#self-editing for fiction writers

[rozmorris]

Aim to make your book perfect - why it’s worth it and how it’s possible

An online discussion has got me thinking. Actually, snarling a bit. On a forum, an author was taking her first steps to self-publish a literary novel. She’d already worked with an editor, but wasn’t certain the manuscript was ready for publishing. Should she get another beta-read? One member answered: ‘is that a good use of your time? I made the mistake of writing and rewriting, trying to get…

[folklorist-word-florist]

Self Edit Checklist

Structural:

Have I introduced my main character(s) early enough?

Have I introduced the world to my readers early and clearly enough?

Do readers understands my character motivation, protagonist and antagonist? What of their goals, traits (strength and weakness)?

Have my characters grow throughout the story? If not, is it intentional?

Will readers find my characters to be relatable, sympathetic, or interesting?

(I don't have to, but have I done my work to develop empathy for my villain both in myself in readers? Is it a cheap-out sad background story, or explored with more nuance?)

Are there plot holes, inconsistencies?

Are there scenes I overwrote?

Are there scenes I underwrote?

How have the conflicts of the story (external and internal) driven it forward? (Have they?)

What sentences, scenes, chapters don’t move the story along? Cut them.

Are each section/chapter told from its consistent point of view? (No headhopping)

Are there factual mistakes that require further research?

[authorsharonforester]

Blanket Writing and Editing Techniques To Help You Finish Your Story Once And For All By Sharon Forester

Welcome to the writing and editing technique list, fellow authors (and lovely others)!

To learn more about me and my books, go to authorsharonforester.weebly.com.

There might be one reason or another why you're wanting to read this list today. My reason for having this list is because I want to share with the world what I have found works best for me based on what I've learned in life overtime as a writer. I believe it might help someone out there who might be struggling with following through with their plans of discipline on their writing or editing processes. On that case, you might be someone hearing this for the first time, someone who has been looking for a list of techniques and are now ready to see what will work best for you. You, the reader, might end up being one of them, and I am happy to help! Alternatively, you might be someone who already knows about these choices, but you're looking for a new perspective in order to regain your inspiration or motivation.

1) Write In Pencil/Pen First, Then Type

Writing in pencil before typing the story in computer is not a waste of time. People don't realize that by doing this you finish the first draft and the first round of editing at the same time! There are writers out there who are able to type in their stories the very first time with no problem, but if you are like me, and the creative juices stop flowing and you loose that imaginative rainbow, an old-school writing session might be the perfect answer to help you concentrate on your story and... Get. It. Done. Of course, in the end, you are going to do what is best for you if this item on the list ain't it.

As you read through this item on the list, here is something you might think about: I say to you, "Write the story first because when you type it in, you are editing the first draft, thus making you ready to print the second draft." But you say to me, "How is this any different than typing the story in the first time around, and then print it to edit the first draft? It's still a two-step process, and neither one is any faster than the other." But I say to you, writing the story out works well because you are letting the story out in a concentrated flow, you can write in places where there is no internet, and when you start typing the story in with your first edit, you are making a lot of changes that make the story better. When the story has been typed the first time, you are reading through and fixing edits before you go back to change scenes, switch vocabulary words, add or subtract sentences, and more. When you print out the story, you are printing it for the intention editing the second round instead of the first, finally, and you save computer paper and ink.

I am used to writing before typing because I have done it ever since I was a little girl. Since the end of sixth grade, to be exact. For a while, I was convinced it was a waste of time just based on the thought that I needed to eventually type everything into the computer and start editing the first time around to perfect it as best I could. That's also what everyone around me said I had to do if I chose to write first.

As I got older and began to work the process of getting my writing typed in in its entirety before getting it printed, I realized I wasn't going to type everything in word for word. It turns out, that would have been unrealistic and indeed a good waste of time. I was unconsciously editing what I typed, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph. It was inevitable for me to ignore the obvious errors on the pages. By the time everything was typed in, I had already gone through my first editing round, and therefore was ready to print out the second draft to edit it again, and get the story all that closer to publication. For me, that was the biggest accomplishment that changed my writing hobby for the better, and it might just as well do the same for you.

2) Print Out The Story Drafts

One major thing that will help you focus on editing your manuscript whether it's a short story or a full fledge novel is printing the work out. On the computer screen, the work is more accessible electronically but you are more likely to skim through the most important mistakes that could have been edited to change your book for the better. Printing the work out gives you the opportunity to write down specific notes when making your edits. The notes might involve stuff you are thinking about changing or enhancing as you correct the mistakes on the computer file. Some people like to print and edit several chapters at a time, other people like to print out the entire story and go from there. How you approach this is up to you, but they are suggestions offered to you for a better writing and editing experience. After printing out the files from your computer, you might be thinking about how to organize the pages that make up the short story or novel. Some people like to use rings to clip  the pages together like it's its own book and call it a day. Others like to go more in depth and use paperclips to clip the chapters separately (if there ate any), and place the entire manuscript inside a manilla folder or a folder with pockets. What I do is get a binder and a pack of sheet protectors. I place each chapter inside their own individual sheet protector, and then place them inside the binder in story order. I have seen others go the extra cost and length of placing each page of a singular chapter inside a sheet protector and place the entirety of the story inside a binder.

