#novel editor

[summer-gh0st]

I'm writing a story with some interactions where a nonbinary character is meeting people they couldn't tell the gender of and I end up with a lot of confusing "theys" even when I use proper nouns for the character in question. any ideas of how to not just toss around a bunch of "they said"s and such without saying the same descriptors over and over like "the one on the right" ?

Ah, what I live for!! You market yourself as an lgbt+ editor and then all you get is straight romance or fantasy with straight romance. Bleh

Moving on! This is really interesting, because it’s probably really context dependent and I’m not sure I can give the best answer without grappling with the lines themselves. I would possibly point to my previous post with character/setting/action, to try to avoid dialogue tags by describing the character who’s speaking, the setting, or the action they’re doing. This is a good way to avoid getting confused in any situation where two characters use the same pronoun (ie, when two he/him characters are the only ones on the page). Especially character can be helpful — if the reader knows that the main character has blue hair, let’s say, and the new character has brown, then a dialogue line ending with “…they ran their fingers through their brown hair” or something like that will help differentiate who’s speaking.

Also, using names is never a bad thing, and while it can get overused, tolerance for that is usually much higher when we have a same-pronoun situation.

Another method of differentiation is different speech patterns. If we know our main character with blue hair (let’s call them Blue) has a particular way of speaking, then making the new character have a different way of speaking will set them apart in a very easy to read but hard to notice sort of way. It’s meta, and really engrained in the style, but can be awfully effective. Let’s say Blue has a somewhat posh tone — they use fancy words because they read too much and have a very refined sense of style from studying philosophy at university. The new character could then have a southern accent, and speak very slowly with lots of y’alls, and ums, because they literally grew up in a barn with their beloved horse companion and don’t know how to talk to people. An extreme example, but it showcases my point: could you ever imagine these two people having the same tone of voice, and getting their dialogue lines mixed up with each other? Usually, no. And that’s one of the great, wonderful, and magical things about dialogue. :)

To sum up, I think that would be my general advice: character/setting/action; names are okay, and overusing them is harder in a same-pronoun situation; different tones of voice (this one is my favorite because it forces a lot of characterization!).

I hope this helps + wasnt too long, and let me know if you have any further questions. :)

[thepedanticbohemian]

Rewriting like slaloming up a mountain

Have any of you done a line-by-line edit?

I'm doing that right now. To show, not tell as much as humanly possible.

I'm also killing my darlings, deleting scenes that don't fit into the steady upward climb of this roller coaster. It hurts but not nearly as much as I want a second novel in bookstores and on Amazon.

[tomw005]

Being a writer that’s editing is such a weird experience!

I simultaneously hate and love it 😂

For one thing, I hate it because I have to go over my work and realise everything I’ve done wrong and now I need to fucking fix everything and spend an hour or more doing one thing but on the other hand, I love doing it because it helps me with grammar and I get to fix everything like sentence structure and grammar and stuff because I’m an English freak that way.

I don’t know how this has happened to me.

Is it just a me thing or is it like a normal thing amongst the writing community? Please help 😂

[juliangreystoke]

I added a new gig to my Fiverr! This is a less thorough developmental edit, more akin to what others are offering. Rather than going page by page (sometimes line by line), I will read your whole project and send you a developmental letter at the end. This will be more of an overview, not nearly as detailed as the other service I offer, but is also considerably more affordable! Check it out!

Pricing: roughly $1 per page! Message me for more details!

[blankpaperandme]

Novel Editing - Basic Services

New Blog Post! These are the basic editing services you can get for your novel. #writers #editors

Hello, everyone! I’m hoping you had a lovely week. Here I am with a new blog for you today. I’m trying out different blogging days, between Friday and Tuesday to see which day will get more reads, and so far, I think Tuesday is winning?! I think Friday night might not be a good time for blogging, then, huh? Anyway, next week I might be posting the new blog on Tuesday and we’ll compare! In…

[firstediting]

Novel Editor

Looking for a reliable and experienced novel editor? First Editing offers comprehensive novel editing services to help bring your story to life. https://www.firstediting.com/novel-editing-services/

[trungles]

Working on my new graphic novel, Angelica and the Bear Prince, and I probably won't finish drawing it until November, but I want everyone to have it like NOW.

