Reasons to Enjoy Editing (Or to at Least Not Hate It)

Hello, all! I am currently in the midst of editing Song of the Selkies so it'll be ready for release next month. I confess that this is not my favorite stage of the writing process — which is part of the reason why I try to write very clean first drafts, so I don't have to spend more time than necessary here. Still, every stage of storycraft has its merits, so in an effort to keep my spirits up (especially as I'm ending a rather stressful week even outside of writing stuff), I've decided to find five reasons why I can enjoy editing, even if I don't love it.

Reasons to Enjoy Editing

1. I get to rediscover all the good bits and go "Hey! This is great! And I wrote that!" I don't think it's arrogant to say that I do genuinely like what I write much of the time. (If I didn't like it more than I disliked it, I'd probably stop writing.) Even in first-draft form, I'm often proud of particular scenes or bits of description or dialogue or narration, and I enjoy rereading these bits almost as much as I enjoy reading other peoples' writing. Editing gives me an excuse to do that, and of course it's an opportunity to take the good bits and make them better (difficult as that might be at times).
2. I can fix the parts I don't like without worrying about losing my momentum. I'm a very linear writer — while some writers can craft scenes and then go back and add in all the bits necessary to connect those scenes together, I start at the beginning and work straight through until I reach the end, no jumping around. (There are exceptions when I realize that I need to change details in a past scene to make the rest of the book work, but that's rare.) That means that, on days when the words are fighting me or in scenes that just won't work right, I typically have to push through anyway to get to the point where I know what I'm doing again. I rarely like what I've written during these periods, but editing means I can take (almost) all the time I need to turn these sections into something I'm happy with, without worrying about momentum.
3. I can find the places where I accidentally foreshadowed things and do it better on purpose. The other thing about writing linearly, specifically about writing linearly as an author who's more plantser than planner, is that I don't know all the details of the ending when I'm writing the early chapters of a book. And, depending on how long that book took me, by the time I reach the climax, I might not consciously remember those early chapters very well. Editing is an opportunity to go back and find the places where I accidentally foreshadowed something or created some parallel — quite possibly without knowing that I was doing so — and then purposefully polish those elements to bring out their full potential. It's also a chance to find the sections where I set up the potential for foreshadowing and then taking advantage of it.
4. I get to laugh at the cluelessness of the characters in their start-of-book state. I recognize that this sounds terrible, but it's not! I swear! But when I go back to the start of a novel and revisit characters at the start of their storylines and arcs, and I remember how much they don't know . . . it's funny, ok? That's especially true with the main character of Song of the Selkies — unlike Alys in Through a Shattered Glass or the Dennels in my Bastian Dennel series, Ceana is both highly idealistic and (though no fault of her own) lacking some very significant knowledge about her world, country, and neighbors. (That's not a spoiler; it's in the book blurb.) As a result, returning to the start of the book prompts a lot of "Oh you sweet summer child, you have a big storm coming" from me. It's genuinely delightful.
5. I get to read beta readers' comments! This is the absolute best part of the editing process: the fact that I get to see readers' reactions to specific parts of the story in context. I get to see which parts they especially liked, which bits made them laugh or cry or scream. I get to laugh as they snark at characters or make meme references. I get to "watch" them make predictions and piece together what's really going on. And, yes, I also get constructive feedback, but the fact that this is the one opportunity I have to see what it's like to read my stories for the first time, to come along on the reader's journey with them . . . that's something really special.

Do you love editing? Hate it? Feel meh about it? In any case, what do you especially like about it? Or, at least, what makes it bearable for you? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

A Quick Request

Hey, friends! Want to do me a favor?

 

I'm in the process of reworking my authorial social media strategy (and by that I mean "actually creating said strategy"), and as I learned over and over again as a PWID major, a big part of that is finding out where your audience is and what they're looking for. So, I've created a brief survey to find out how I'm currently connecting with all y'all, how you prefer to connect with and hear from authors and creators in general, and what you'd like to hear about from me. It should only take a few minutes to fill out, and it'll help me out quite a lot. You can fill it out below or at this link.

 

Thank you all very much for sharing your thoughts! I appreciate the help!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Golden Braids Blog Tour DAY 3: MECHANICAL HEART RELEASE! (Ft. Writing Deaf Characters (When You're Not Deaf))

Hey'a, everyone! As you can see from the title, Mechanical Heart is officially out! Writing, editing, and publishing this book has been quite a journey, and it involved a lot of challenges I didn't have to deal with when writing Blood in the Snow. But it's done; it's out in the world and ready for you all to explore; and all those challenges are now just life lessons and stories to tell. And for today, I'm sharing about one of those challenges . . . but first, blurb time.

About . . .

Mechanical Heart!

Can you save someone who doesn’t know if she’s alive?

Breen lives locked away, separated from the world by the walls of her clock tower and the machine of gems, gears, and magic that replaces her heart. That is, until an unexpected visitor appears in her tower, offering a dangerous gift: freedom. His promises awaken hope for a life unbound by the tower walls — but she knows that if he learns about her heart, it’s only a matter of time before he turns on her.