3) Use Different Colored Pens

There are people who don't need to be so detailed with this step, but if you are like me and need a colorful (or more organized) boost for focus and concentration, then colored pencils or pens are writing utensils you can use to help you through the writing and/or editing process of your story project. I normally print my stories out in black ink, but there are times where I will use a different colored ink to save on black (because it is used for everything else you print out and it can get pricy to restock). On either case, I use colored pens that are not the same color as the printed document to make the edits stand out when I need to look them over and type them into the computer when imputing them. I use one color pen to start editing, and when my brain feels done with that pen color, using another color to continue my edits does the trick. Some people--maybe it's you, maybe its not--like to use colored pens spontaneously like that. You might not read the same page multiple times, but you might find yourself reading slowly to make sure you caught everything before moving on. Now, other people--again, maybe it's you, maybe it's not--like a more organized approach. I've tried to organize my various edits by assigned pen color to fix everything at once. It was not something that has worked for me in the past, but I am open to trying it again in the future. I have the tick of wanting to fix everything in every editing category on one page with the same color pen before moving on to the next page because it seems like less work. Here is an example of this: I used a green pen to correct punctuation, blue to correct grammar, purple to correct story development errors (like plot holes), orange for added scenes or sentences, and red for deleted scenes or sentences. This kind of usage might require you to either read the same page several times or read the page very slowly to make sure you caught everything. How you structure your reading and construct your color-coded editing categories depends on your personal preferences and what works for your brain. This is when it is a good time to explore your organization tactics as you edit your story.

4) Read Out Loud When Editing Your Story

This is a really big item that took me a little while to learn. Reading your work out loud allows you to catch errors you need to edit more easily versus just reading it in your head as you move along the page. When you read out loud, you spot errors more easily, you finish the project faster, and it will withhold the obstacle of overthinking about editing and overediting the story. These things are exactly what you want to accomplish here. When you read in your head, your brain goes through this process of automatically correcting or adding any missing data in sentences without realizing that that data is the very thing we are trying to catch during the editing process. It's not a good thing to feed because it'll make the editing process take longer, it will cause you to overthink how or what you should edit, and you might find yourself overediting the same piece or the same page multiple times, making it hard to move forward. I avoided reading out loud for most of my life because I was convinced that it would waste my time. I thought that I could handle editing my stories without any other exterior help if I just read everything carefully and slowly in my head. When I gave in to the technique a while back, I was mind blown to realize I caught mistakes that mattered by starting to do this when I edited the third draft of my book. Obviously, I decided reading out loud was something I was determined to put into practice during my editing process from now on. It causes me less headaches, I edited my stuff much faster, and I wasn't overediting non-existent mistakes on the same page over and over again.

5) Write Notes About Your Story Project ​ One helpful hint for the writing and editing process is to always write notes about your story. It doesn't matter if you are in the writing or editing process. This will be equally as helpful to you. When thinking about the word "notes," we mean ideas for sentences, scenes, dialogue, descriptions with the intention of adding or changing information in the story. These notes might include ideas for new stories after this project is done or if you want to work on an alternative project. Some people like to have a separate electronic document or a notepad or diary/journal app where they type in all their notes. There are people who like to have a separate notebook or separate pieces of paper they put in plain sight in various locations to write down their notes as ideas come up for them. Some people prefer to leave notes when they comment on the printed or electronic documents they are editing. How you want to approach this is up to you, but this is a solid tip that is guarantee to help you move forward in writing and editing your stories. You are letting your thoughts, emotions, and ideas about the story flow freely and onto paper one way or another so you don't forget them. Those ideas don't always come back after you are done thinking about them when you've ignored the opportunity to jot things done, so take advantage of taking notes when that happens.

6) Grasp A Comfort Toy To Stop Nervous Ticks

If you have nervous ticks with your hands like I do, then you will want to have something on your person to occupy your hands, especially for the specific one feeding the ticks. Your ticks may look different than mine, but my personal nervous tick is pulling my hair, a common thing that happens to a lot of people. For this reason, I have a small blush doggy and a small plush bunny (both normal toys), and a squishy cake stress toy that I hold in my hair-pulling hand to withhold the habit. It keeps me more focused on my work and I don't end up bald on the front of my head. For some of you, the object may be a random item that isn't a toy. (I have met people that have told me they hold a big eraser or a banana in their hand to keep it occupied from hair pulling, and snapping fingers, or rubbing fingers together into a rug burn.) For others, it might be a normal toy, a fidget toy, or a stress toy. Whatever the material or type of toy or object, do what works for you. This process may take a bit of effort to incorporate, but if you stay disciplined, you will remember to tackle the behavior preventing you from staying focused in your writing or editing, and you may even get rid of the nervous tick altogether.

7) Take Advantage Of The Imaginative Rainbow

We all have bursts of happiness and sadness in our lives just as much as we have bursts of inspiration as well as discouragements. When you feel utterly inspired to write or edit your story at a moment's notice, it is so important to stop what you are doing to work on the project taking over your mind if you are able to do so. Even if it is sloppy on the page, you can always go back to fix it later, but remember that you can't have the idea back after it's gone. Savor the ideas or sessions when the creative juices are flowing and that rainbow is working because that is when the most creativity lies. It is normal to be taking a shower or cleaning the house or running an errand, and suddenly that rainbow inspiration hits hard. Sit down with your document and ride the way of the rainbow until it runs out. It is one of the best writing or editing sessions you will ever have. You don't want to miss out on the spur of the moment ideas that come with a suddenly active imagination. The reason it's so important for us to do this is because that rainbow means you suddenly have the most amazing ideas ready to come alive. When your brain is active like this, pour out your ideas onto the page because there is no better time to do it. I have found to been more likely to finish projects, amazing changes or additions, or have the most written ideas this way. This item on the list is related to the item informing you to take notes. Most authors carry a little notebook with them to write down notes in case of random bursts of inspiration. This is something I suggest you do as well if you are a writer. It will help you in the long run. It has genuinely helped me (note: I use the notepad app on my phone to take my notes when I get that rainbow).

8) Take Much Needed Breaks

No matter what we do, the mind will sometimes run out of energy for the current activity you are working on, eventually forcing you to take a break from writing or editing your book or story. At this point, your brain is telling you it needs to refresh. This happens for numerous reasons: mental overload, feelings of inadequacy, imposter syndrome, writer's block, burn out, and more. Taking mental breaks from writing or editing can help you regain control of your writing and editing process all the sooner than wasting time sitting there staring into space as time passes. If you are determined to finish your writing project but your brain is fried and not letting you, then a wonderful tip to put into practice is to taking a break from writing and/or editing to refresh the mind. One of the most common things you can do is keep your mind busy with another hobby for a while, watch some TV, listen to music, play games, or do some puzzles before returning to the writing/editing. You could do things beyond another activity, like practicing mindfulness meditation, taking a walk, getting a chore done around the house, going off to run an errand, or hanging out with a friend before returning to your writing/editing. After 10 minutes, 30 minutes or an hour, you might notice your brain is ready to start writing/editing again.

