Shannon Dittemore is the author of the Angel Eyes trilogy. She has an overactive imagination and a passion for truth. Her lifelong journey to combine the two is responsible for a stint at Portland Bible College, performances with local theater companies, and a love of all things literary. When she isn’t writing, she spends her days with her husband, Matt, imagining things unseen and chasing their two children around their home in Northern California. To connect with Shan, check out her website, FB, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest.
Aren’t you glad it’s Friday? I’m stoked.
I’m stoked because I’m tired. I’ve had a decent writing week. I’ve only missed one scheduled writing day–and it was for a legit someone-needed-me reason–but I’ve been working on the same five pages for a week solid and that takes a lot of energy.
It happens. It’s real. Writing is hard. And if I was in the drafting phase, I’d just move on. Come back to it later, you know?
But I’m not. I’m editing. And editing is where we get down in the dirt and start to form our mess of words into a living, breathing creature. I can’t move on yet. The scene I’m working on is a crucial turning point and by lingering in this spot, I’m learning so much about what my ensemble cast is made of. If I fly through this junction without stopping to consider the possibilities, I’ll miss something important.
Stewing, digging up details–it’s what makes a story real. And if it’s not real, why should anybody care?
I loved Stephanie’s post on Monday. She laid everything out so clearly. Details, you guys. We must be specific in our storytelling. At the end of her post, Steph gave you a chance to share a few of your own sentences–before and after an edit.
Today, I’m going to stretch that skill a little further by giving you a few sentences you did not create. Your job is to rewrite them, replacing my vague generalizations with specific details.
You have a lot of room here and I bet the range of responses will be vast, showing off our very diverse group. Maybe work up your own edit before reading everyone else’s. Might be easier to retain your viewpoint that way.
If you’ve no idea what to do, or find yourself needing some inspiration, jump over to Stephanie’s Monday post and read her advice. It’ll help. I promise. Leave your responses in the comments section at the end of this post and then be sure to come back throughout the weekend to check in on your friends.
And remember, every time you participate in one of our writing exercises, you’re entered into a drawing where you could win a chance to submit a writing question for one of our upcoming panels. We’ll be shooting another one soon.
Here are those sentences I promised you. Be specific, friends. Make my murky words real. Make me care.
