Maureen Bush

Howweirdcanyouget Lives!

Finally, after many complications, howweirdcanyouget.com is ready! I’m not sure how to describe it – a real fictional website? An accompaniment for Feather Brain? Check it out and let me know what you think.

Maureen

websites

maureenbush.com is up and functioning. It’s not quite finished, but close enough for now. Coming soon: a map for The Nexus Ring, with photos of some of the beautiful locations in the story.

howweirdcanyouget.com isn’t quite ready – any day now, I hope.

Maureen

Commas

“I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again.” Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900)

I got to the point when I was playing with commas, and decided to stop. I’ve sent the manuscript back for another round. Now I have to deal with the growing pile of papers on my desk. I think it’s breeding.

Maureen

Editing Out Loud

Now that I’ve worked through all the comments from my editor, I’m reading the entire manuscript out loud. I feel a bit silly, but it helps me hear all the lumps and bumps in the language. If I edit it to read smoothly out loud, it will read smoothly for silent reading, too.

Maureen

Editing at Last, or Did I Really Write That?

I’ve finally started the sometimes embarrassing process of formal editing for the sequel to The Nexus Ring. I’ve done lots of editing on this story, but this is the first official round.

Having someone else point out all the weak spots in a story should be painful, but I often already know they’re problems – I just haven’t figured out how to fix them. Or I didn’t notice, but certainly need to. It makes me pay attention when I might not otherwise.

The focus this round is on what information needs to be included from book one, and what not; tightening a few sections; and clarifying some ideas. Some corrections are easy, while others need time to mull and consider. What was I really trying to say here?

After working on it for so long, I’m enjoying having someone bring fresh eyes to the story. This helps me see it with fresh eyes, too.

Maureen