Now, this little part here is a warning about what you choose do when you are taking a break. Doing any of the activities up above are great ways to take mental breaks from doing one activity and occupying yourself with another. But there are dangers that can come with this. While you are switching activities, it is very important not to become distracted with the activities you are choosing to do. For this reason, you need to be disciplined in keeping your story in mind. You gotta prepare yourself to switch back to it once you feel your brain is ready. When you start playing a game, watching a show/movie, getting the sudden urge to rearrange your house, or staying out of the house for hours at a time, you might find that the day has passed you by. If you have a brain that wanders all too easily, then you might want to consider setting a time limit versus going with the flow of things. Test the waters during your break time without getting pulled away from your writing/editing to see what works for you. 

9) Read Other Stories/Books

We might come to a point in our writing or editing process that feels kind of bland. You might find yourself repeating the same words or sentence structures, as if your brain forgot all of the vocabulary and grammar you have spent years mastering in school. Reading other people's works helps you study creative writing as you enjoy someone else's story. As a result, you mentally feel capable enough to zhuzh up the story you're writing/editing. (Note: Creative blandness may also be a sign of burn out or a case of writer's block.) This is a golden nugget of a suggestion that not only helps you enhance your writing skills but also gives you something fun to do (which has some health benefits of its own). Reading other people's works helps you regain the freshness of all that writing knowledge locked away in the back of your mind. Not only that, but it also materializes ideas about the story you are working on alongside the enhanced sharpness of grammar and punctuation, sentence structure, and vocabulary. If you're suddenly beating yourself up comparing yourself to another author, a act caused of imposter syndrome, then it is advisable to take a break from your writing and reading, and return to the story with a clearer mind after occupying yourself with a different activity or allowing yourself some time to rest. Getting back to work on your own writing after you've read someone else's work is very helpful in making you feel better about your own writing skills when you are not undergoing imposter syndrome. The next time you sit down to write or edit, you see your enhanced skill accomplishment recorded on paper and you realize that you ARE good enough to be a writer. And that is always the best feeling the world.

10) Crush Imposter Syndrome Like A Bug

When you do a search on Google, the engine defines imposter syndrome as: "a behavioral health condition that causes people to doubt their skills, intellect, or accomplishments, even when they have evidence of success." None of us will argue that this is one of the worst feelings in the world.

When you're in the midst of writing or editing your work and you start feeling like you are not good enough, this is a time in your journey where your mind is out to get you by not wanting you to finish your work. Why? That's the million dollar question to creatives and other dreamers alike. I don't know why our brains do this to us, but it is the reality of something we need to fight hard against if we want to get anywhere with our dreams--in this case, our writing--whether its just to publish for fun or for profit, or both. Otherwise we are letting our minds control us, resulting in regret at the end of the road of life in not having achieved a thing.

There are a lot of important things you can do to keep the imposter syndrome at bay (a mixture of things mentioned in the other items of this list would help), but the one I will mention here is one of upmost importance in the mental wellness field: positive affirmations. Feeding your brain positivity is the healthiest thing you can do to clear your mind of negative toxicity that plants an obstacle in your writing dream. You can practice saying positive things to yourself (positive affirmations) wherever you are. You can also go to a place where there is a mirror, look at yourself, and dictate the words to yourself. This suggestion might seem silly, but the action rewires your brain to be kinder to yourself overtime, which is what you want in order to reduce, and, hopefully, eliminate negative self-talk. You can write down positive affirmations and stick them in places you know you will see them. Read them from time to time to give yourself that much needed reminder. 

One other important practice (as mentioned in the "Take Much Needed Breaks" item) to exist on top of the mental health field is mindfulness meditation. There are different ways to practice MM than just sitting down with crossed legs and closed eyes. There are endless techniques out there. You could try movement mindfulness meditation if you prefer to be more active, or you could try game-like meditations if you prefer to do something more interactive. Do some deeper research on the concept and try different techniques to see what works best for you. It's a wonder way to help manage your thoughts and feelings to reward you with more loving decisions towards yourself.

11) Change Your Working Environment

If you notice that you start having trouble concentrating and a multitude of tactics hasn't worked, then you need to spice up your environment a little bit because there might be a problem with it. Going about doing this depends on the kind of person you are and what works best for you.

If silence is what helps you concentrate better, then you will need to make sure the room you are in is an environment that won't have noisy distractions. Alternatively, if background music is what will help you focus and concentrate, then you can do a couple of things to satisfy that. You can put on background music or a random tv show or movie for the purpose of relaxation or white noise for your brain. Something about the intentional background sounds helps a lot of people get things done better than trying to shut the world out. It might be something that works for you too. It works for me but it depends on how I feel from one day to another.

One important thing you need to keep in mind about this is that the music or white noise should be something you are unfamiliar with or vaguely familiar with. Being too familiar with the sound risks the cause of distraction, which is the very thing you are trying to avoid. You can pick something you are familiar with, but you need to make sure it is something that won't steal your focus when you need to be writing or editing your work. Otherwise, you will have to change the sound or try something else. If, no matter what you do, you have trouble concentrating in the environment you are currently working in, then another thing you can do to ensure the work environment is to move to another environment that is more likely to meet your needs. 