Josiah is powerless. Though he’s the crown prince of the mighty Chanian empire, he feels stifled by his inability to protect his people from the schemes of corrupt nobles. When he discovers a girl trapped in a locked clock tower, he thinks he’s finally found a problem he can solve . . . but more than just walls keep her captive.

From the royal palace to the streets of Rivenford to the tops of clock towers, secrets hide around every corner in this steampunk retelling of Rapunzel. Breen and Josiah hold the keys to each other's struggles — if they can break down the barriers that divide them.

Find it On: Amazon || Goodreads

On Writing Deaf Characters (When You're Not Deaf)

If you’re an author of speculative fiction, you learn pretty quickly how to write characters who are different from you. After all, most writers aren’t sword-wielding, spell-slinging adventurers or sharp-shooting, quick-witted starship captains. Very few of us grew up without knowing who our parents are; most of us haven’t had to deal with the mental or physical aftermath of fighting for our lives; and none of us have ominous prophecies hanging over our heads. (At least, I assume not. If I’m wrong on that one, please let me know.)

Mechanical Heart is no exception to that principle. After all, its cast includes a politician prince whose desire to change the world is only surpassed by his tendency to make dramatic speeches, a pair of pretty brilliant (and also rather technically minded) inventors, and a princess who might be one of the most outgoing and extroverted characters I’ve ever written. Oh, and did I mention that two of those characters — one of the inventors and the princess — are deaf?

So, how does a hearing author write a deaf character? The usual advice for writing characters different from you — “Write people, not characters” — only goes so far. For the rest, well, that requires a lot of research and a bit of ingenuity.

Most of that research went into figuring out how Breen and the other major deaf character, Princess Grace, would communicate and interact with other people. In the earliest version of the book, conversations between Breen and Josiah (the prince I mentioned earlier) involved a lot of written notes and too-accurate lip reading. However, the more I learned about life for a deaf person, the more I realized that what I had was both unrealistic and infeasible.

Thankfully, by the time I got around to writing the second, third, and fourth drafts, I had help. By that time, I was in college and had found a friend with a fair knowledge of sign language and the Deaf community. She and some of her friends were able to answer quite many of my questions, and they directed me to solid resources for learning more. (For those curious: most of the people I asked said that Lifeprint is the best choice for learning ASL, and I relied on it quite a bit in certain scenes.)

Of course, how characters talk to each other is only part of how they interact. I also had to try to understand how people in the Deaf community tend to view hearing people and what behaviors and attitudes would be realistic or unrealistic on both sides of the conversation. One resource I found particularly helpful on this point was a deaf YouTuber, Jessica Kellgren-Fozard, who has some videos that provide a really good look at a deaf person’s perspective. Of course, the attitudes of someone from our modern era might not match those of someone from the Victorian era . . . but I’m not writing historical fiction here! That meant I could make societal treatment of the deaf in the world of Mechanical Heart a lot more like what it is today than what it was historically.

(Also, minor sidetrack: Victorian attempts at hearing aids are fascinating. Most of them were something along the lines of an ear trumpet or a reverse megaphone — but the Victorian people found so many ways to hide them. In hairpieces, in hats, in fans, in chairs . . . it’s honestly impressive. This article from the Washington University School of Medicine covers the topic pretty well; go read it. It’s cool.)

Even once I’d done the research, writing from a deaf POV and about deaf characters had its own challenges. Obviously, I had to make sure I wasn’t including sound details when I was writing from the perspective of a deaf character. However, I also had to consider other details that normally wouldn’t be a concern, like whether or not characters would actually be able to see what the other was signing and what type of sign language different characters use. (For example, Breen uses her world’s equivalent of ASL, which has a grammatical structure different from that of English. On the other hand, Josiah, who often has to speak and sign at the same time, tends to use his word’s version of PSE, which uses ASL signs with English word order.)

Even with all that to consider, though, writing from Breen’s POV wasn’t any harder than writing from any other character’s POV. In fact, her scenes were often easier to write than Josiah’s many debates and other verbal sparring matches. The biggest challenge was just making sure I got her part right. I want to tell a good story, but I also want to tell it in a way that’s respectful to the communities my characters represent. I’m aware that I may have gotten some things wrong; after all, I’m only human. But I did my best, and I hope that will be enough.

So, are you excited to read Mechanical Heart? What are you most looking forward to? Have you ever written a character who's deaf (or faces other physical challenges that you don't)? What character that you've written about would you say is the most different from you? Please tell me in the comments, and don’t forget to check out the rest of the tour posts and enter the giveaway!
Have a lovely day!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Blog Tour Stops: August 7

Knitted By God's Plan - Five Reasons to Read
Light and Shadows - Five Reasons to Read
Dreams and Dragons - Writing Deaf Characters

Reviews

Reality Reflected + Mini Interview!
The Page Dreamer
The Language of Writing
The Labyrinth + Mini Interview!
The World of a Writer

Interviews

To be a Shennachie - Sarah

Guest Posts

Dragonpen Press - Why Nomances

Or find the full list of stops here.

