Mister Revision. I hate that guy. Like his identical twins -- edit, rewrite, and tweak -- he wastes my time and keeps me from doing the things I want to do.

Sadly, as you all likely know, revision is a fundamental aspect of writing. If there is such a thing as a writing prodigy, I'm clearly not one of them and, while I have no statistics,  I doubt there are many writers who are.

So this "revision" thing is a necessity. Fine. But how do you do it without getting trapped in Revision Hell (ie being stuck in a never-ending revision process)?

There are MANY articles online that have suggestions on how to keep from straying into the bad lands -- but I wish to focus on one particular area that has come up in my writers group several times:

When should revisions start?

Like many a writer before me, I've fallen into the trap of revising before it was time. I realize there are many schools of thought on when that appropriate time is, but for me, the only time its appropriate to do any kind of revision is...

WHEN THE FIRST DRAFT IS DONE!

I have seen and experience the hell that is being stuck in an infinite loop of revision the same chapter, section -- hell, even paragraphs during the first draft process. My trouble zone was the first chapter, especially those pesky opening lines. I'd get stuck for days, weeks, even months on trying to make it perfect -- when I should have been focusing my time on getting the story written.

Why?

Because the story, once fully written, might require changes to be made to the beginning, even the first few lines of the story. So all that time revising could and, likely would, end up being a complete waste if the unfinished story requires something different in the end.

My advice to anyone who's writing a first draft: Do not revise until the first draft is finished!
Hopefully, that tidbit of advice saves you from the hell most writers have to experience firsthand before they will take action to avoid it.

Editing is not my favorite thing to do. But unlike a writing prodigy, I have learned my first drafts are just not good enough for general consumption (and has led to indigestion by those who dare try).
 
As part of my editing checklist, I have created a listing of phrases or words to seek out (and possibly destroy) in order to tighten up my prose and, hopefully, make my drivel somewhat tolerable.
 
Below is a listing of those words/phrases and a quick description as to why I seek them out.  They are ordered, first to last, in regards to what I feel are the most important to destroy.
 
 
NOTE: The list below carries the following caveats:

• Dialog: The suggestions do not necessarily apply to dialog. If the dialog sounds natural or the word choice is intentional, I say leave it be.
• Research: These are only suggestions based on years of researching the art of writing. I do not claim these suggestions are right or wrong, they are simply what I use when editing.

 
 
Words To Consider Cutting:

1. “LY” words: Words ending in “LY” are often adverbs and typically “tell” rather than “show”. My research has shown that LY words should be used SPARINGLY, for example, when timing is of the essence and you need a quick hitting word vs more lengthy prose. But in general, LY words tend to be something to hunt down and destroy when and where possible. Example:
   • He ran quickly across the yard.
   • vs: He sprinted across the yard.
2. Was, were: While not always true, I find was/were and their variants often point to passive sentences. The occasional passive sentence can work. But most of the advice I have read points to cutting them WAY down and that editors will often look at the number of Was/Were’s as an indicator of how passive someone’s writing is.  Example of passive:
   • The car was chased by the dog.
   • vs The dog chased the car.
3. Was, were, being, be, been, am, is, are when combined with an adjective: A single, powerful verb is typically stronger than any of the above combos. Example:

• She was sad at having to sit in the corner.
• She sulked at having to sit in the corner.

1. Very: Similar to “LY” words, if you need to add emphasis in a sentence, use strong wording vs a weak adverb like “very”. Lots of editors HATE the word “very.”
2. There was: This combo is ripe for swapping out. Example:
   • There was a thick cloud of insects that darkened in the sky.
   • A thick cloud of insects darkened the sky.
3. That: Again, while this word is very natural in dialog/speech, THAT is often unnecessary and removing it can make a sentence is stronger. If removing THAT makes the sentence read poorly, then leave it in or substitute in a coma. Example of a cut option:
   • Tim could see (that) his life was in danger.
4. OUT or UP: When used to add emphasis, these words are typically unnecessary. Example:
   • When to cut: He stood (up).
   • When not to cut: He wanted to cheer (up), but couldn’t.
5. Began or Start: Unless you need to show simultaneous action (such as: Just as she started to cook, a lizard jumped on her back), remove “begins to/began to” or “start to/started to” as they are just extra words that serve no apparent purpose. Just have your character do what they need to do versus begin to do it. Example:
   • He began to run. à He ran.
6. Again; once again: Don't overuse these.
7. Still or Yet: Again, just don't overuse these.
8. Filter words: Action words that serve no other purpose than to state what can already be surmised by the content.