12) Start An Alternative Writing Project

When feeling burned out, distracted, or unfocused, starting a different writing project before returning to the original one can do wonders for your writing or editing process. Some of us operate better doing one project at a time. Sometimes I hate stopping a project to do another one because it makes me feel like I am taking two steps back on my writing path, but there is nothing wrong with doing this for the sake of your mental health and writing momentum. The fact is when your brain feels done with a project, it temporarily loses its creative juices. You try dragging yourself along to finish it, but doing that will make you end up wasting more time than saving it. Even 5 minutes of switching projects to refresh the mind can help you get back on track in your original work. The bright side of this too is that you advance in two projects at the same time instead of just one. Additionally, you practice writing more often, which is a useful thing to do.

Congratulations! You have reached the end of the writing and editing technique and tips list! I appreciate the fact that you've read this far. I hope that you have gained some new knowledge or insight with this list that you can use with your own writing and editing projects. I've grown as this list was accumulated, and I'm always ready to hear what your story as an author is (and what your creative story is), and what process works best for you personally. Learning new ways to do things is an exciting adventure! And I could always use new ways of improving my writing and editing skills. See you next time!

[sxilor-1010]

It's late, I should be asleep, but instead have a crappy meme I made with one of my recent self ships.

[adventurebeneaththewords]

Tips for self-published authors who can't afford editors, etc:

1 - completely rewrite your first draft in a new document, this will improve readability immensely!

2 - ask a friend or family member to beta read (you can send them a Google doc), tell them to let you know which parts feel boring and ask them if they don't mind fixing spelling mistakes they see

It's very important ONLY to ask them to change spelling mistakes, and ONLY if they don't mind. They're helping you out for free, and their time is valuable as well!

3 - Grammarly is free

4 - use a text to speech online app to help catch spelling mistakes (I find listening to my documents helps a lot to catch weirdly worded sentences or mistakes)

[keyboard-squared]

One Crucial Step You Shouldn't Skip in Self-Publishing

You have an idea. You write a book. You publish a book. Hooray! But. . . there’s a step missing. A step that will ensure your book is professional. A step that will keep, rather than turn away, readers. Editing. Maybe you think I’m crazy for suggesting that someone would skip this step. If so, I’m very glad that you would never do this, because the reality is all too many authors are blind to…

[wutheringmights]

Oh yeah don’t dox yourself!! I hope it didn’t sound intrusive, I was just curious :)

You went to university for creative writing then? That’s cool!! I thought of doing that out of highschool but I’m in a gap year right now. I don’t think I can trust myself to write anything creative that I’m actually proud of in a structured setting (ik that sounds yikes, gotta get out of my wimp era eww). So I just watch free video lectures 😭 But do you recommend it?

Well, I hope you leave a door, but if not, your writing has still left me (and loads of ppl I’m sure) with a lot to think about regardless :)

Aww thank you, you're very sweet. And you weren't being intrusive at all! It's actually really nice to know that there's anyone out there who wants to see more of what I can do!

I actually didn't major in creative writing, but I did do a series of fiction writing workshops at my first college and an additional workshop at my transfer university. My transfer university had a creative writing contest and a literary journal, which is where I was published. So it's not the most prestigious achievement, but it is something under my belt, I guess.

Fiction writing workshops really are a mixed bag.

The best part of a workshop is how it forces you to get used to critiques, which is really valuable if you base your self-worth around being a good artist. There is no better way to separate your self worth from your art than having to get used to people talking smack about it. Plus, critiquing other writers helps you to develop the ability to read like a writer and self-edit yourself.

But none of the workshops I did taught me how to write. For reference, I did workshops both at a liberal arts school (which was a mistake) and at a state university (the course was framed as an intro course, but was really just a fun elective). All of the workshops technically had a lecture series for the first half of the class centered on learning the craft, but I didn't learn anything new from them.

Another issue with workshops is that the value of the critiques depends on how good the rest of your class is. In an intro class that is a fun elective at a state school, the critiques are pretty worthless. The critiques for the workshops at the liberal arts school were helpful, but you are also going to be up against self-proclaimed artistes who have the strangest and most pretentious "Golden Rules of Writing" you will ever hear.

Honestly, the best way to improve your writing is to just write and be critical of your own work. If you write consistently and are open to admitting where you are weak, you will get better. It certainly took me a long, long time to start feeling like I was good at writing, and I've been writing most every day since I was 13.

If you decide to go college and want to be involved in a workshop, skip the classes and see if there is a writing club on campus. The club will probably have an informal workshop where you can share and get critiques from people who have a passion for writing just like you do. If the club is anything like the one I went to, it'll be filled with people from a variety of disciplines who will have more valuable insight than any Artiste Writer can give you. Plus, you can make a lot of great friends.

[wolfie-wolfgang]

forget birthdays. forget Christmas. the day the first of my paperback novels arrived from the printers. 

[bloseroseone]

Types of Editing: Which One Does Your Manuscript Need?

Congratulations! Your manuscript is now complete! However, the adventure is far from over. It’s time to polish your work now to make sure it’s at its best. Editing is used in this situation. Editing is a multi-layered process that makes sure your text is coherent, well-structured, and interesting. It goes beyond simply correcting language mistakes.

Why Editing Is Essential for Writers

Editing involves more than just a cursory glance. It’s an essential step in the writing process that has the power to make or ruin your work. No matter how amazing your thoughts are, shoddy editing might make readers lose interest or become confused. Good editing removes any uncomfortable or confusing portions from your text and helps to improve its flow and structure.

Finding those annoying typos and grammatical mistakes that sometimes evade detection even after several readings is another reason editing is so important. However, did you know that there are various editing styles, each tailored to target particular areas of your manuscript?

Let’s examine the various editing styles and determine which one is best for your manuscript.

