Revision is a Process - How to Take the Frustration Out of Self-Editing by Catherine E. McLean - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hi lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Catherine E. McLean and her new book, “Revision is a Process – How to Take the Frustration Out of Self-Editing”!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Catherine and to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!

Revision is a Process – How to Take the Frustration Out of Self-Editing

by Catherine E. McLean

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GENRE: Self-Help, Self-Improvement, Non-Fiction

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BLURB:

A first draft holds the possibility of what will be a great story. Revision turns that rough diamond into a spectacular gem worth a reader's money and time.

Writers are individuals but to be a producing writer means creating a system to revise and polish a work so the reader thoroughly enjoys the story. REVISION IS A PROCESS is a guidebook for writers and authors that shows how a simple 12-step process can be tailored to eliminate the most common and chronic maladies of writing genre fiction. This valuable guidebook contains secrets, tips, practical advice, how-to's, and why-to's for taking the frustration out of self-editing.

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EXCERPT THREE:

From Section 7, Show Don't Tell - What to Cut or Change

One rule of fiction is to show more and tell less.

What does that mean?

A very simple example is that saying it's a flower is telling but to say it's a white rose, its petals edged with a mist of ruby-pink is showing.

Showing means providing an instant, vivid image so the reader sees in their mind what was meant.

Yes, showing requires more words than telling, but how much detail is too much detail when showing?

Keep in mind that readers will stop reading and skim over sentences and paragraphs of details in order "to get to the good stuff" of drama, action, and something happening of interest. So it's best to choose all descriptive words carefully and keep the passages succinct.

Now— Go through your manuscript and highlight all descriptive phrases and passages so you can see how much of the total text is description.

If using your word processor's highlight feature, pause to zoom down to view entire pages and look at the end of pages to see how much carried over to the next page.

If you have exceeded three sentences (20-60 words) of description or explanation at any spot, that may be overkill. Determine what needs to be cut, pared down, rewritten, or reparagraphed for visual effect and immediacy, and what is too lengthy, mundane, or bordering on boring.

It's also important, when revising such areas, to remember that the replacement words should be in keeping with the story's or scene's narrator—and not you, the author, stepping onto the page with your voice, (that's a type of Author Intrusion that readers hate).

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GUEST POST:

Do You Ever Wish You Were Someone Else? Who?

Who doesn't wish they were someone else? My life is ordinary and so it's not that I wish to be someone else, it's a matter of wanting to escape from same-old same-old of everyday earning a living, making ends meet, being a wife, mother, 4-H leader, Red Hatter, and all the other things that have to be dealt with in life.

But secretly, in my mind, I liven up the doldrums of existence by creating vicarious adventures—being someone extraordinarily special, even quirky. Discovering and reading novels was a godsend because I met pirates, cowboys, Horatio Hornblower, Robbie-the-Robots, Nancy Drew, fighter pilots, submarine captains, scientists, detectives, Superman, Wonder Woman, E.T.s, policemen and women, spies, and more. All an eclectic assortment of heros—and some antiheros and villains—but all kept me returning to the library for more books to fill any vacant hours with adventures, mysteries, and more.

Lack of finding good romance novels set in phantasy realms (medieval times, with or without a dash of magic or fantasy) and stardust worlds (futuristic, sci-fi fantasy, paranormal) is what drew me to inventing and imagining such worlds and the story people that populated them. In all of my stories, I get to be someone else, lots of someone elses—especially the protagonist. And sometimes, too, I cringe when I have to write about the villain who terrifies me. An example of such a villain is in my novel Karma & Mayhem, (http://karmaandmayhem.blogspot.com/) a paranormal fantasy romance that will be re-released in October 2017.

Actually, in that book, there was a triad of witches bent on immorality. Of the trio, Celinae and Sweets were evil-evil, and those two terrified me so I could not get into their heads and be them. But Annelisa was the odd-woman-out of the trio. She was perceived by her two cohorts as naive and expendable. But Annelisa was smart. She had not gone over to the dark side of dark. I could get into her head and witness or relay the perversions of the other two witches without having nightmares.

