Tag: revising your novel

The Spinning Plates are Real

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on June 22, 2014. Posted in General. 2 Comments on The Spinning Plates are Real

For those of you concerned about me after my Great Public Failure (I didn’t get an agent, to put this in perspective), here’s my current game plan: * send the Train Trip query to the paid-editor for tweaking: STATUS: DONE * send Model for Detective (When her model partner disappears, a Memphis fashion model uses her “clothes whisperer”...

The Circle of Life is Not Supposed to be Static

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on April 15, 2014. Posted in General. 2 Comments on The Circle of Life is Not Supposed to be Static

I interrupt revising Model for Deception to revise Train Trip, bringing with me the streamlining lessons learned from revising Model for Deception only to return to Model for Deception with the additional streamlining practice I’ve gained revising Train Trip as I read American Gods, learning how to craft a slightly different novel so I can...

Decomposing the Vote

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on March 12, 2014. Posted in General. 5 Comments on Decomposing the Vote

Why do they call it a dead heat? Because the originator of the phrase was from the South, and she knew what heat can do to you? Or do the dead actually emit heat when decomposing? At this point you’re probably asking yourself, why would her mind go there, and why on earth is she sharing it with us? (BTW: don’t research this question—you...

Word to the Wise: Pay Attention to Your Beta Readers

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on February 5, 2014. Posted in General. 3 Comments on Word to the Wise: Pay Attention to Your Beta Readers

Three years ago, or maybe four, a man I did not know arrived at my writing group, and during a long conversation about the first chapter of The Bone Trench, he said, “I’m ready to see Cat Thomas return.” I assured him Cat, who opened the novel in a brief scene, would be back shortly, specifically at the beginning of the next...

16 Truths about Revision

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on January 27, 2014. Posted in General. 7 Comments on 16 Truths about Revision

Things I have re-learned from this round of revision on The Bone Trench, my manuscript about Mother Mary and Jesus called back Memphis by a private prison project: Description must flow from the character observing it Description works best when in motion (e.g. She wore a tight skirt vs Her tight skirt tugged as she bent to pick up the skull) Too...