I managed to do some revision on Twilight while I was at home. Perhaps more importantly (aside from the time spent in loving bliss doing yard work with my hubby) was the reading I accomplished on Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print by Renni Browne and Dave King (second edition). If you’re finding either volume of The Breakout Novel intimidating or depressing, consider this as an interim work. (NOTE: I am in no way intending to detract from the excellent advice offered by Maass in either book–he is clearly the best, but if in reading Maass you think you have no business writing or even attempting to because you can’t meet his high expectations, this book may act as a bridge for you.) I’ve noted many of the faults in my writing covered in this book but wasn’t sure how to address them (besides the obvious, “Hello, Faults.”). The chapter titles read like a who’s who of the faults in Jean’s writing:

Show and Tell
Characterization and Exposition
Point of View
Proportion
Dialogue Mechanics
See How It Sounds
Interior Monologue
Easy Beats
Breaking Up is Easy to Do
Once is Usually Enough
Sophistication
Voice

The largest faults I’ve identified are “proportion” and “once is usually enough.” While reading these chapters, I began to realize I’ve been writing from the Louisville Slugger approach. Probably not uncommon with new fiction writers but not something I want to continue. The only chapter I didn’t really get into was “Voice.” I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with how I deal with voice or if I was just too tired to get into it when I was reading it. Either way, I have a lot of work on both PBOTL and Twilight to get them shaped appropriately for submission.