The Kilted Writer

Wow. I didn't realize it had been over a year since my last post until I sat down to write this. This past year has been a whirlwind with purchasing a new home, getting moved in, starting a new part-time job, and trying to get some editing done. Time flies when you're having fun. Now that all that has settled down a bit, I wanted to take the time to answer some common questions I've begun to see about what I do, especially in the field of editing. First off, while what I do for writers is technically considered developmental, or content, editing, I really don't like using that term. It creates too much confusion, especially among writers new to the process or to the business. I prefer to use the term "manuscript review" for the editing I do and "story coaching" for the ongoing consultation service I provide. "So, what is a "manuscript review," then?"   For me, a review means I read every word of your manuscript (no skippi...

I participate in a number of online forums about writing. Most of the time, I find good discussion about the craft and the nuances that drive writing from "good" to "great." Too often, however, I find interjections into the conversations that make me ask the question, "Are you serious ?" Sometimes, I actually have to back away from the computer (or even leave the room) to keep from posting a response I would ultimately regret. Here are just a few examples I'd like to bring to light. PLEASE, do not be these people. (Note: slight paraphrasing has been done to help hide the identities of the guilty parties). 1. The "live editor." This person says, " When you're publishing an ebook, you can submit updated content after each rewrite...I return to the book often, updating the file after each rewrite; but let at least a few weeks or months pass between each edit. " Yes, that is (slightly paraphrased) an actual comment from an act...

I've been active on a number of forums for writers lately. Inevitably, the extremely divisive topic of editing comes up. You have the one side that says, "I don't need an editor, I can edit my own work." On the other hand, you have those who point out that one of the biggest problems in indie publishing is the (not necessarily unfounded) reputation it has for poor quality. Part of the problem in the discussion comes down to definitions. Here's what I mean: Author : I don't need an editor. I have five degrees related to English grammar. I have absolutely zero errors in my manuscript. I can edit my own work. Reader : You're right. I didn't find any errors in grammar or usage, but your character arc is very weak and you have a few plot holes. You still need an editor. Author : But you said my manuscript was perfect! Besides, what's a "character ark?" You see, there are at least four different kinds of editing. Many writers I've e...

I have been following several discussions on LinkedIn about the market for short-form fiction for a couple of weeks. It is amazing to me how short-sighted and ignorant of history some people are. Several people seemed to believe that short stories have never been a viable outlet for writers or that writers who are "serious" about their craft would never debase themselves so much by writing short fiction. (I've paraphrased and may have added some embellishment). One commenter in a discussion went so far as to say you could not be a good short story writer if you wrote long-form and that short story writers could never write a decent novel. (Um, ever hear of Stephen King, John Updike, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Isaac Asimov, William Faulkner, etc...) As a result of all this conversation, I decided to give you my take on what's happening in the short story market and why. I'm no business insider, but I believe a little history goes a long way to understan...

The Giver , by Lois Lowry, contains a lot of mind, body, and spirit symbolism on a variety of levels. First is Jonas and his two friends, Asher and Fiona. Jonas is the mind, Asher the body, and Fiona the spirit. Second is Jonas's family. His father is the spirit, his mother is the mind, and the children in the household collectively make up a body character. When examined individually, however, Jonas is the mind, Lily (his sister) is the spirit, and Gabriel (the child from the nursery they are nurturing during the night) is the body. I just glossed over this without giving any real reasons as to why this is true because I want to get into a slightly different topic. In my workshops, I often talk about occupations and their relation to the mind, body, and spirit symbolism. The Giver is a great example of the use of occupations to help strengthen your character symbolism. Spirit characters have a lot of compassion and tend to put their "cause" ahead of themselves. In...

The world in the book The Giver , by Lois Lowry, is revealed to the reader slowly, starting with the main character, Jonas, but then building outward from his limited perception into a broader and more encompassing view. In the opening scene, Jonas sees an aircraft fly over, and it puzzles him. He readily obeys the command from the speakers spread throughout the community to go inside. Through this incident, we learn that air travel is rare in this world and that bicycles are the primary mode of transportation for the people. We also begin to see the emphasis on precision of language, especially with the word "release." We learn that "release" is a very serious matter and not something to ever be used lightly or jokingly. Next, Lowry introduces Asher, Jonas's best friend. Through this new character, we learn a little about how schools operate in the community, and we get a clearer idea about the precision of language in the society. Finally, we see one way e...

With the trailers for the new film version of Lois Lowry's The Giver showing up more and more, I thought I would start a series of posts looking at the book's introduction and characters. I must admit I have never read The Giver , but I'm correcting that error as I prepare these posts. The first thing I noticed as I was listening (I do better with audio due to some reading problems) to the book was the use of the "Show; Don't Tell" principle. Jonas lives in a dystopian society that is described very well through scenes in the book's introduction. First, we see a jet flying over the community. An announcement forces people inside, leaving their bicycles lying where they were dropped. From this, we know this is a very disciplined society that is monitored by some unseen group, and this group can communicate to everyone at any time. We also learn the severity of being "released." Lowry could have simply defined the word for us, but Jonas's ...

