Maureen Bush

Polishing

The substantive edit to the sequel to The Nexus Ring is finished. Now it’s time for polishing, polishing, polishing. And for working on other stories. My mind is filling with images of witchdoctors and camels. Not together. Although that would be interesting . . .

I found another book I love: Outlaw Submarine, by Philip Roy. It’s been nominated for the Diamond Willow Award, and is a great adventure for elementary school kids.

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

Editing

The first round of editing comments for the sequel to The Nexus Ring has arrived! The story starts at Castle Mountain (see photo).

I’m really excited. I never expected this to happen, but I actually enjoy editing. I like working with a professional editor who can look at the story with new eyes, find the weak spots and help me fix them. I like seeing the story improve as it’s polished and refined. I even like learning the incredibly picky rules of editing so that I can correct them myself next time. Most of all, I love how much better a story is once we’re finished.

I’m eager to leap in, but my desk is covered in presents and wrapping paper, and I have a list of Christmas baking to tackle. I guess editing will be my post-Christmas treat. Did I really write that? Weird. Merry Christmas.
Maureen

Corvus

Corvus is gone. I had a crow statue perched on the tea house, named after a character in the sequel to the Nexus Ring. It disappeared while I was away, and I miss him. I know where he came from, so I should be able to buy a new Corvus. Who, oddly enough, is another character in the story.

By the way, the sequel has a working title but it will likely be changed, so I won’t refer to it here. It’s confusing enough for me to think of it by the new name. I don’t want other people confused, too.

Maureen