Types of Editing

Not every editing is made equally. Different editing techniques concentrate on various aspects, such as grammar, sentence flow, and structure in addition to content. Below is a summary of the most typical forms of editing....Continue reading

[rozmorris]

Self-editing lessons from Peter Jackson’s Get Back Beatles documentary

I’ve been watching Peter Jackson’s documentary about the Beatles album Get Back. It’s eight hours long, and quite repetitive, but I find it mesmerising and epic. It enshrines the miracle of creative work – start with nothing, mess about with it, seize on fragments and work them to smithereens, abandon them maybe, mess around a lot more, write something else, change your mind about a meaning,…

[mightymur]

[ISBW] Spreadsheets, Ghosts, and the Art of Outlining with James L. Sutter

S20 Ep20: In Which Mur and James L. Sutter Discuss Editing, Outlining, and Ghostly Romances “I think that is the beating heart of any novel, is characters changing.”– James L. Sutter Transcript (This post went live for supporters on July 4, 2024. If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon or Substack!) Join Mur and guest James L. Sutter as they delve into the…

[artistnik]

You Asked About Self-Publishing

Peace, this is a long post to answer some questions I’m asked often. Also, info I wish found all in one place. First. Whatever genre you’re writing in, at least peruse books in that genre. Know who the bestsellers are and why.  This is also the first step in finding an agent if you want to be traditionally published. Two. To build an audience research call for submissions on projects in your…

[autumnalwalker]

The Tale of the Merchant and the Blacksmith's Daughter

Wordcount: 2,682 (Story is below the "Keep Reading" line if you want to skip the introduction of meta context.)

This is a story that appeared in @thearchivistsjournal, split into two parts, the first half on Day 98 and the second half on Day 364 as a sort of "story within a story" that the titular Archivist winds up telling. I liked it well enough and it works well enough as a standalone story that it neither dependent on nor particularly spoils anything in The Archivist's Journal that I figured I'd give it its own post with the whole story all in one place (and with some of the Archivist's parenthetical commentary stripped out).

The original way this story came about was that several years ago a friend of mine invited me to a concert/show that a coworker of ours was involved in. The concert was 95% instrumental and 5% chorus singing in a language I don't speak, but the individual songs had English-translation titles in the program pamphlet and a couple of them had brief introductions about the larger works or stories the individual pieces originated from. The two that stood out in my memory (or maybe it was both the same one, like I said, it's been several years) were one involving a blacksmith and his white-haired daughter and one having something to do with a gift found/given during winter. Anyway, this story is the story I made up in my head to go along with the music as the concert progressed. It wasn't until I decided to include it in The Archivist's Journal a few years later that I ever wrote it down or even told anyone about it. Of course, in that writing down it mutated a bit and more specific details got added until it became the story you see before you (beneath the "Keep Reading" line).

I hope you enjoy.

*******

This story starts in a village, not too unlike this Village, but rather than being surrounded by water it lay nestled in a space between mountains.  There were many other villages in this world, most of them similarly isolated.  The roads between, over, and through the mountains were long, winding, and dangerous; haunted by wild animals, malevolent spirits, and ruthless bandits.  But still, these roads were traveled despite the risks, mostly by merchants; people who brought goods and news from afar to trade for local crafts, foods, drinks, and gossip.

As I said, we begin our tale with one such merchant arriving in one such village in the springtime, when the trees bloomed with pink flowers and hid chirping newborn chicks among their branches.  A time when everyone, their pets, and their livestock are all taking any excuse they can to be out and about in the new-returned warmth and sun after months of cold and dark.  The time when everyone is happy to see a merchant after so long without word from beyond their village, for only fools travel in the winter, but when you are used to a thing it becomes strange to go without it and joyous to regain it.

As our merchant passed by the farms and rode into town on a rickety cart pulled by an aging steed, the locals smiled and called out to the young man they saw, and some even stopped their work to follow him to market.  The first merchant to visit the village this season, and a new one at that.  For this was the merchant’s first journey out on his own, and while these villagers had never seen this fresh-faced beardless young man before, neither had he seen the world beyond his home village until now, so he was excited as they.  And a bit afraid although he tried not to show it.

And so the merchant arrived in the village square and there was a sort of music to it all; the babble of the crowd clamouring for the latest news, the calling out of requests for foreign items, the rattling of the cart, the huffing of the merchant’s steed, the clucking of chickens happy to be forgotten for the moment as they pecked at the ground.  And behind it all, keeping the rhythm united, the steady beat of the blacksmith’s hammer.

It was toward the end of that first day when the merchant first caught sight of the blacksmith’s daughter, a beautiful young woman the merchant’s own age with snow-white hair despite her youth.  So distracted was the merchant by the sight of her that he did not notice the mischievous village children unhooking his cart from his steed, nor their unlocking its wheels, nor the steed wandering off.  So it was then that when he went to lean upon the cart to try to look casual when he realized she was leaving her father’s workshop to approach him that the cart began to roll off on its own.

A spectacle of a chase after the cart ensued, ultimately ending with the merchant making a fool of himself and landing in a pigsty.  Not the best first impression on the blacksmith’s daughter.  Perhaps even worse was the complication cleaning this soiled state presented.  For the merchant had a secret.  The merchant was in fact not a young man but a young woman, and in this world, among these villages, it was not considered proper for a woman to be a merchant.  There were many justifications and excuses for this idea, and regardless of the truth of any of them - or lack thereof - what mattered was that people believed them and if the young merchant’s true nature were to be discovered, her life and business would be that much harder.

And so the young merchant found herself gathering her goods, her cart, and her steed and fleeing before getting the chance to truly talk to the blacksmith’s daughter whom she was so smitten with.  And while beauty alone may not be the best reason for attraction, it’s a common enough one, and besides the merchant felt a certain kinship for the white-haired young woman.  By her apron and arms it appeared that she was training to take her father’s place and - while we know such an idea to be foolishness here - in that place blacksmith was not considered a “proper” occupation for a woman either.

As the spring passed into summer, and summer into autumn the merchant’s thoughts would often drift back to that white-haired maiden, and as she went from one village to the next she couldn’t stop comparing them to that first village she visited nor their inhabitants to the blacksmith’s daughter.  She resolved that come next spring she would talk to her for real, and prayed that she was not with another by that time.

Likewise, the blacksmith’s daughter would often surprise herself when her own thoughts drifted back toward the smiling handsome stranger who somehow managed to laugh and joke even while chasing down his runaway cart or lying in mud.  Such thoughts never lasted long as her father would tell her to get back to work and remind her that with no son nor wife he was counting on her to carry on his skills and legacy.

