A "Few Minor" Changes

I hate messing with my fiction once it’s “done,” but this was worth it.

After re-reading MORTAL COILS, I realized my two main characters acted older than they were—especially the way they dealt with familial treachery, violence, and the opposite sex!

So I ran the idea of bumping their ages from 14 to 15 years old by my editor at TOR books (the genius Eric Raab), and he agreed.

As I went through the manuscript, however, it wasn’t a simple matter of turning every “14” into a “15.” There were a hundred little things that had to be changed along the way to reflect this one-year bump. And in a 200,000 word novel, any little change snowballs into larger ones (as you can see in the picture).

The new corrected edition is now off to the copyeditor and we’ll have bound galleys to send out to reviewers soon.

One step closer to publication!

On On Writing

About once a year I dive back into Stephen King's, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. I especially like the audio book because of the way King talks about writing. He has a lot of passion!

I would put this on my must-read list of books for beginners, save for one thing: Stephen King dislikes the notion of outlining. And I mean really dislikes.

Don't get me wrong, I love Stephen King's work (when it comes to characterization you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who does a better).

But I use outlines. I like them. They free me to do my best creative work without worrying where the story is meandering off to. Long ago I came to accept writers who outlined and those who don't. I believe all writers’ brains are just wired differently.

This caveat aside, King's book is definitely worth reading. His work ethic is extraordinary. If for nothing else, you should listen/read this book if you want to jumpstart your writing motivation.

Speaking of which... I need to get back to my writing (new project titled: All that Lives Must Die) and get my minimum word count today.