Author Inspiration and This Week’s Writing Links

Editing fiction is like using your fingers to untangle the hair of someone you love.

Ciao, amici! Wow, this week blew by. I’m sad to say I didn’t get any words written. Not a single one. Work kept me busy with an editing project. One I expect to finish before the weekend is over. Then maybe I’ll add to my word count.

Like I said, this week was all about editing, so of course that’s what this week’s inspirational quote deals with. These words by Stephanie Roberts really spoke to me.

Editing fiction is like using your fingers
to untangle the hair of someone you love.

If you aren’t an editor, you might not understand. And I’m sure this was about editing her own work. But I find it applies to me and my paycheck job.

I love my clients. I love fiction. If I’m working on it, doing my best to unsnaggle issues and make them pretty again, I try to be careful. Even so, I’m going to suffer a little myself. Sure, the person with the knots (the author) feels the most pain, but any parent can tell you that when the kid is in pain, the parent is, too. And I know when I point out problems to my clients, at least a little part of them is hurt. That was a labor of love, and I’m messing with it. But I think we both agree the end result is worth it.

And I’m beyond grateful; I’ve got amazing clients who I work well with. They help make the process as painless as possible.

So, no, I didn’t add to my new WIP since I submitted my manuscript to the publisher. But all things considered, it was a very productive week.

How was yours? Let’s talk about it.

And now, this week’s writing links:

Posts by me, about my work, or at sites I contribute to:

Story Empire

Posts by others in the industry:

And when you’re done with these links, don’t forget to check out the sidebar, where you’ll find more links to some of my favorite sites.

Have a great week! Arrivederci!

47 thoughts on “Author Inspiration and This Week’s Writing Links”

Add yours

  1. Seems like there’s so much stuff going on, but maybe that’s just stuff in my head 😀 With the release and all the fun that goes with it. I’ve got a quick question for you; I’ll shoot you an email later 🙂

    Have a productive week!

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  3. Reblogged this on The Write Stuff and commented:

    Here’s Staci Troilo’s fabulous Author Inspiration post, complete with links for anything you might have missed on social media this week. Check it out, and share, if you can. Thanks! And thanks to Staci for a wonderful recap! It’s such a huge help! 🙂 ❤

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  6. I love that quote and there’s a lot of truth in it. I had a strange week. Took a day of vacation on Wednesday. Had a power outage at work yesterday and we had to run on emergency generators so I ended up taking a half day. Got a few words written, but not as much as I would have liked. Hopefully, tomorrow will be productive. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  9. I think editing is a labor of love. You want to keep the author’s vision and voice but point out how he can make the manuscript better. And it takes time. No wonder you didn’t get your own words on paper:)

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    1. I absolutely AGONIZE as I edit to make sure I don’t change the author’s voice. That’s my biggest pet peeve when people edit for me. I had one editor who changed almost every line in the first chapter then left me a note telling me she didn’t like the way I wrote so she made it the way she writes. Needless to say, that relationship didn’t last long.

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  10. Editing is not at the top of my list of my own work. I laughed at your comparison to brushing through tangled hair with fingers. At least it looks good when its done no matter how painful the process. I’ve written nothing the last two weeks, but that goes with being sick. I did notice how much I do and what little is produced from that–or my mind has kicked back in which means I’ve almost recovered:) Thanks for all the links and have a great weekend!

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  14. No new words for me either this week. I did a critique for a friend and did a lot of pondering about the WIP, but none of that pondering made it to paper in word form. I hope to be more productive next week.

    And although I’m not an editor, I’m working through edits right now with my publisher, so I fully appreciate the quote!

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  16. What a great quote!

    I’ve been experimenting this week. No word count goals, just process goals. At the very end of the week I will look back and see how the word count turned out. I’m curious to see if focusing on process changes anything.

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  17. I love that metaphor about editing and hair tangles. Having now been on the end of my own editing red pen marks and a couple of critiques, I fully appreciate the similarities 🤗
    Good luck next week in getting some words down 😊

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    Reply

    1. I no longer have to do my daughter’s hair, but I remember the struggles. I also remember being on the receiving end of the brush and comb when I was young. Both situations were painful.

      Might I recommend detangle spray? They didn’t have it when I was young, but I could have (should have) bought it by the truckload for my little girl.

      Liked by 1 person

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