't fit, we only have to listen and maybe we can save ourselves some angst and additional work down the road.

Anyone else out there go through this?  

Editing - the scourge of writing

I have just received the first half of my book from the editor and have begun making changes. I love writing the story but get so bogged down working on the editing. Should I really take all this out? Should I add more to this chapter? It all seems so unending.

But, I will slog through and make it the best I can.

New Review & a couple of others

I wanted to post a review I just received for my latest book For Benny


     Tragically children die. They die from birth defects, from neglect and abuse, from accidents--an "unloaded gun" or stray bullet. "Manslaughter" it's called when the jury believes the act was unintentional.Jennifer Mc Cormack calls it murder.

     SL Dwyer's latest novel, For Benny, chronicals Jennifers attempt to deal with the death of her adored three-year-old son when a brutal road rage incident unexpectedly snatches him from her. Divorced form Bennys father, it was she and Benny against the world. Now, it is just Jennifer alone against the world - a world of forgotten victims.

     Without thought for her own safety or the consequences of her actions, Jennifer launches a relentless one- woman manhunt  to find an kill her child's murderer. A retired police office, Deke Denton becomes an unexpected ally and friend, who awakens in Jennifer emotions she thought were lost forever the day she buried her son. A fast paced story of intrigue and pathos, For Benny will capture your heart and uplift your spirit as determination, grace and serendipity come together for a surprise ending.

     For Benny puts Dwyer in the catagory of novelists whose readers can't wait for the next  book.

Marsha L Butler
Take Flight,  Writing and Editorial Constultants
Mt. Dora, Fla



Review for If Truth Be Known

"SL Dwyer's novel, If Truth Be Known is a thrilling odyssey of discovery, both a journey into a heart of darkness and an expedition into our ancient past. Not to be missed."

-James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of The Judas Strain

NEW BLOGS

Found some interesting blogs and websites I would like to pass along. If you have one or two that you think would be of interest to other bloggers, feel free to add them.

http://www.nathanbraford.com/  a great website by an agent that also has a good blog. Some good inf on his site.

http://www.publetariat.com/  for writers

Okay, it's been a while and I haven't been very attentive to this site. I've been finishing up my latest novel. I can almost say I am done with the editing and revisions. I hope to get it out there for an editor to go over it very shortly.
It's usually a crap shoot when you send your manuscript out for a stranger to edit. Will they leave my voice alone and concentrate on content, consistancy, grammar and puntuation? Or will they get too involved and change the tone, thereby changing the voice I wrote in. Heck, even I don't know exactly what my voice is, but I sure don't want someone messing with it.

Well, here's hoping I hook up with the right editor. I'll keep posting as I make my way through. If anyone out there has had a great experience with an editor, let me know. I used 4 different one's with my first book and only one for the second.

What are we doing here

I'm pretty much new to blogging and hope to get better as I go. This blog is intended for all who are writers, would like to be a writer, and those who love to read. In the coming months I would like to have dialogs on writing and the hopes of writers.

There is so much to learn when it comes to writing and all the books you could read would never show you how to go about doing it - writing. Writing has to come from the heart AND the mind. We can use text books and writing classes to learn the craft, but each writer has to have a story they feel has to be told, whether it be novels or memoirs, personal essays or short stories. The basic how-to's are there in books and conferences. The little tidbits that make a story are learned from others who have been there. In this blog, I hope we can all contribute to the tidbits for others who need that little extra to make their writing sing so readers can sway with the rhythm.

I am currently slogging through the final chapters of my current novel before the daunting process of editing and rewriting. I find it, sometimes, difficult to do my first "down and dirty "draft without wanting to rewrite and edit as I go. But, I find this slows down my process of finishing the basic story. By rewriting before I finish the entire story, I lose the momentum, so I keep sheets of notes of what I want to include or change in the previous chapters. This works for me. Others I know keep rewriting chapters until they have it just the way they want it before moving on to the next chapter- and that works for them.

I'd like to hear from other writers on how they work their first draft.

As we go along, I hope I and other writers can offer information to those of you who are looking for answers. This will be about the craft of writing and editing, query letters, and synopsis.

Now back to the process of finishing those chapters.
I'd like to hear what others do when they finish a chapter in their first draft.