I try to teach concepts that are universal, which means they should apply across genres and across time. That's why I try to include examples from older, classic literature as well as more recent releases. In this post, I will be illustrating the concept of "importance" using Agatha Christie's The Mirror Crack'd . This book is written from a third-person point of view. Despite this, the world of the story is revealed through the eyes and mind of the main character, Miss Marple. The most important thing in Miss Marple's life in this story is her garden. No one can care for her garden the way she can, and the first few paragraphs in the story center around the care of her garden. After the garden, Miss Marple reflects on the village in which she lives. Rather than describing the village outright, Christie let's us see the village through the eyes of an aging woman who longs for the "good old days." In one part, we learn more about the village...

The Unvanquished , by William Faulkner, is a great example of "importance," revealing the world of your story in order of importance to the main character. The story starts with a description of two young boys playing a game of war out by the wood shed. From the game, we understand the story is set during the time of the Civil War. If we know our history, we can also easily deduce the story is set on a Southern plantation. The war is not important to the main character, but the game is, so we learn about the setting through the game. Faulkner does not leave it up to our knowledge of history, though, to reveal the world of the story. He refines the setting through the main character's remembrances of his father. Again, the war itself is not important to the main character, but the fact that his father is away fighting in it is very important. The relationship between the main character and is friend is another great example. At first, we see a young boy playing a gam...

The Kilted Writer currently has two workshops scheduled in the month of June. First, I will be presenting my "Brains, Brawn, and Bravado" workshop to the Parker Writers Group , on Sunday, June 8 and again to the Colorado Springs Fiction Writers Group the following week. The CSFWG presentation is currently for members only, so please see their website for membership details. On a completely different topic, I have recently applied for and received press credentials so I can start covering writing events as a journalist-blogger. My goal is to cover writing groups and events, including interviews of staff, faculty, and attendees, in order to educate the public on what's available to help aspiring writers master their craft. I am still looking for an appropriate livestream platform so I can provide live coverage of major events. I have narrowed down the options and will make a decision soon. I have also created a YouTube channel where I will keep highlights from these ev...

The Devil Wears Prada , by Lauren Weisberger, is a great example of "expansion" in revealing your world to your reader. In fact, this book's introduction was how I first became interested in the topic of reveal your world to your audience. I was at a workshop given by Pikes Peak Writers and the person leading the workshop used this introduction to illustrate how starting close to your character and expanding the world outward was a good way to draw your audience into your story. Ever since then, I have been more aware of story openings and how authors reveal their worlds, studying them and breaking them down to see what commonalities I could find. The result of that research and study is my new workshop, "Let There Be Light: Revealing your World to Your Audience." Just like with my "Brains, Brawn & Bravado" workshops , one small spark has grown into a flaming inferno of information. The Devil Wears Prada opens inside at a busy New York City ...

In addition to my "Brains, Brawn & Bravado" posts, I will start adding additional analysis related to my new workshop, "Let There Be Light." This will be the first of those analyses. If you attend writers conferences or workshops, even occasionally, you have most likely heard the phrase "Show; don't tell." While that axiom is important to storytelling, it is critical to effectively introducing your world to your reader. Think of it this way. You want your reader to become a part of the story, to be drawn into the story through the senses of your characters. You do not want your reader watching your story unfold as if through a window pane. A great example of this lesson is Clockwork Angels , by Kevin J. Anderson. The book has a short prologue that does a lot to introduce the main character's personality, but very little to introduce the world in which he lives. I will focus on chapter one, the beginning of the actual story Anderson is tel...

I am currently developing a new workshop! Right now, I have two workshops I am giving at various conferences and writing groups. The first is "Brains, Brawn & Bravado: Mind, Body, and Spirit in Character Development," and the second is "Brains, Brawn & Bravado: Mind, Body, and Spirit in World Building." Both teach writers how to use the mind, body, and spirit symbolism I have been writing about in this blog. My new workshop also falls under the category of "world building," and is tentatively entitled, "Let There be Light: Revealing Your World to Your Audience." Basically, I will show how to pull your reader into the world you create, whether  your story is set in modern-day Chicago or a galaxy far, far away, using techniques of incremental revelation. I was first exposed to the concepts as part Write Brain workshop hosted by Pikes Peak Writers several years ago. I have taken those basics and expanded them into a more...