 
Sentence example:

• On the horizon, he saw a silver rocket lifting into the clear blue sky.
• On the horizon, a silver rocket lifted into the clear blue sky.

 
Typical filter words:

• see, saw; look, looked
• feel, felt
• taste, tasted
• hear, heard
• smell, smelled

 
Filter words are not always something to cut. If they show an action that elicits a specific feeling or message, then you could leave them in. For example:

• Tim trembles more and more with every step towards the haunted house. Before entering, he peers over his shoulder one last time to his hopeful parents before…

 
 
Words that need a closer look:

1. Dead verbs: If a verb requires an adverb in order to make it clear or interesting, then there is probably a stronger verb you can utilize to better convey the action. Examples of dead verbs:
   • walked      vs    ambled, tiptoed, stomped
   • run, ran    vs    sprinted, streaked, flew
2. Would, should, could – These words can often create a passive sentence.
   • "Tim could feel the stink in his eyes.”  
   • vs "The stink filled Tim’s eyes."

There are times, however, when these words are necessary. For example, to show a choice being made:

• Tim could have jumped in to save her, but he didn’t want to get wet.

1. There, It: If a sentence begins with `There'' or ``It'', they can typically benefit from revision. Example:
   • There was a bloody knife in her hand. It didn’t seem not possible she could have stabbed him.
   • vs: Blood dripped from a knife in her hand. How could she have stabbed him?
2. While: Writers use it frequently as a substitute for “and” or “but,” but I’ve seen references that indicate a semicolon is preferred vs “while.”
3. Not: Avoid telling the reader “not” to do something. It is better to express a negative in positive form. Example:

• not real                      fake
• did not remember              forgot

1. As “noun/pronoun” combo: Avoid excessive combos (such as: "as she" or “as Tim”) as they are often unnecessary and often makes a sentence read bland. Example:

• "Tim paid for the movie ticket as he thought about how Gina dumped him.”
• vs “Tim paid for the movie ticket, unable to stop thinking about how Gina dumped him.”

1. –ing words:  Watch out for words ending in “ING” within the first clause of a sentence as it implies a simultaneous action. This is a problem if the two actions cannot be done at the same time.  For example:
   • “Tying her shoe, she jumped up and ran across the room.” Don’t think someone can tie their shoes and run at the same time.
   • After tying her shoe, she jumped up and ran across the room.”
2. -ness  words: A substitute for thinking of the right word. "Darkness," "unhappiness," and such come of tacking -ness (or occasionally - ion) onto words. There's often a better answer. Use it as needed.

 

So you want to be a published author, to be bathed in the glory and riches (there are riches, right?) that comes with seeing your name printed alongside the perfection of your story. However, you may have heard that getting published is not necessarily an easy task, that it takes something called “hard work” and “persistence” and that you have to be prepared to {gasp}… wait.

And you wonder: Are there any secrets to help speed this all along?

I believe there are!

Admittedly, I am still a lowly “wannabe”, an unpublished writer who's still seeking the elusive “publishing credit.” Like many of you (at least, I hope there are “many of you” reading this), I’ve struggled over the years to achieve this prize due to a number of factors: no time, no inspiration, no support, etc.

Secret number 1: Recognize the excuses for what they are.

I admit that some of the "factors" that keep us from writing (like those listed above) can be legitimate roadblocks at times. But most, if not all of them are only temporary or can be worked around.

Once I accepted those "factors" as excuses, they no longer had the power to force me into procrastination. I was able to focus on what I wanted to accomplish vs focusing on all the things that stood in my way.

Secret number 2: Keep at it!

Thomas Edison is quoted as saying: Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.

Applied to the craft of writing, I feel he's telling us that our great story idea is not enough, that we must get serious about with our writing.

