Welcome to issue # 9! We have a number of great articles in this issue, many of them dealing with the theme of editing and revising. This is a subject that many writers, old and new, find daunting, and we hope that you find something helpful in the material provided here. You will also find some exceptional articles in the genre section.
For the second year in a row, Forward Motion has been honored by Writer's Digest as one of the top 101 Web Sites for Writers. Thank you to everyone who has visited the site and enjoyed what we offer there.
If
you have any comments, drop us a line at vision@lazette.net.
We would like to know what you think of Vision, and what types of material you might
find interesting in future issues.
Vision
is also available Adobe Acrobat™ and Palm Systems™ downloadable
versions. We also have a new archive section for the on-line
back issues.
Diana Gill is an Editor with Morrow/Avon at Harpercollins Publishers. She primarily edits science fiction and fantasy titles for Eos, along with commercial fiction, nonfiction, and random other titles of interest.
Autumn
Leaves By Jennifer
Shafer
When I
completed the first draft of my first novel, my initial reaction was, "I'm
done!"
Which was
immediately followed by, "I'm not done!"
True
Writing is Rewriting
By Beth Shope
Writing is rewriting. Raise your hand if you've heard that before.
But flip it around--rewriting is writing--and we have an aphorism closer to the
true writing process.
Reading
is Fundamental
By Valerie
Serdy
Holly Lisle recently ran a survey on her site asking folks to pick the
most important non-writing skill a writer could have. The list included such obvious choices as editing and
critiquing, but the listing for reading baffled me.
How is reading a skill writers need, I wondered?
Confessions
of a Blunt Critiquer
By Andi Ward
I am a
blunt critiquer. I have even been called a harsh critiquer. In general, I am not
called nasty, cruel, or destructive, although blunt or harsh critiques are held
to be nasty, cruel, or destructive because it hurts the author's feelings to
have her work flayed so openly.
Giving
and Receiving Critiques
By David Stone
One of the biggest problems I have with critiquing a
piece of fiction is my tendency to relax and enjoy the story. When I read, I
switch off my analytical mind and let the story Entertain.
Revision
and Submission
By Heidi
Elizabeth Smith
After
spending an enormous amount of time slaving away at the computer, risking
ergonomic injury in order to get the work in progress (WIP) finished (at last),
the first thing most writers want to do is print out their spoiled
eighteen-year-old with an attitude the size of Texas and ship it off to the
nearest editor.
You
Mean Somebody Likes It?
By Krista Heiser
Rejection
never suited me. Not even a little.
The most professional, non-aggressive, literary rejections left seeping
wounds of self-doubt.
The
Good, the Bad, and the Icky --
Proposals
That Sell/Don't Sell Your Novel
By S.
L. Viehl
Any writer will tell you
finishing a novel isn't easy. For
every completed novel ever written, there are ten thousand partial manuscripts
sitting in desk drawers, filing cabinets, or closets, gathering dust.
Completing that last page is a real achievement, but it's also the first
part of a new journey.
Revisions
Part 1: Color
My Revisions
By Carol Stephenson
When I received a four-page revision letter from a
Silhouette editor on NORA'S PRIDE, the first thing I did was take a deep breath
and contact the editor directly about an item I didn't understand.
It's
a Small World: A Discussion on Agents and SF&F Publishers
By Wen Spencer
When I
set out to sell my first novel, Alien
Taste, I blindly followed a road someone laid out for me. Chose an agent, I
had been warned, close to New York City. Be polite to everyone, I had been
told.
Springtime
For Writers
By Jeri-Tallee
Dawson
Writers are, by nature, people who tend to spend most
of their time indoors, since most of us use our desktop computers to do our
writing. Even handhelds and notebooks only go so far.
Fantasy:
Wither Wander You?
By Lazette Gifford
William
Shakespeare was far from the first writer to bring fairies and other magical
beings into the contemporary world of his time.
Horror:
Introduction to Horror Part 3:
Setting in Horror
by Teresa Hopper
One
element that is easy to overlook when writing a novel is setting. You’re
busy trying to make your characters real and your plot interesting and complex,
and what difference does the setting make anyway?
Mystery & Suspense:
Mysteries: Rules of the Genre
By Kay House
Dorothy
L. Sayers and the Detection Club wrote the rules that now define mystery and
detective fiction. Other authors,
among them S. S. Van Dine, proposed their own sets of
rules, but the Detection Club rules were unusually good.
Poetry:
Anglo-Saxon
Alliterative Epics? Ouch!
By
Sally Catlin
If you grew up speaking English,
you probably remember suffering through Beowulf
in school. Being a writer, you may have even enjoyed it, or vaguely recall
something about kennings or caesuras.
Romance:
Characters
Romance Readers Love #1:
We
Need A Hero!
By Gena Hale
Everyone
wants to know the secret to writing a great romance. Well, here's one of them – romance readers love heroes.
Science Fiction:
The Edge of Thought
By Bob Billing
Do
you really need all that worldbuilding?
YA & Children:
Writing Tight
Justin Stanchfield
"Send us a piece that is written with a crisp, punchy
style, use short, straight-forward sentences that adhere to the highest
standards of journalism."
Young
Writers' Scene:
Using School to Enhance Your Writing Career
By Julia Pass
You're
trying to write, but there's an annoying little voice that just won't leave you
alone. It could be your conscience, telling you that you should do your
homework. Or maybe you're trying to write in class and that annoying little
voice is your teacher.
Meet the Moderators:
Carol Stephenson,
Romance Moderator
A workers' compensation insurance defense attorney by day,
new Romance Moderator Carol Stephenson burns the midnight oil as she writes
romance novels. Surviving the daily legal gridiron doesn't compare, though, to
Carol's accomplishment of selling her first book to Harlequin Enterprises in May
2001.
Forward
Motion:
So Much More Than Free Classes By Bethany
Davis
I came to Forward Motion for the free writing classes. In the August 24, 2001 edition of Writing World, Moira Allen included a blurb about the free writing classes at www.hollylisle.com. In that blurb, Moira listed some of the scheduled classes, including "Writing for Children and Young Adults," "Plotting," and "Writing Love Scenes in All Genres." I thought it sounded too good to be true.