I also like fun characters, ones with quirky personalities, like Marlee in my novella Hearts Akilter, - http://tinyurl.com/HeartsAkilter-Amazonlink - a fantasy sci-fi romance. Marlee is a no-nonsense maintenance technician on a space station. She fixes robots. Trouble is, Henry, a meter-tall medical robot, comes to her complaining of a heart attack. Turns out there's a bomb inside the little guy. Marlee can't risk the bomber discovering she's found the device, so Marlee opts to kidnap an unflappable bomb expert to secretly disarm the bomb.

One of my wonderful kick-ass heroines is Darq, the Wysotti Indian fighter pilot protagonist of Jewels of the Sky, - http://tinyurl.com/jewelsofthesky-book - a sci-fi adventure (space opera). Being a direct descendant of the captain who massacred the Mayans, Darq is a duty-oriented, pragmatic interstellar fighter pilot. She doesn't believe in miracles or forgiveness, or that J'Hi-inti (god) would ever rescind the death curse on her people for what happened to the Mayans. Only J'Hi-inti hears one compelling plea for reconciliation and decides to let chaos rule—and test Darq. After all, she's a wild card like her nefarious ancestor. What will she do when she faces the ruthless alien fleet commander who spearheads the blitzkrieg that is to finally destroy her homeworld, and who she once witnessed murder her cadet comrades? She's blinded by hate and survivor guilt—and all that stands between survival and extinction, heaven or hell, for Darq and her people, is mercy, or a miracle.

By the way, two weeks after the launch of Jewels of the Sky, I found an Indian doll that looked just like what I imagined Darq to look like. I bought the doll, renamed it Darq, and gave Darq a blog - https://jewelsofthesky.wordpress.com/ - with the premise that Darq is visiting Earth as an ambassador and staying with me. I've had a lot of fun sewing her clothes for the many social events she gets invited to, taking the photos for her blog, and promoting the book through her blog adventures.

I also like medieval romance and a current work in progress is titled Thunder & Snow. The heroine is known as the Unworthy Princess. Only she's to become the legendary wielder of the Ironwood in this tale of heraldry and magic.

I doubt there's a limit on the number of heroines I get to be because of the stories and novels I read and the stories that pop up from my ever-active imagination.

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AUTHOR BIO:

Catherine E. McLean's lighthearted, short stories have appeared in hard cover and online anthologies and magazines. Her books include JEWELS OF THE SKY, KARMA & MAYHEM, HEARTS AKILTER, and ADRADA TO ZOOL (a short story anthology). She lives on a farm nestled in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains of Western Pennsylvania. In the quiet of the countryside, she writes lighthearted tales of phantasy realms and stardust worlds (fantasy, futuristic, and paranormal) with romance and adventure. She is also a writing instructor and workshop speaker. Her nonfiction book for writers is REVISION IS A PROCESS - HOW TO TAKE THE FRUSTRATION OUT OF SELF-EDITING.

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CONNECT WITH CATHERINE:

Hub Website:

http://www.CatherineEmclean.com

Website for Writers:

http://www.WritersCheatSheets.com

Writers Cheat Sheets Blog:

https://writerscheatsheets.blogspot.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/catherine.e.mclean.5

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/CatherineMcLea7

Pinterest:

http://www.pinterest.com/catherinemclean

LinkedIn:

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/catherine-e-mclean/7/70b/372

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35016505-revision-is-a-process--how-to-take-the-frustration-out-of-self-editing

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6575148.Catherine_E_McLean

Amazon Author Page:

http://amzn.to/2i2tjRU

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Paperback:

http://amzn.to/2jL9PFN

Barnes and Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/revision-is-a-process-catherine-e-mclean/1126295618

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Catherine will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.