Over the past twenty plus (damn, did I just say twenty plus?), my commitment to writing has ebb and flowed. Sometimes I couldn’t pull myself away from the keyboard. Other times, months would go by without even a second thought given to writing. And never once did I ever send my work out for publication. Hell, I barely let anybody I know one even see the drivel I managed to spew out.

Given my poor focus (ie lack of perspiration), is it any surprise that I am still unpublished after twenty plus years?
Last year, I finally decided to “get serious” with this whole writing thing, to actually show more than just the occasional bout of “hard work” and to display some actual “persistence” for once. Here’s what “serious” looked like for me:

1. Read: The number one piece of advice (or at least in the top 3) from any established writer is to read, read, READ! Not only in the genre you want to write in, but across the board. Read the good, the bad, and even some ugly. You read to enjoy it, but also to learn from it. If you find things that work or don’t work for you, reflect on why and how you can incorporate that into your own creations.  For me, I plunked down a little change and subscribed to several digital magazines that produced content monthly in order to get a fresh supply of current stories in my favorite genres. I also committed to read at least one novel every month or so (I’d prefer more, but my life is too hectic for anything more).
2. Write: This should be obvious, but the only way you will get published is to write. Get yourself on a schedule. Put words down on paper, even when you are not “inspired.” Write to the very end and only go back for edits once the rough draft is finished. Otherwise, you may and likely will get stuck within revision hell (most often in chapter one), preventing you from ever finishing your rough draft. Just make notes along the way as to what changes could be made later and focus all your efforts on finishing.
3. Build an online presence: I plunked down real money (about $300 for a 3 year domain name registration and hosted website) to build out an author site, even though I hadn’t published one darn thing. Why? Because nearly every “how to get published” article indicated that establishing an online presence is a key ingredient to the publishing soup. I also started it because I needed to have some skin in the game (in this case, cash I spent) to force me to keep moving forward. There are MANY articles on how to create an author website, and it’s not very hard to do. In fact, you can get started for free on most hosting sites (like Wordpress, Weebly, etc), then convert/redirect to a paid website later.
4. Start a writing blog: Given I am unpublished, I feel rather sheepish about posting articles on writing. I mean, who the hell am I to speak towards something I've not been recognized for, right? Ultimately, blogging is not just for those who have made it, but also those on the journey. I have an opinion, as well as many experiences about writing that may actually help someone, or at least, be somewhat “interesting” to the world. The point is to share your thoughts and hopefully draw people to you. Having a following allows you to tout your marketability to potential publishing agencies, making your job easier in the long run.
5. Join/Start a writing group: This has got to be the biggest commitment I’ve ever made to my writing. Not only do I regularly attend a weekly writing group, where we share our collective works, but I also created the group itself! This alone helped me kill three birds with one stone: it got me over my anxiety about sharing my work, led to immediate improvement in my writing ability (at least, I feel it did), gave me to read the good, the bad, and even a few uglies!
6. Get help: Besides my writers group, I also enlisted a few friends to be beta readers, and even hired an editor. Editors are not cheap and it can be hard to find a good one. I searched the interwebs for freelance editors and got lucky in finding a good one right off the bat. He’s not cheap, but also not expensive. In short, I’m making it work and his advice has really helped to strengthen my work. The cost is around 3-4 cents a word. Start saving your pennies and give it a go. At minimum, you hopefully learn something new to incorporate into your work and can chalk it up as an educational expense.
7. Send it out: (*ignoring self-publishing for the moment) Another obvious step, but in case you didn’t know it, you typically have to submit your work to publishers before they will actually publish it. Shocking, I know. But stories will not jump off your shelf and walk into an editor’s hands on their own. Sadly, lots of stories die at this juncture due to an unreasonable level of self-doubt. To that, I say BALDERDASH! ßtruly a fun word, we should use it more often!Once you’ve got your story solidified (ie it’s been revised, gone through some beta readers, and now changes just feel like rearranging words vs anything substantial), build up the courage and send it out to a publisher. There are many guides on how to do this properly (manuscript formatting, cover letters, where to find publishers, publisher requirements, etc), so take some time and learn how to do it right. But once you got that figured out, send out your work!
   
