Half of me is thrilled to be going full tilt on the editorial review of The Gift Legacy books for WindStorm Press. The work invigorates me and the view from my writing desk inspires me. The other half of me is champing at the bit to get back into the new material. Four exciting projects stamp their feet at the gate. It’s shiny new toy syndrome, and it tempts me.
But I know my limits and the review requires my full attention. The shiny new toys will have to wait. Besides, the more hours I devote to the review, the faster I’ll get back to the shiny new toys.
The opportunity to revamp the books and their covers came with the new publisher. Over the years I’ve grown as a writer, so I jumped at the opportunity to re-visit these early books.
The edits:
The goal is to ensure the story and language are as tight as they can be. Here’s a sampling of what I’m doing (the crossed-out words are gone, the underlined words are new):
- Better and active verb choice:
There was a lot of laughter cascaded around us and I welcomed the change from the gloom that Cassandra cast over us moments earlier.
- Removing unnecessary dialogue tags that can slow down the pace.
Oh, god, no. I knew what this was. I had to stop him. “No! Don’t go!” I shouted.
- Tightening the prose:
If you missed the sound of waves, you might just smell the briny air or catch a whiff of briny air or pungent seaweed in the ocean breeze.
The changes are small, but powerful. I’m halfway through the review and excited with the results. I can’t wait to share them with you.
Meantime, enjoy the sunset.
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