Mr7 and I had a little chat the other day that clarified for me something that has been bothering me about editing fiction for a long time. He was upset because he'd been asked to create a 'crazy critter' out of leaves at school and his 'crazy critter' was,...
If there's one thing that every writer - fiction, non-fiction, features, freelance, experienced, inexperienced - must learn to embrace, it's the editing process. Learning how to work with an editor. Learning how to edit your own work. It sounds straightforward. But...
This is what editing a novel looks like. Last week I put a photo of my novel manuscript up on Facebook. 540 neat, pristine pages, tidily arranged in a precise block of paper. "Just need to revise my revisions," I updated with glee. Today I give you the revised version...
I've been working on the edits for my novel. Slowly going through, moving a mass of words around. Putting all that thinking into action. And you know what? It feels pretty good. Now that I've actually started, I'm remembering that I was the person who wrote the book...
Gardening is a surprising business. Even with all the instructions, conditions, fertiliser and prayers in the world, some plants simply never prosper. They decide they don't like your plot of land and simply turn their toes up at it. Others will thrive, despite a...
Does anyone ever really tell you about the pain of editing a book? I am working on the edits for my working mum book (out January 2012, did I tell you?). If anything could be described as painful, but necessary, edits are it. As are visits to the dentist, but that's...
The first book in The Mapmaker Chronicles series turns 10 today. Double figures. A Big Kid by anyone's standards. Ten years ago today, Race To The End Of The World was published – my first experience of the joy and confounding ambivalence of publication day as a...
It's that time of year when our thoughts turn to words like GOALS, CHANGE and DREAMS. If your dream is to write – 'write more', 'write that novel', 'write something', 'get serious about writing' or words to that effect – I've got the kickstart you need. Join my Write...
One of the many lovely things about Write With Allison Tait is the mix of writers who have joined my online writing group. We have children's authors, YA authors, authors writing for adults, not yet published, traditionally published, indie published, novelists and...
