Keeping with my blazing once a month blogging pace... a progress report.
I am currently in the critique stage of Child of the Knight. What does this mean?
A few weeks ago I finished the rough draft. This process including spell checking (I turned spell check off while writing) and my own revisions. Revisions mostly consisted of clearing up inconsistencies that developed over the course of writing.
Right now the book is in the hands of my friend Mike Shultz. Mike critiqued Eternal Knight and has been a sounding board throughout the writing process for Child of the Knight. Mike is a novelist and accomplished short story author. He is very good at the craft of writing. I think of myself as a good storyteller, but I struggle with the craft of writing. This is where I rely on good critique partners and editors.
The more I write, the more I learn. I learn from doing, I learn from reading, but most of all I learn from other talented writers like Mike. The first draft of Child of the Knight is much better than the first draft of Eternal Knight. And the first draft of Something Something Knight will be better yet.
Mike is currently critiquing chapter nineteen. I am following behind and should be on chapter twelve tonight. We are moving at similar paces and this critique stage should be completed in early February.
After that Child of the Knight will go to my three editors: Ann Emery, Kemp Brinson, and Jax Reeder. What's the difference between editing and critiquing? Critiquing involves a lot more discussion of plot and story, while editing is more about the writing. I'll still take story advice from my editors, but by the time it reaches them the story should be pretty stable. Ann was a critique partner for Eternal Knight, while Kemp was an editor. Both were hugely helpful. Jax is a new addition to my circle of writing friends.
Post editing we go to proofreading, formatting, and publication!
I love the critiquing and editing part of the process. I love bringing new people into the world I've created and seeing how they help me make it better. Some writers fly solo, but even if I could, I don't think I would want to.