And as winter came the merchant hunkered down in the city and drew up two routes for the coming year, one for if talking to the blacksmith’s daughter went well, in which case she would loop around to visit the village multiple times, and one for if the conversation went poorly, in which case she would avoid that village in the future.  Such planning was perhaps a bit much, but those who are young and infatuated often do many foolish things when they should know better.

Meanwhile back in the village the blacksmith and his daughter enjoyed an evening together under the stars while the townsfolk carried on their festival that was the one bright spot in that dark and cold season.  Standing on a bridge leading to a pavilion in the center of a pond on the edge of the festival grounds, the father revealed that he was ill, and come this time next year - or if he was lucky the one after - he would be needing to pass all his work on to her.  Which made it all the more important that she find and accept a husband so that she might continue the family line.  True, she might not be able to smith while having a child, but a good husband could provide for her until she could again.  And if it happened sooner rather than later, her father could continue helping as well.

This news soured the blacksmith’s daughter’s night in more ways than one.

Such were the affairs weighing on the minds of the merchant and the blacksmith’s daughter as spring returned, and with it, the merchant to that  village.

This time, there were no mishaps with the cart and steed, and  the two of them were able to talk.  First about business and news of the wider world, but then about themselves.  As luck or fate would have it, the two of them did actually enjoy one another’s company.  The merchant’s tales of travel and easy-going demeanor allowed the blacksmith’s daughter to forget her troubles for a time.  The blacksmith’s daughter and stories of village life were a pleasant reminder of the things the merchant had started to miss and grow homesick for after giving them up for a life on the road.

All too soon the time came when the merchant had to move on.  As promises were being made to see one another next spring, if not sooner, the blacksmith’s daughter mentioned her father’s illness and its impact on her own responsibilities.  As she rode away, on to the next village, the merchant thought about the blacksmith’s plight and the symptoms that were mentioned, and she remembered a skilled doctor she had met on last year’s route.  Letting her steed lead the cart on its own she consulted her map and her planned routes and began to make adjustments.  How soon could she get to that doctor’s village and return to this one?  Could she make enough money to pay the doctor for a cure to bring back before getting there?  Could such a route work out before winter?  And wintering in that village was no good, for if a merchant is to do well the next year it was said they must winter in the city where trade never stops, only slows.

Days she spent, revising her route, calculating profits and expenses, time and food.  By the time she reached the second village on her route, she believed she could do it.  There would be little profit in it and far too much time on the road, but it could be done.  Even if it meant a poor bed and lean food that winter in the city.

And so it came to pass that it was only early autumn, when the flowers were gone and the farmers made their harvests among the falling orange leaves that the merchant and the blacksmith’s daughter met once again.  To save the blacksmith’s pride the merchant charged for the medicine of course, but left out that it was far less than it had cost her to acquire.  When asked why she had gone to such lengths, she said that a merchant’s job was not to make money, but to make sure people have the things they need but cannot get themselves, even the needs they didn’t ask for.  She may not have fully believed it herself at the time, but that explanation marked the birth of what would one day become the policy that made her reputation as a merchant.  At any rate, it sounded better than the city.

Alas, if the merchant were to keep herself and her steed fed and housed through the winter, they could not linger.  And so the merchant and the blacksmith’s daughter parted ways again, hoping that by the spring the medicine would have done its work.

That winter, the merchant in the city chose to go hungrier than was perhaps wise while she searched for a gift to bring the blacksmith’s daughter.  Not a practical one, but a flattering one.  Meanwhile the blacksmith’s daughter thought of the merchant only to curse him as the medicine seemed at first to do nothing, or even make her father worse.  And then when her father joined her outside on the night of the winter festival, surprising her after being bedridden for weeks they both praised the doctor who’d made the medicine and the merchant who delivered it.

And so that next spring, happy to see one another again, their friendship began to bloom in full.

At first, when the merchant returned to the village, she was nervous.  What if the medicine had not worked and the blacksmith’s daughter now resented her?  What if the gift she now brought was rejected?  Was she being too forward?

As it happened, these fears were unwarranted.  The blacksmith was more hale and hearty than he had been in years.  And his daughter, already grateful, was delighted with the simple hair ornament the merchant presented to her; ostensibly as thanks for sending her on such a journey that led her to contacts that would be profitable in future seasons.  It was a small, plain thing, for the merchant could not yet afford more, but its color shone brilliantly against a head of white hair and it was most effective at keeping that hair out of the way when working a forge.

As in the last spring, and in springs to follow, the merchant lingered for longer than was profitable in that little village so that she anddaughter might spend as much time in one another’s presence as the sirmitwork.  There came the when she surpassed her father’s skill and took on most of the blacksmith’s work.  But, leave once again the merchant always did, although always with a promise to return.  And return she always did, with news and tales and goods, traded for coin and horseshoes and a nostalgic taste of a slower life.

And so the seasons turned, and with them the years.  The claim the merchant once made to impress the blacksmith’s daughter about her purpose not being money but to fulfill the needs of those who cannot for themselves became a guiding principle in truth.  And in this way she gained a reputation for being fair and compassionate in balance with being cunning and capable.  And in this way she wove a web of connections and esteem greater in value than the coin of any one great trade.  Of course, there was an ever-increasing amount of coin too.

Meanwhile, the blacksmith’s daughter came into her own as well.  There came the day when she matched her father’s skill and took on an equal share of the smithy’s work.  There came the when she surpassed her father’s skill and took on most of the smithy’s work.  There came the day when - to both their surprise - her father received a commission from outside their village.  She smirked as she cursed the merchant for spreading overwrought tales of the talent of a humble village blacksmith and pushed herself to ever further mastery so that she might live up to those tales.  And then surpass them.

And then give the merchant much playful grief over the whole ordeal when she next returned.

