Editing Nirvana

by Peg Brantley
Evocative Characters. Intriguing Crime. Compelling Stories.




I received my edits back from my editor, Peggy Hageman, Tuesday morning. (Peggy edited the Edgar nominated The Queen of Patpong by Timothy Hallinan. By way of clarification, we've both agreed that I'm not Tim, but that's another topic.) Receiving her edits was the good news. The bad news?

A two hour dental appointment followed by a three hour root canal with an endodontist who happened to have an opening that afternoon. Where is delayed medical attention when you want it?

My post on Facebook indicated that I'd rather be going through my edits. One commenter said:

Somehow the comparison of edits to dental work (i.e., pulling teeth) is rather appropriate.

She was kidding of course, but it made me want to talk about how much I love this part of the process.

Actually, there's not a bit of this writing schtick I hate, including marketing (although marketing is at the very bottom of my Love List). Each piece has elements of excitement and challenge. and each phase demands my attention, and sometimes blind faith.

This professional edit part is where a kind-of-okay story gets bigger and better. Where the flat places are fluffed up and the holes are fixed and the unsatisfactory bits are either made brilliant or they're cut. The incredible skill of one editor is going to bring my sweaty effort, currently wearing dirty and tattered workout clothes, to something ready to walk out on the dance floor wearing the sexiest gown on the planet.

My first book, Red Tide, was edited by Harvey Stanbrough. He was the perfect editor for that book. My second book, The Missings, was edited by blogmate Jodie Renner. She was the perfect editor for that book. I've been blessed to be able to find the right editor at the right time.

Readers, do you know how important an editor is?

Writers, do you love this part as much as I love it?

I swear I can hear the orchestra tuning up...

Chatting with Thriller Authors Joe Moore and Lynn Sholes, Pt. I

Interview by Jodie Renner of the co-authors of The Blade and other thrillers    

Part I – The Challenges and Rewards of Co-Authoring a Novel    

A few months ago, I had the privilege of editing The Blade, an excellent thriller by Lynn Sholes and Joe Moore. This was my first experience working with two authors simultaneously on one book, and I worried that it might be too complicated, but the collaboration went very smoothly! I can’t imagine co-authoring a book, so I was curious about how the process works for them. – Jodie Renner

JR: Welcome to Crime Fiction Collective, Lynn and Joe. Your new thriller, The Blade, has only been out on Amazon for two weeks and it has already garnered several glowing 5-star reviews. It promises to be a huge hit, and I feel honored to have worked with two such talented authors on the final tweaks and polishing of this riveting international thriller.

So how did you two end up co-writing, anyway?

Lynn: Joe and I belonged to the same writing critique group that met every week.  During the middle of each session we’d take a break and we’d all chat.  Sometimes we’d share ideas about other projects we’d like to do.  I had this idea about a book I wanted to write, but it wasn’t in my comfort range because of the genre.  Joe thought it was a great idea, and after a year or so, he finally threatened me that if I didn’t write the book, then he would.  We decided to give co-writing a whirl.

That produced THE GRAILCONSPIRACY, our first collaboration, which did very well. It was ForeWord Magazine’s book of the year and an international bestseller. So far, it’s been translated into 24 languages.

JR: Really? That’s impressive! Congratulations!

 

JR: What about the logistics of it all? How do two people write fiction together?

Lynn: I can only vouch for what Joe and I do. At first it was very difficult, not because we disagreed on anything, but rather because our styles and voices were so different. Joe wrote male action-adventure with a very bold voice. I wrote historical fiction with a more lyrical voice. So blending took a lot of work, but we stayed with it. As a matter of fact, friends are always guessing which line one of us wrote. They’re usually wrong, but we never tell. As far as the mechanical process, we do outlining and brainstorming so we know the story. Either of us could write it. Then whoever feels they have the best handle on a scene takes on the first draft of that scene. We send it back and forth for revisions. Using Dropbox makes it easier. We drop a file in the shared Dropbox folder and voilà! The other picks it up.

JR: Dropbox – hmmm… I’ll have to find out more about that…

 

JR: For The Blade, I love your main characters, Maxine Decker and Kenny Gates, and their story was fascinating! And multi-faceted! Not to mention whisking readers to all those interesting locations. Where do your ideas come from?