8. Cross your fingers: The most unfortunate aspect of going through a traditional publisher is getting a rejection. Sadder still is the fact that most rejections have nothing to do with you, your writing ability, or the story you have created. I’ve collected nearly 20 rejections on 3 short stories. At first it hurt. But now, I’ve grown what I think is a healthy level of numbness to them. They come in, I mark the rejection in my tracking spreadsheet, then I send the story out to the next publisher. If they gave me any comments, I definitely give them some consideration. But at minimum, I don’t let a rejection end it all. I’ve put too much time and effort in giving the story life to let one group’s opinion kill it off.*Right now I am focusing on getting published in the traditional world, but will likely consider self-publishing in the near future. I highly recommend everyone take a look at self-publishing as a means to get your stories into the world.

Secret number 3: Have a little faith.

Good things come to those who wait...and even better things come to those who put in a lot of hard work and time beforehand!

Even after twenty some rejections, once I finish posting this article, I plan to send my next short story into the world and, with a little luck, my first publishing credit will be right around the corner!

If you stuck with the article this long and still have some life left in you, please take a moment to like my Facebook page or leave a comment.


Thank you,
Timothy A. Fenner

As a follow-up to a prior blog post on writing groups (are evil… or are they), here’s a quick rundown of the key factors which are necessary (IMHO) when forming a successful writer’s group.
Before we begin, please note that every writer’s group varies — in personality, needs, format, expectations, etc — and I doubt there is a magic standard to fit all scenarios. That said, look for TIMMY TIP’s for examples of how my group does things.


PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL PRESENCE: While it’s not absolutely necessary to do both, I highly recommend that you establish both an online (virtual) and physical (in-person) presence for your writers group:

• Online tools (virtual) will help you to manage the group/ and coordinate events, as well as getting discovered by other writers seeking to join a group.
• Meeting in person (physical) helps to build raptor and understanding with other writers. Just be sure the venue supports the number of people in your group and provides at least a semi-private area, one free from notable distractions. Best to call ahead to make sure the venue is open to hosting your group, as you may be sitting there for a few hours!

TIMMY TIP: My group utilizes Meetup.com to build up our group and organize  events, and Google Drive for sharing our work and other writing-related content. Note — I am in no way affiliated with these services and there are MANY other options to choose from. These are simply the two my group uses and it works for our needs. 
Oh, and we meet consistently at a local coffee shop!  :-)


GROUP SIZE:  You will likely have to gauge the appropriate number as you go along, but make sure to monitor the number of participants as it can dilute the feedback and author relationships.
TIMMY TIP: We like eight, as it allows for attendance to ebb and flow, yet maintain close relationships between the authors.


GROUP EXPECTATIONS: The key to any productive group is to establish expectations upfront. This includes but may not be limited to:

• The theme or goals of this group: The theme of your group will dictate what everyone is supposed to do and what they are not supposed to do.

TIMMY TIP: The sole purpose of our group is to help one another improve and to get published. We do this by sharing feedback, resources and ideas. We are not a socializing group.  In fairness, we do socialize, but everyone is well aware that socializing will be cut off if it interfere’s with the group’s primary goals.

• Membership requirements: If you’re open to everyone, you may not get the level or type of feedback you or your group needs. If you restrict membership to only those with certain qualifications, you may limit the level of perspectives looking over your work and/or have difficulty in locating members.

TIMMY TIP: Our group is open to all. We like the broad range of perspectives each individual brings, whether they are a newbie or published. 

• Genre and type of writing restrictions: I recommend limiting the scope to ensure that the feedback is targeted and to ensure enthusiasm from all participant. Example: Sci-fi nerds are not likely to read a bodice-ripping romance novel on their own, so it’s probably safe to say they won’t be thrilled with the prospect of critiquing someone’s attempt at writing it.

TIMMY TIP: While our group is open to all levels of author, we do limit the genres to just SciFi, Horror, Fantasy (swords and sorcery, not fifty shades of perversion), and we focus solely on short stories and novels, not screenplays, poetry, or other forms.

• Participation commitment: Every writer has their own level of commitment to writing, let alone availability to write and/or take part in a writer’s group. This question is critical for the group’s success as it will set the bar for how much is expected of each individual. How often are members expected to attend a meeting? How many times can someone not attend or participate before they are booted from the group?