Writer Stereotypes (Part 2)!

Hey'a, everyone! Last week, I shared some of the writer stereotypes that fit me pretty well. This week, I'm focusing on the opposite: writer stereotypes that, when it comes to me, couldn't be further from the truth. So, let's get started!

 Writer Stereotypes (Part 2)

1. Writers are insomniacs and night owls who stay up to the wee hours of the morning to write. My hallmates can confirm that this is not the case. While I have occasionally, in a fit of inspiration, stayed up to an unholy hour because the words just kept coming, I typically try to turn in no later than 10:30, maybe 11. After 11 PM, I am definitely not in a state where I can write coherently, nor am I inclined to try. I would much rather get up early (or early-ish) and write before the sun comes up, accompanied by a lovely mug of chai.
2. Writers cannot survive without coffee. I'm pretty sure that this is directly caused by the last stereotype? In any case, I strongly dislike coffee, even the smell of it, and the best efforts of my coffee-loving friends haven't changed that. Tea, on the other hand? Like I said last week, I love it. But I can survive just fine without it, especially during the summer.
3. Writers delight in the pain they can cause to their characters (and readers). There seems to be a trend among certain writers to treat their characters' pain as either a competition or a joke. People brag about how horrible their characters' lives are, they laugh about how much they torture their favorites. And, yes, causing your characters (and, by extension, your readers) pain to some degree is required to tell a good story. But I don't agree with pain for the sake of pain. I believe there's no such thing as purposeless pain in life, and so I don't put it in my stories.
4. Writers use their writing to get revenge on people whom they dislike. I used to threaten to do this on occasion, but it's not a threat I'm likely to carry out. When I'm writing, the last thing I want to think about is the people who frustrate me; part of why I write is to get a break from those people. So why would I want to put them in my novel, even as dragon food?
5. Writers hate editing but will correct your grammar anyway. I do dislike editing, though I dislike it less when it's my own book. However, the odds that I'll actually correct you grammar are pretty small. Most of the time, I don't care. Or, if I do care, I'll just judge you silently from my side of the internet. No pressure.

What about you? Are there any writer stereotypes that don't fit you in the least? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)   

Writer Stereotypes (Part 1)

Hello, friends! So, stereotypes. Everyone's affected by them. Everyone tries to pretend that the stereotypes for whatever they happen to identify themselves as — writer, bookworm, athlete, science person, crafter, girl, guy, anything — doesn't actually apply to them. But, y'know, while not every stereotype applies to everyone in a particular category, some of them will always apply to some of the people. That's as true for writers, and for me as a writer, as it is for everyone else. This week, I'm revealing some of the writer stereotypes that apply to me. Then, next week, I'll reverse the topic and talk about the stereotypes that I don't embody (and, in most cases, probably never will).

 Writer Stereotypes (Part 1)

1. Writers are reclusive introverts. Well, "reclusive" is a stretch, as my roommate (or anyone in my hall) will tell you. But despite the fact that I somehow acquired a social life after coming to college, I'm still very much an introvert who needs a certain amount of peace and quiet in order to function. And even when it comes to writing, I may love the Inklings writing org events, but I don't really get much done at them.
2. Writers love working at coffee shops. Not all the time, and not if they're crowded and busy, but going to a coffee shop to write often provides a nice change of scenery and a bit of extra motivation to write. Of course, the fact that I get something sweet and yummy to drink whenever I go to one certainly helps too.
3. Writers are spend more time in daydreams than they do in the actual world. This isn't as true as it used to be. Middle- and early high-school me definitely lived her life with her head in another world — typically one involving magic, dragons, adventures, portals, and guys who talked about something other than sports, video games, and school. (Trust me: for middle-school me, that last one seemed as far-fetched as a dragon in my backyard.) But even now, it doesn't take much for my brain to wander off into the world of one of my books, either playing out a scene I'm going to write or figuring out how whatever song I'm listening to might describe one or more of my characters. That said, I like to think I'm a little more aware of my surroundings than I used to be.
4. Writers can write anything. Pros of being a PWID major and a creative writer: I probably can write whatever you think I can write, whether it's fiction or nonfiction, business or pleasure. (Or, if I can't write it now, I'll be able to write it within a few years.) That said, I can't write everything equally well. I'm much better at fantasy than contemporary or historical fiction. I'm better at marketing materials than official reports — at least, I'm pretty sure I am. I'm better at fantasy than marketing materials. You get the idea.
5. Writers love tea. I do not know where I would be without tea. Probably in a very sad, miserable world. I'm not an addict, but I will say that my morning tea sets up my best days and makes my bad days a bit more bearable. (And it got me through Professional Editing and Instructional Design 1, and it's going to get me through Instructional Design 2, all early morning classes that cause me more frustration than they should.) And when I need to settle down for the long haul with my writing, or when I need motivation to work on a troublesome scene, a cup of tea is just the thing to get me going.

What writer stereotypes do you fulfill? Please tell me in the comments! And don't forget to check back next week to find out what writer stereotypes I definitely don't fit.
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)