Anyway, here's a spoiler-free preview.

[northern-passage]

just found one of my favorite pieces of writing advice when it comes to interactive fiction, i think if you've read literally any of my work, it will be pretty obvious how much i use this in my own writing. i actually couldn't remember where i read this for the first time and on a whim i went through my twitter likes and found it in a thread. i'm going to transcribe it for ease of reading, but this is all coming from Alexander Freed (@/AlexanderMFreed on twitter)

he has a website here with other compiled writing advice about branching narratives and game design, though he never posted this there and hasn't really updated recently (but still check it out. there's some specific entries about writing romance, branching and linear & other game writing advice)

original twitter thread here

It's Tuesday night and I feel like teaching some of what I've learned in 15 years of branching narrative video game writing. Let's go in-depth about one incredibly specific subject: neutral / fallthrough / catchall response options!

Player ownership of the protagonist in choice-based branching narrative games (a la BioWare, Telltale, mobile narrative games, etc) is a vital aspect of the form.

The ability for the audience to shape a Player Character, to develop that character's inner life in their own mind, is unmatched in any other medium.

The Player determines the character's actions and THE MOTIVATIONS for those actions. The character's psychology can literally be as complex as the Player can imagine. However, this works best when there's enough space for the Player to develop those motivations. No game can offer enough options to support every interpretation imaginable; much of the character has to live in the Player's head, without necessarily appearing on the screen.

That's complicated. We're going to unpack it.

Generally, when presenting choices to a Player, we want those choices to be as interesting and compelling as possible.

But compelling, dramatic choices tend to be revealing of character. And no game can support hundreds of options at every choice point for every possible character motivation a Player might imagine.

This sort of narrative CANNOT maintain its integrity if the Player is forced to constantly "rewrite" their characterization of the Player Character on the fly. You want your Player to feel like they have more than enough viable options at any given moment.

At the simplest level of writing, this is where "fallthrough" responses come in.

In the examples above, each moment contains a response which furthers the story but doesn't imply a huge emotional choice for the Player. The Player is asked to choose A or B, agree or disagree, but can sidestep the issue altogether if desired.

These "neutral" responses are vital if both A and B don't appeal to the Player... or if, perhaps, the Player likes A but not the WAY A is being expressed. Milquetoast option C works for anyone; thus, the Player is never forced to break character because of a lack of options.

Questions work well for this sort of neutral option. Tacit agreement and dead silence also serve, in certain sorts of stories--as a Player, I know what's going on in my silent character's head and the game won't contradict it.

The important thing is that I'm never forced to take a path that's outright WRONG for my character. Even if other characters misinterpret the Player Character's motivation, my character's inner life remains internally consistent.

"Neutral" responses aren't the only ways to go, though. Some responses are appropriate for any character because they're tied to the base character concept.

Here, for example (from @/seankmckeever's X-Files), the Player is a marine on a mission. The Player can respond abrasively to her partner's fear or look into the issue (out of compassion or genuine belief), but our fallthrough is actually the TOP response.

There's no version of our marine who would absolutely break character by picking "Stay calm and on mission." It's not blandly neutral; rather, it reinforces aspects of the character we can be sure of and gives the Player an option if nothing else works.

Different sorts of narratives will use different sorts of fallthroughs. A comedy might treat the option to say something funny as a fallthrough, of sorts--it's entertaining and will never violate the characterization the Player has created.

In a quest-driven RPG, a fallthrough response can often boil down to "How do I move to the next step of this quest?"

That said, the strongest moments in a narrative will often have no "fallthrough" response at all. They'll work by creating multiple responses that, by overlapping, cover all reasonable Player Character actions while still leaving room for the Player to ascribe motivation.

