Authors, Kai Strand & LA Dragoni

Welcome to the last week of the #InkRipples revision workshop. I hope you’ve found the revision tips and exercises fun and enlightening. If you missed the last three week’s tips and exercises, be sure to hop on over when you’re done here.  Revision Tip #7 Double check the end of each chapter to make sure it lures the reader to continue. Then double check the beginning of each chapter to make sure it stands on it’s own. As often as possible, you want the end of each chapter to be a mini cliff hanger. There are times where the actions slows to a logical end and a cliff hanger would feel wrong, but in order to keep your reader turning pages you want them to think, “Crud! What happens next?” Or, “Oh my gosh, what is he going to do when he finds out she did that?” Keep them turning pages until the wee hours of the morning. ;) However the beginning of the chapter shouldn't start in the middle of action and should establish who is in the scene. Even if the chapter be...

Welcome back for another week of #InkRipples revision workshop. I thought it would be fun to not only offer revision tips throughout the month, but to also stage some revision exercises. If you missed the last two week’s tips and exercises, be sure to hop on over when you’re done here. Revision Tip #5 Read backward. Start at the last chapter, revise it. Go to second last, revise it…etc. Don’t actually start at the last word and work your way to the first. Too hard. However, by reading backward you will avoid getting caught up in the story making it easier to spot mistakes. Revision Tip #6 During one of your revision passes: make a timeline. It is so distracting for a reader when your calendar doesn’t add up. If you mention that two weeks has passed and then the character refers to an event as having just happened yesterday, you lose your reader. If you have a pregnant character who is sporting a full belly after only a few months – problem. Timeline inconsistenc...

I'm super excited to share my good writing buddies new book cover for her upcoming middle grade novel, Pirate Island. I met Katie through MuseItUp Publishing. She edited my middle grade, Beware of the White. I LOVED working with her. Then her book, Elixir Bound came out and I loved it too. I've had the privilege of critiquing a version of another young adult novel she currently has out on submission - that I STILL think about more than a year later. She's that good. In other words, put Pirate Island high up on your to-read list. I am! PIRATE ISLAND by Katie L. Carroll ( katielcarroll.com ) Cover Illustration by Susan Tait Porcaro ( susantaitporcaro.com ) Coming October 2017! PIRATE ISLAND blurb: A thrice cursed island, a legendary pirate treasure, and one not-so-brave boy. What could possibly go wrong? For centuries, the whereabouts of Captain William Kidd’s lost pirate treasure has remained a mystery. When Billy’s best friend, Andy, proposes they...

This month’s #InkRipples topic is revision. I thought it would be fun to not only offer revision tips throughout the month, but to also stage some revision exercises. So, I’m hosting the first ever #InkRipples Workshop! If you missed last week’s tips and exercise, be sure to hop on over when you’re done here. I promised murder and mayhem, didn’t I? Revision Tip #3 (Murder) Kill your darlings. I don’t mean Dumbledore. Somewhere along the way this saying became misinterpreted as killing off characters. What it really means is to cut the excess. Authors tend to love their words. Too much. Part of a good revision is to know when you have too many words in a section. The first novel I wrote was my middle grade novel Beware of the White (currently unpublished, but stay tuned for a re-release and series expansion – finally!) This novel was all passive voice all the time and required a heck of a lot of revision. My first draft was over 85,000 words. The published version was...

This month’s topic of revision comes at a perfect time for me because I am getting ready to start revisions myself. I thought it would be fun to not only offer revision tips throughout the month, but also stage some revision exercises. So loosen up those revision fingers ladies and gents, because you are participating in the first ever #InkRipples Workshop . Free of charge no less. You lucky little devils! Revision Tip #1 The first thing you need before you start your revisions is a completed first draft. That might sound obvious, but there are people who revise while drafting. Don’t. It’s a waste of time. For your revisions to be good and useful you need to know the full story arc and how each character contributes to it. My advice is to put that time to better use by continuing that draft! Revision Tip #2 Second tip to productive revisions: Time away. Rapacious readers demand faster publications from their favorite authors, so it’s easy to get swept up in their fur...