TIMMY TIP: Our group has weekly meetings and it helps to keep our membership engaged and focused on writing. This may be too aggressive for most, so every other week or monthly meetings may help keep members engaged. 

• Acceptable tools: You may wish to limit how work is shared (for instance, not allow print-outs, digital only), or restrict the group to using a specific set of tools or programs to ensure consistency.

TIMMY TIP: As mentioned earlier, my group utilizes Google Drive and Meetup.com, but we also standardized on MS Word (or any application that can produce DOC or DOCX files and maintain markups and comments). Again, not affiliated with Micro$oft in any way, just mentioning what works for our group.


FEEDBACK GUIDELINES: This is a major factor in the success of a writer’s group. From the beginning, everyone needs to understand what constitutes an acceptable form of feedback. This helps to also establish how much time and effort is expected when critiquing a fellow author’s piece. Without guidelines, your group will not be able to maintain any consistency in the level and type of feedback given. Common factors within feedback guidelines include:

• Number expectations on the giving and receiving of feedback. For example, does your group allow people to just submit without ever providing a critique?  Or should there be some level of tit-for-tat at play, in which a member only gets what they are willing to give (ie you give a critique, you get a critique). You may even wish to implement a tracking system to know who owes who a critique to keep things fair and avoid the potential for resentment.
• A reminder that providing a good critique helps them as much as it helps the author.
• Reading a piece all the way through one time without entering any critiques in order to experience the piece as an “ordinary reader” before putting on author or editor glasses.
• Be specific in feedback and provide relevant examples.
• Start with the strengths, then offer thoughts on weaknesses and problem areas using positive language.

LEADERSHIP TIPS:
Whether you want it or not, you will likely be looked upon as a leader in this group considering you create it. This should not scare you off, but instead, reinforce the idea that you are committed to improving your writing that you are willing to brave the barbs and arrows that will fly in your direction. If you haven’t ran for the hills yet, here’s some final points to take with you:
Establish a co-leader: Someone in your group should be designated as your backup, at minimum, for emergency situations where you are not available — such as you winning the lottery and running away to Tahiti (not that you wouldn’t invite your group to come visit later).
Regularly attend meetings: If you don’t, others will question your engagement or worse, start to emulate you!
Be aware of lulls in attendance: The members of your group have lives, which will often kick them where it hurts and prevent them from attending every meeting or stop them from critiquing everyone’s work. In the first year, you’ll likely see a lot of members come and go before the membership stabilizes. It took four months for the core of my group to form.
Accept quitters happen: Not everyone will be able to commit to the group’s requirements. Could be a change in their life, attitude, or otherwise pulls them away. Just wish them well and move on. Don’t spiral into depression, even if they were your favorite member.
Don’t hesitate to drop the ax: Your group will not be a good fit for everyone. If someone is not meeting with the expectations of the group, give them a warning, then cut them if they don’t change their ways. It’s better for EVERYONE involved, even if the one being cut doesn’t see it.
Finally, take a gut check before starting anything:

• TIME & EFFORT: Can you devote yourself to starting and maintaining this group? If you barely find time to write, let alone attend a meeting with other writers, you probably should just join another group versus start one yourself. The time commitment at first is notable (e.g. to setup virtual workspaces/tools, market the group, build out the requirements, etc), but once things get going, there’s not much to do besides maintain a few areas.
• CONTROL: Do you have the chops to reign in people if they go off track? Are you able to coordinate events.
• PRIDE: Check your pride at the door and allow your group to vote on what works best for the majority — even if you feel it’s not the best course for you. You will hopefully find the proposed change does work and benefit from it later.

I hope this information leads you to forming the best group possible. If you have any other thoughts or ideas to share, please leave a comment. IN A FUTURE POST, I will upload copies of the guidelines, rules, and other content used by my group as possible templates you can use for your own needs!

Search the Interwebs for “critique group” or “writers group” and you will undoubtedly find an assortment of content on the subject, from the benefits of writer collaboration, to what groups are available, and even how to find the right group for you. You will also find, however, strongly voiced opinions on how “evil” critique groups are and the dangers of joining them.

