Editing a Murder Mystery

This morning, I finished the on-paper edits of "Gold Wings are Murder." I found grammar and spelling errors on almost every page. I found 36 items big enough that I couldn't fix them on the spot, so I wrote those all down on a To-Edit list. Plus, I have two and a half chapters that need major re-work.

In other words, it went GREAT!

I'm using the editing process suggested by Rachel Aaron in her book "2,000 to 10,000: How to Writer Faster, Write Better, and Write More of What You Love." This is one of the best books I've read on the nuts-and-bolts nitty-gritty craft of writing fiction. Well done, Rachel Aaron!

So, it's the beginning of June now. I should certainly have the book done and published for Amazon Kindle July 4th. I hope to also a paperback version--for folks who don't want to risk dropping their fancy Kindle while riding and reading on the back of a Gold Wing.

"Gold Wings are Murder" First Draft Complete

I'm thinking Mark Twain would be a GL1800 trike kind of guy.

Mark Twain would be so proud--I just finished the first draft of "Gold Wings are Murder: The Crying Stone." Parts are funny. Parts of scary. Other parts are emotionally intense. It features a middle aged couple touring our great land on a GL1800 with a Tailwind trailer. What could be better than that?

So, now the edits begin. For those of you who like writing trivia, I'm using the editing system proposed by Rachel Aaron in "2K to 10K: Writing Faster, Writing Better and Writing More of What You Love." She suggested going through the book and doing your grammar corrections, but also outlining it, doing a time line to look for story problems, and using a ToDo list so you don't miss anything and can get your edits done with little fuss or extra effort.

Aaron also writes fantasy so, if you like murder mysteries AND fantasy (like me), check her out. As for my story, look for it some time in June, July at the latest.

Cursive Writing is the Bomb

My son graduated from high school just a few short years ago. He got his diploma without ever learning cursive writing. This is a huge mistake for all the students. Here is why ...