Yet, for all the sweetness of those years, there were still the subtle bitternesses.  The merchant still had to pretend to be a man for her own safety and status.  The blacksmith still got the credit for his daughter’s work while asking her more urgently every year when she would find a husband to continue the family line.  And for all the time the merchant and the blacksmith’s daughter spent with one another, growing ever more mutually smitten, neither had the confidence to admit to the other of being more than close friends.

And when at last the merchant shared her secret with the blacksmith’s daughter, her faint hope that one day the merchant would settle down as her husband and fulfill her father’s wish for grandchildren was dashed.  And yet, the revelation left her more smitten still.

So, turned the seasons and years with their bright joys and quiet sorrows, until one hot summer’s day brought a change.

The merchant had stopped at a pool beneath a waterfall, far off enough from the road that she might water her steed and bathe in private.  It was a pool she had stopped at often enough before and had never encountered another, so - for a short time - she allowed herself to relax the guard she kept up on those dangerous roads.  And so she found herself half-disrobed at the water’s edge when the bandits of that place’s wilds set upon her with the hunger of wild animals and the cunning of men.

Now, the merchant was not unskilled at defending herself - one must be capable of such to travel those roads - and indeed she had done so handily in the past more than once, but on this occasion she was caught unawares and with the bandits between her and her bow and her spear.  And so, after trying and failing to reach her armaments, for all it hurt her pride she shouted for help she did not believe would come.

The bandits laughed at her despair.

The merchant steeled herself for her fate.

The wind picked up, carrying with it a scattering of petals and the scent of flowers.

A glint from the forest.

A blur that seemed to ride the wind.

A whistle of sharp metal.

The first of the bandits fell.

The laughter ceased.

The merchant beheld the beautiful swordsman.

His mocking grin drew the enraged bandits unto him.

His dancing feet spiraled amongst them untouched.

His gleaming sword flowed in and out and across.

The last bandit remaining slipped behind the beautiful swordsman.

The merchant cried out a warning.

The blow that would have torn spine from back tore only skin from shoulder.

A final flash and it was over.

A final flourish and the sword was sheathed.

A final flower on the breeze and the air was still.

The merchant and the beautiful swordsman stared at one another for a long moment with no sound but the nearby waterfall.

And then the moment ended as the swordsman winced and gripped his injured shoulder, making a self-deprecating joke about being too reckless and then thanking the merchant for saving his life.  The merchant thanked him for saving hers and began to bandage him up.

While they recovered they talked, and as they talked they found they had much in common.  Both were wanderers of the roads; her to bring people together and him to keep them safe.  Both thought they were the only ones who knew of this pool.  Both knew of the other by reputation, although the merchant’s secret, now revealed, was news to him.  Both had a similar sense of humor and played off one another well.  Both were beautiful, although on this one point the merchant disagreed for none had ever told her such before.

How could she compare to this man who was more beautiful than any she had ever seen?  Who moved with a dancer’s grace?  Who smelled of iron and flowers in bloom?  Who had saved her life?

He smiled and reminded her that she had saved his as well.  And then he offered to show her how she might compare.

She did not object when he moved to kiss her.

Over the days it took to travel to the next village, the beautiful swordsman convinced the merchant to try - just this once - to present herself as a woman while conducting her business.  It was an out-of-the-way place where her wider reputation would not suffer if things went poorly.  To her surprise, it did not.  It was frightening at first, yes, and there was some initial skepticism, true, but she was known here and her skills had not changed with her appearance.

It felt better than she’d expected.  She had not realized how much hiding herself had worn her down.  She knew it was reckless, but she tried it again in the next village.  And the next.  And before she knew it, the rest of her stops on the year’s circuit.

It did not always go so well of course.  Some fell back on old prejudices despite their past relationship and dealings.  Some felt they had been lied to all these years and resented the fact.  But the greater number accepted her as the same merchant who had always served them so well or even befriended them in the past and continued business as usual.  Some even lauded her cleverness in keeping up the ruse for so long or called her brave or skillful at having succeeded so well at a disadvantage.

Although, of course, the merchant knew that having already built up wealth and reputation made things far easier than if she had risked being herself from the start.  And having a famous swordsman at her side as a personal guard didn’t hurt matters either.

If there was one blemish on that unexpectedly exhilarating year, it was the guilt.  The merchant could not help but feeling that she had betrayed the blacksmith’s daughter.  She told herself that since the two of them had never claimed to ever be anything more than close friends, there was nothing to betray.  But the feeling persisted, and so the merchant revised her route so that she would not pass back to her favorite village until she was on her way to the city for the winter.  Of course, that only made the gnawing feeling worse.

When the blacksmith’s daughter next saw the merchant, riding openly as she had only shown herself to her in private and with a beautiful man at her side, she felt a stabbing pain in her chest that she refused to identify.  A moment looked forward to for months, suddenly turned to a fear she dared not name.

Over the following days the time that had once belonged to just the two of them was now shared by the three of them.  Their favorite private place now had a beautiful intruder.  An intruder who was never anything but gracious, and funny, and kind, and infuriatingly hard to resent.

It hurt how happy her best friend was, and she hated that it hurt.  She knew that she should be happy for the merchant’s happiness.  And so that was the face she showed.  A facade that all was right in the world, when every hour she wished that she had spoken her feelings sooner while chiding herself that to voice those words now would be nothing but hurtful selfishness.

And so the blacksmith’s daughter spent those last days of autumn smiling and those last nights silently weeping.

As the merchant returned to the city for the winter with the beautiful swordsman still at her side, she was happy that the two people in the world she cared for most had gotten along so well.

And so again the seasons turned and the years turned with them.  The merchant grew yet wealthier and more connected, while the blacksmith’s daughter became ever more skilled.  Ministers in the city asked the merchant to handle their affairs.  Warriors from afar journeyed to a once little-known village for blades and armor like no other.  Young traders sought out the merchant and asked to work for her.  She gave advice to all but hired none.  Would-be smiths sought out the elderly blacksmith and his white-haired daughter for apprenticeship.  He would take no apprentice but a non-existent grandchild and she sent all away without a word.