So are critique groups good or evil?

Personally, I feel the truth lies somewhere in-between. When I first started my journey into the wilds of writing, I took a few classes, read some “how to write” guides, and followed a number of “experts” online who professed to know the secrets of getting published. All of this accumulated “knowledge” convinced me that I could write a story reasonably well and didn’t need much input from others to get it ready for prime time — or at least, not have it come out like a steaming pile of $#1+!

After writing two full-length novels (both that will likely never leave the dungeons I’ve thrown them into), I decided to take the plunge and actually show my work to other authors in order to see how great my writing truly was.

(Spoiler alert — my greatness wasn’t so great at all. Quite horrendous, in fact. Shocker, right?)

Using a myriad of online critique groups, I unveiled my greatness to a varying levels of writers — from professional writers to fellow amateurs. While nervous, I still felt relatively confident that my work was pretty solid and worthy of being read by the masses…

Sadly, it only took the first round of critiques to realize I was no writing prodigy. I would need a lot of help if I wanted to make a go at this “writing thing.”

I continued with the online critique groups for several years, uploading content every now and again as my schedule or muse would allow. Overall, I found the experience generally positive, though a few people had gone to the dark side when providing feedback (e.g. your work is drivel), which made me seriously question the value of critique groups. This is where I feel most negativity towards critique groups comes from and why there are a lot of people who despise them so passionately.

Thankfully, I didn’t let the negative stop me. I forged on, confident that the more eyes I had on my work, the more likely the work would turn out better overall. And more importantly, I was learning an absolute TON about what works and what doesn’t.

Critiquing the work of others is FREE TRAINING!

After awhile, I found the impersonal nature of online groups prevented me from receiving the level of engagement and feedback I desired, such as taking into account my style of writing or engaging other writers in topics beyond the small chunks we get to critique. Nor did it push me to keep writing, to overcome the procrastination that so often took hold over me.

I decided to throw caution to the wind and join a local writing group. THE HORROR! Searching the Interwebs, I found several groups that fit the bill for me (Sci-Fi, easy driving distance, regular meetings, and no reading stories aloud — YICK!). However, every one of them had closed their doors to new members.

Undeterred, I used an online tool to find other authors and setup my own damn writing group.

Not that it’s an easy choice, as it takes a bit of promotion to draw in other authors of your ilk (if the tool you use doesn’t draw them in automatically). You need to create a format and schedule that works for the group, not just you, and you have to be willing to lead when the time dictates (ie keeping people on task vs allowing a meeting to squirrel all over the place). You have to be willing to cut those who are hurting the group.

The benefits, however, outweigh those negatives without question. You and your group control the entirety of the experience. If something doesn’t feel right, you work together and change it. It took several months before my group really hit its stride. During that time, we locked in several committed members, those willing to attend as many meetings as possible. We had to work through some rough areas in order to smooth out the process of getting the authors WHAT THEY WANTED vs just griping about what we didn’t like about an author’s work (which sadly is what some groups do).
In short, I get to attend a critique group that meets every single requirement I have, gets me feedback from people who know me and my style, and provides me with in-depth critiques vs the half-ass jobs you get from those who are not invested in your success (like anonymous online critique groups).

In short(er still) — Critique groups can be evil. If you don’t like what you are finding, consider creating your own and work hard to prevent it from turning evil.

Best of luck to you in your critique group search!

-- Timothy A Fenner

Every writer has a story.  (Shocking bit of insight, no?)

This undeniable fact does not, however, mean every story will find itself written--fully or otherwise. Some stories demand to be told and leap out when given the chance. Others need to be coaxed out, often over decades, only finding completion after the author has shriveled into a dry, shallow husk.

Regardless of how they get written, the key is the stories GET WRITTEN.

Search the Interwebs, chat with published authors, talk to anyone in the business, and you will most certainly hear the same message over and over: The stories published today all share one thing in common... They got written.


The stories published today are not necessary the best (especially in the self-published realm), but at least they all had an author who was unwilling to give up, who kept pushing the pen, tapping the keys and working to breath life into their ideas.

So to all ye procrastinators, nay-sayers and never-starts... I say unto you -- JUST WRITE!

The rest will work itself out!  :-)