It's Editing Time!
I'm so grateful to have your support, Reader, as I journey deep into the editing trenches. From the onset, I wasn't sure what I wanted this process to look like, or how I would tackle this major feat. But as I've learned from paddling the Mississippi River, summiting 14ers, and getting through the long days with an infant, the only way to do it is one baby step at a time.
Instead of trying to tackle each chapter one by one and get it perfect, I've opted to break my editing up into two phases. Right now, in phase one, I'm focusing on bigger picture concepts.
I recently read a memoir writing craft book (Deep Memoir by Jennifer Selig), and it pointed out some key elements I wanted to make sure I was incorporating into my memoir to make my personal story more universally relatable.
In phase one, I'm identifying areas to expand on the emotions I was experiencing (not the processed feelings of the mind but the visceral sensations of the body), looking for opportunities to add metaphors to translate my experiences in a way that may resonate more with the reader, and compose some key takeaways for the reader to walk away with.
In doing my full manuscript read through at the end of March, I realized my early chapters--which I originally wrote two years ago--were more summarized overviews and didn't allow the reader to live in the moment with me. I've added 8k words to the manuscript already in simply trying to flesh out those early chapters with more detail.
Over the month of April, I've been working through the first eleven chapters. This is essentially all of Act 1, from the initial set up, the catalyst or inciting incident, and then the debate about what I was going to do next.
In storytelling structure, this is the section where you meet the "hero", learn about their ordinary world, discover their shortcomings (that you as the reader realize they must change to succeed but the hero doesn't know that yet), experience a world-altering event, and debate about whether or not they are going to take this journey into a new world - where Act 2 starts.
I've got one more month before school gets out and my summer schedule alters my writing schedule. While I'm under no illusion that I'll have the edits done by then, I'm still working on them each week with the bigger goal of having this manuscript in the hands of beta readers by late summer.
This summer will be filled with offering 3-day/week childcare in my home, a trip back east to visit family, and a 10-day trip to Costa Rica as I serve as the female chaperone for Jordan's high school soccer camp.
What are your summer plans? I seriously would love to hear from you! Got anything you're looking forward to?
Recent Podcast Appearance
In addition to being the co-host of my own weekly podcast, the Inspired Writer Collective, I've also been more proactive this year in finding guest spots on other podcasts. Here's several that released this past month!
Mess to Mission - Writing the Collective: Elizabeth Wilson
Project Seed Money - How Author Elizabeth Wilson Rewrote Her Life Through Memoir and Community
In this inspiring interview, Elizabeth Wilson shares her powerful journey of writing Lonely Girl, her upcoming memoir about authenticity, loneliness, and rediscovering self-worth after divorce. From cutting 30,000 words to rebuilding her manuscript from scratch, Elizabeth opens up about the writing process, journaling, community, and the courage it takes to share your story. Whether you're in the thick of your first draft or on your final edits, Elizabeth’s insights and honesty are exactly the encouragement you need.
Cut Stories From the Memoir
This month's read I wrote two winters ago, here in Colorado. In it, I reflect back on my work as a forensic scientist and how I felt about that role at that time. While this story falls in line with the time line of the memoir, it went on a tangent that was not relevant to the overall theme of loneliness and my search for community and had to be cut.
Reflections on the Blog
With the completion of my drafting goal in the first quarter of this year, I’ve finally bought into the impact of “consistency”. I’d heard it listening to entrepreneurial podcasts, in writing groups, and related to fitness and health goals, but I really didn’t see what the fuss was all about.