[tkingfisher]

New book! Coming Friday the 25th! You can pre-order the ebook online starting...well, as soon as it gets approved on the various sites, or get either ebook or hardcopy directly via Argyll Productions!

This is not a horror novel, it’s a middle-grade fantasy, in the same vein as Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, although shorter and I think lighter, so if you just need something fluffy and cozy to unwind with that will not force you to grapple with trauma or cause you to develop any new phobias, I think this one’s safe! Probably!

(...I’m such a lousy judge of these things...)

[katiscoolsstuff]

Is it only me or is

Literally novel goldenheart coded

[annasellheim]

Next part- this is how autobio works

[icefire149]

Get ready for a shojo anime like no other...

It's time to KISS KISS FALL IN LOVE with the Bracken! 

After 2 undergrad degrees, a postgrad, and a whole year of rejection emails, the only job you can get is a scrap collector on some distant moon. You spend your days forlorn and long for an exciting life away from your crushing debt...

But a stroke of fate hands that over... along with an ample sprinkle of flower petals.

DISCLAIMER:

First things first. This game is 18+. If you are not over 18, this game is not for you. 

This is a completely not-for-profit fangame made about the Bracken from Lethal Company that we made in 12 days. We do not own any of the monsters in the game, nor the setting. All rights belong to Zeekerss.

By the way if you think this will read like some epic novel like Wheel Of Time, or have the grittiest and darkest art, then sorry to disappoint! This is not meant to be taken seriously, it's just some lighthearted shojo anime-themed Valentine's Day silliness!

It's literally shojo anime Bracken meet cute and it blushes so...

Enjoy and kiss kiss fall in love!

Play for FREEE right here!!!

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

hiiiii hiiii just wanted to let you know I've updated my freelancing page with a couple new services & updated rates!!! tried my best to keep this as affordable as possible while ensuring the rate is fair to me & also have a bargain option now to keep things accessible :)

Rachel now offers:

Discounted combo - Line & developmental edits (starting $120USD, short stories/chapters)

Bargain - Line & developmental edits ($40USD, short stories/chapters, max 1500 words)

Line edits ONLY (starting $90USD, short stories/chapters)

Developmental edits ONLY (starting $60USD, short stories/chapters)

First page edits ($15USD, short stories/chapters)

Poetry edits (starting $15USD)

gonna monitor to see how these new prices go but if you're looking for an editor I'd LOVEEE to help!! :))

Work with me as an editor!

[deadpanwalking]

In your opinion is there still space for new authors (that don’t write YA) in the publishing industry?

I'm guessing you mean the traditional publishing industry. I’d be a hypocrite if I told you to burn down the Big Five publishing houses that take up space in your head, but you gotta understand that in addition to the shit that’s always been wrong, there’s a now a huge labor issue on account of the buyouts and layoffs last year, not to mention that the recent layoffs in the journalism industry = less book coverage = less publicity = fewer sales = more layoffs of editorial staff.  The chances of you getting a fair shake with that crowd any time soon are not great. Mind you, this is provided you’ve already locked down a literary agent who either likes your shit or thinks it will sell (birth of first child<the purple 😎 on QueryTracker when you get Offered Representation).  In any case, if you’re pitching literary fiction, get acquainted with reputable small presses, micro-presses, and indie publishers—some take unsolicited manuscripts if you aren't repped.

[juliangreystoke]

Why yes, my commissions are open, thanks for asking! It is first come first served so if you want in, contact me asap! Feel free to message me with any questions! I know this process can be very daunting, and there's no such thing as a dumb question! https://www.fiverr.com/juliangreystoke

[blankpaperandme]

Launching my Editorial Services

Today, I am officially open to clients as an editor. Read for more info, or visit my publisher's website at paganlightpublishing.com/editorialservices #NovelEditor #editor #bookeditor

I am officially launching my editorial services today! Hello everyone, I hope you are having a lovely week. Today, I have finally, officially launched my services as an editor, after having recently completed a certificate program in copyediting through the University of San Diego, CA (online extension). For a very long time, it has been a dream of mine to work with authors, helping them create…