Joe: An idea that sparks a story can come from anywhere, anytime. Movies, newspapers, magazines, other books. What we look for is the seed that grabs our attention. Our first book written together came from an article in Discover Magazine about a cup found by an archeologist in Israel. He believed it was the Holy Grail and subsequently discovered that traces of blood residue were present. Could it have been the blood of Christ? What if someone used the DNA to clone Christ? The result was our first thriller written together, THE GRAIL CONSPIRACY. An article I stumbled across on the Internet about the Germans working on an atomic bomb at the end of WWII prompted our latest thriller, THE BLADE.

JR: Do you revise as you go along or when the novel is complete?

Joe: Because there are two of us and we exchange drafts of each chapter many times, the revision process is ongoing, with the final one after input from our editor. By the way, Jodie, we liked your process of editing in sections as we go along. That way we could change future sections before you got to them, based on suggestions on earlier sections.

 

JR: Some authors write long chapters and some write short ones.  You seem to favor short chapters.  Can you explain why you use that technique?

Joe: Most of our chapters average 1000 words. We do that to keep the reader turning the pages. If they see that the next chapter is only a couple of pages long, they will decide to read just one more. And then one more.

 

JR: Do you ever have writer’s block? If so, how do you handle it?

Lynn: Because Joe and I write together, I don’t think we’ve ever had writer’s block. Having a brainstorming partner tends to prevent that. Of course we have plot issues we have to work out, but not true writer’s block. One thing we have learned is that when you come to a stumbling block and don’t feel you are writing the best that you can, write through it and something will eventually pop up. That’s the beauty of knowing that there comes a time that is devoted to revision.

 

JR: It’s obvious from reading The Blade that you are both not only accomplished writers, but passionate about producing compelling, suspenseful fiction. What do you love most about writing?

Joe: Entering into the “zone” where you lose track of time and place as the words flow freely.

JR: The “zone” – ahh, that coveted place all authors wish for every day…  

Readers and writers - do you have any questions for Lynn and Joe about their process or novels?

Part II of this interview, Learning the Craft and Indie Publishing, appears here tomorrow, March 3. See y’all there!

Lynn Sholes & Joe Moore are the international bestselling authors of THE GRAIL CONSPIRACY (#1 Amazon Kindle bestseller), THE LAST SECRET, THE HADES PROJECT, THE 731 LEGACY, THE PHOENIX APOSTLES (#1 Amazon Kindle bestseller), and their latest, THE BLADE. Their thrillers have been translated into 24 languages including Chinese, Russian and Greek. Visit them at: http://www.sholesmoore.com.

 

Jodie Renner is a freelance fiction editor specializing in thrillers and other crime fiction,  and she also writes craft-of-fiction articles and books. Jodie’s website: www.JodieRennerEditing.com. Jodie’s books: Writing a Killer Thriller and Style that Sizzles & Pacing for Power.

What I've Learned

Photo by kconnors

By Peg Brantley, author of RED TIDE

I'm an organized person—usually. I can't work in clutter or with piles of paper or in an area that needs to be cleaned—usually. I read one novel at a time to savor and enjoy and well, not get confused.

Imagine my learning curve when I was in the throes of launching Red Tide while creating a scene list for my third manuscript and then beginning the initial self-edits on my second.

Here's what I learned:

1. If I close my eyes for a minute, I can remember the book I'm supposed to be working on: the plot and what characters populate it, and shove the others away.

2. I don't need to do an intense cleaning of every level of the house as often as I thought. It will survive.

3. If company is coming I know how to herd them where I've done some ridding-up.

4. Clean floors give an overall impression of cleanliness.

5. There's no way to get around the pile of paper that collects relating to a manuscript you aren't working on, or information on the business side of writing. I'll get another file stand when I get a chance, or clean out my filing cabinet so there's actually room for some folders.

6. I need to schedule marketing time. (And figure out exactly what marketing consists of.)

7. I can work on multiple things at once. Sort of.

8. I LOVE WHAT I DO!


I still read one novel at a time. Slowly.

Do you have any ideas about what I should prepare to learn next?