Masks cannot hold forever, and lies to oneself can only be believed for so long.  The merchant’s guilt began to gnaw again.  She began to question her relationship with the beautiful swordsman.  Had she made a mistake?  Had she simply done what was easy, useful, and expected?  He was dear to her, and she enjoyed his presence and his touch, and had done so much for her.  He seemed as near to perfect as a mortal man could be.  He had never been anything but loyal to her.  But if he had deeper depths, he never revealed them to her.  So how could she ever truly open up to him in return? 

And why did every visit to the blacksmith's daughter feel so painful these days when all three of them looked and sounded so happy?

Meanwhile, the blacksmith’s daughter closed herself ever further off.  She spoke to no one except her father.  And the merchant and the beautiful swordsman when they visited.  All commissions would go through her father and she would make creations that each put the last to shame without a question of payment or word to the patron.  Suitors stopped calling after a thrown hammer grazed the last one’s ear.

The beautiful swordsman, while a carefree man, was not an oblivious one.  And he knew what he was well enough, perhaps even better than most know themselves.  He knew his bonds were not as strong as most, no matter how easily he formed them, and he had long since made his peace with that.  He saw himself as a simple man of simple pleasures, and saw no shame in that.

He was not unaware of the merchant's growing melancholy, nor was he blind to the masked pain of the blacksmith’s daughter.  Nor the other buried feelings between the two.  He’d hoped all that would either blow up or fade with time, but he hadn’t anticipated it festering this long.

He liked to think he knew when to end a good thing before it goes bad, but admitted to himself that this time he may have been complacent.

And so, one spring day, he sighed to himself and declared he needed a new sword.

Of course, there was only one smith who would do.

It was raining when they arrived in the merchant’s once-favorite village.  She found it fit her melancholy these days.  A place she’d first seen full of light and color, now dim and drab.  She hated that she now felt dread instead of joy in coming here.  She was surprised when the beautiful swordsman said he wished to speak to the blacksmith’s daughter in private about the commission, but secretly relieved.  It was strange though that they talked all day, and through the night.  

She never did learn exactly what they spoke of.

The blacksmith’s daughter did not know what to make of the long conversation herself at first.  Nor of the commission.  Her voice was sore the next day, she had not spoken at such length for… well, she didn’t know how long it had last been.  The next day she did not pick up a hammer.  She only sat, and thought, and paced, and planned.  And then the next day, she worked.  And the next and next until she quenched the metal in her own blood and tears.  Only once her frenzied work was finished did she pause to rest for a moment on the floor of her workshop.  A pause that became a deep sleep.

She never did learn what the merchant and the beautiful swordsman spoke of during those days.

When the merchant woke the next morning, the rain had stopped and the beautiful swordsman was gone.

When the blacksmith’s daughter woke the next morning, the rain had stopped and the sword she made was gone.

The other item from the commission remained.

When the merchant reached the door of the workshop, she hesitated, unsure if she was doing the right thing.

When the blacksmith’s daughter reached the door of the workshop, she hesitated, unsure if she was doing the right thing.

The knock came at the same time the handle turned.

The two of them stared at one another as if for the first time.  

The blacksmith’s daughter invited the merchant inside to see the second half of the beautiful swordsman’s commission.  As they walked through the maze her workshop had become, she nervously explained that the first part of the commission had been the easy one.  Only a blade finer than any seen before, worthy of its own name and stories.  The second half had been the most difficult piece she’d ever attempted to forge.

“Her own heart’s desire.”

The simple hair ornament was a small, plain thing, but it shone brilliantly against a head of graying hair.

[editorauthoranna]

Transform Your Story into a Masterpiece: Discover Curly Quotes Editing!

Hello, my name is Anna, and I’m excited to get to know you and your story! With a decade of experience as an editor, I bring an unparalleled level of expertise and a meticulous eye for detail to every project I undertake.

Whether it's polishing grammar, enhancing sentence structure, ensuring coherence and clarity, or digging into the bones of the story itself, I take pride in my ability to transform raw manuscripts into polished gems. My dedication to excellence and commitment to helping authors achieve their best work have earned me a reputation as a trusted editor, mentor, and friend.

My favorite genres to work with are fantasy, dystopian, post-apocalyptic, and horror. My experience ranges from those to memoirs, thrillers, self-help, short stories, and children's literature.

Contact Curly Quotes Editing today to embark on a collaborative editing journey that will make your novel shine. Together, we'll bring your story to life in ways you never imagined!

Current availability begins in September 2023.

www.curlyquotesediting.com contact@curlyquotesediting.com +56 9 9322 0793 (for WhatsApp only)

[elitheaceofalltrades]

Containment - double drabble (211 words)

A full moon illuminated my room through my window. Usually I would have sat in my window seat awed by its beauty but I was curled into a tight ball on my bed. I was too focused on my own torment to spare the moon a passing glance.

I felt my eyes water as I dig my nails in so tight I felt blood, but I couldn't let he pain bother me. I gasped out, squeezing my eyes closed as I tried to contain the darkness within me. It was impossible to contain, and foolish of me to think that I could do so without the aid of the demon. Yet, I had no choice; if I let it loose then they would find me. I bit the spot above my knee, tears falling as I desperately tried to keep it all in. I was grasping at straws. Despite the blood and pain, despite closed eyes and clenched teeth, I couldn't keep it in.

There was only one thought on my mind as it bursts out of me, unleashing itself. The sheer force of it's freedom causing me to fall flat on my back. As I lay there, slowly losing my grip on consciousness one thought lingered. One single thought.

They're coming.

~Eli

Ace of All Trades, Pro at None😆

Buy me a coffee

[juliangreystoke]

There are so many good reasons to get your book a developmental editor (like me) so why not snag your spot today? I still have openings in July! Message me on Fiverr for details! https://www.fiverr.com/s/rL4gED