I just sat down to watch Pacific Rim, and within five minutes the mind, body, and spirit symbolism leaped off the screen and right into my lap. I am still watching the movie as I write this, so I have not identified the characters who represents each personality. This observation is more of a world building example. In the movie, creatures called "kaiju" are wreaking havoc on mankind. To fight them, giant machines called "jaegers" are built. The jaegers (body) turn out to be too difficult for one pilot to control, so an additional pilot is needed. In order for the pilots to operate the jaeger in unison, designers create a process that links the two pilots minds. And this is where it gets interesting. The process takes the logical and analytical left brain (mind) from one pilot and links if with the creative and imaginative right brain (spirit) of the other. The link between the two pilots is called "the drift." In order to be effective, pi...

There are two versions of the movie True Grit , both based on the novel by Charles Portis of the same title. While the remake is every bit as good as the original, in a lot of respects, it lacks one key element. In the climactic scene where Rooster Cogburn charges down four members of the outlaw gang led by Lucky Ned Pepper over an open field, the original movie starring John Wayne had a wall of aspen trees as the backdrop. The remake has no such majesty in this key scene. As for the plot, we have three main characters who are all out to find an outlaw, each for their own reasons. Mattie Ross wants justice for her father's murder. LaBoeuf (pronounced "LaBeef") wants a big reward being offered in Texas, and Rooster Cogburn wants to rid the country of one more malcontent while helping the young Mattie find her justice. The Mind Character: Mattie Ross Mattie is introduced meeting with the town's undertaker about her father's body. He has been brut...

Mind, body, and spirit characters are often used in " based on a true story " movies and stories. Apollo 13 is no different. In fact, this movie includes two sets of mind, body, and spirit characters - one set in space and one on the ground.  I've covered why mind, body, and spirit characters show up in "true story" movies in previous posts (see above). In this post, I want to focus on "motivation." On the surface, each character seems like a mind character. They all have knowledge and share information freely and they all react to conflict, especially the explosion, with knowledge, information, and procedure. Even when the procedures no longer apply because of the disaster, they start to build new procedures. All of this is mind-related behavior. In order to see the character's true natures, you have to look a little bit deeper at the characters' motivations. For this analysis, I will focus on one key motivation for each cha...

In the last post , I discussed the "parent" level of the family model of mind, body, and spirit as it relates to the popular science show, Mythbusters . Now, I will take a look at the "children" level of the model.  What's interesting about this show is that it's been on the air long enough to see the "children" mature into an independent team. In the beginning, the team did a lot of "behind-the-scenes" work, but were rarely in front of the camera. Their responsibilities were simply to build whatever was necessary. Somewhere around season four, the team moved to the front of the camera, but their responsibilities were still limited. Now, they share almost equal on-screen time and develop tests for their own myths, independent of their "parents," Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage. The Mind Character: Grant Imahara Grant has a background in robotics. On the show, he is often responsible for calculations and scientific...

(Note: This post was originally written in October 2013) First, I want to thank all of you for keeping the blog's stats up while I was away. If you follow me (Kilted Writer) on Facebook, you know I was traveling for my 25th high school reunion. It was a great time, more so than I would have ever expected. Now, though, it's back to work. I want to be as prepared and up to date as possible for my presentation at the Castle Rock Writers Conference on November 23rd. Unlike previous posts, which have focused on "film and fiction" this one will look at the popular series, Mythbusters . This is not a fiction series, but it is produced for entertainment value. Now in its 14th season, I think they've succeeded. Part of that success can be seen in the interactions of the cast members as they set out to confirm or bust various "myths" from all parts of society. The chemistry between the cast members can be partially explained in terms of mind, body...

Normally, I would introduce the book and tell you about each of the three character types. In this post, though, I want to focus on the interaction between the mind and spirit characters in Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees . The book shows how three sisters, May, June, and August, work to transform a fourth character, Lily Owens. May is the body character, June is the mind character, and August is the spirit character in the story. In the following passage, August and June are discussing what to do about Lily, who has just recently entered into their care. The Setup: For those who are unfamiliar with the book or the movie, here is how the story develops up to the interaction I will be breaking down. Lily is a teenage white girl in 1960's South Carolina. Her mother was killed when she was young in a tragic accident, so she lives alone with an abusive father. She runs away with a black housekeeper, who is a fugitive from the law, and winds up with thre...

I grew up on Star Wars, Buck Rogers, and Battlestar Galactica. My friends and I would fight over who got to be Starbuck and who got to be Apollo in our recreations of battles against the Cylon "tin cans." Which is why I was absolutely appalled to find out the recent remake of the Battlestar Galactica television series featured a female Starbuck. What's worse is the sexual tension depicted between Apollo and Starbuck. That whole situation is so far removed from the original characters that it changes the whole dynamic of the series. I recently started re-watching the original series and, given the sex change, was surprised by how much of the original carried over into the remake, right down to the use of "frak." I actually gained a little more respect for the new series. As I watched the pilot episode, I immediately became aware of the mind, body, and spirit symbolism in the characters. The dynamic may be different in the remake, but here is wha...