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Rewriting
a published work would have to be one of the most tedious processes I’ve gone
though as an author. Not only am I revisiting manuscripts I first slaved over
years ago, I’m going through the story construction, picking apart the things
that don’t work and rewriting to make them work. The good thing about this
process is that I get to improve the writing, make it better than ever, then
re-release the new, improved version. The bad thing is the time and effort
necessary to turn the telling into showing, revisiting the characters,
recalling their personalities and trying hard not to go over the top with
revision.
Mixed in
with the rewriting slog are those few bright points, the little titbits of great
writing I’ve managed weave into a story. Like this air-punching moment I recently
came across at eleven o’clock at night.
This little bit of praise from my
editor did so much for my author esteem. It made me realise that these little
bits can make all the hard work worthwhile.
Here’s an
amazing quote I loved from Dorothy Adamek’s new release, Carry Me Home.
Was she not to have one simple day in this country
without the assault of the unexpected? (p45)
I loved
this so much I bookmarked it, and have revisited it many times since. It made
me wonder how many other readers and authors have been uplifted by little
snippets of writing that speak to the soul, inspire our imaginations, or give
our author-esteem the lift it needs.
Please
share your personal snippets of brilliance—in either your work or something by another
author—in the comments below. I’d love to compile a montage of extracts that
uplift, encourage, and inspire.
Rose, who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree, was
born in North Queensland, Australia. Her childhood experiences growing up in a
small beach community would later provide inspiration for her first novel, Back
to Resolution. Beyond Resolution and A New Resolution are the second and third
books in the Resolution series.
Back to Resolution won the Bookseller’s Choice
award at the 2012 CALEB Awards, while A New Resolution won the 2013 CALEB Prize
for Fiction. She has also released The Greenfield Legacy, a collaborative
novel, written in conjunction with three other outstanding Australian authors,
and has recently released the standalone novel, Ehvah After.
Her novels are inspired by the love of her
coastal home and desire to produce exciting and contemporary stories of faith
for women. Rose resides in Mackay, North Queensland with her husband and son.
Visit Rose at: https://rosedee.com/
Thanks for the post Rose. I bookmark favourite quotes all the time. I keep a notebook next to the dining room table so I can write down anything that grabs me and I use the highlighting feature of Kindle a lot. My favourite recent quote is from Winter by Marissa Meyer (Book 4 in the Lunar Chronicles series): "It was as tender a kiss as any half-man, half-mutant had ever given" (p. 764). But you'll be happy to know, I also highlight more literary gems:
ReplyDelete[Describing someone riding off on a bicycle] ‘… lamplight scribbling a shaky message on the ground before her’. (From The Distant Hours by Kate Morton).
‘… the moon slips lower, a half-lidded eye.’ (From All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr)
‘I could hear rich carpets in their voices, books and pearls and fur … my mother’s voice – a cooking pot, a flagon.’ (From Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier)
Now I just have to apply all these great ideas to my on writing :)
Thanks for sharing.
Nola
OOOh - I love all of those, Nola. How visual is that one from the Girl with a Perl Earring! And half-man half-mutant - sounds a lot like Wolverine from the XMen.
DeleteI know what you mean about applying them to your own writing. I often come across these and wish they had come from my head. lol.
Thank you so much for contributing. Maybe one day we can have a book that lists all these little pieces. I know writers would love that!
Rose, great post! Thanks for sharing with us :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the shout out, Rose. :)
ReplyDeleteI am a BIG keeper of quote lists. I keep them on my phone. I have one list from romances I read and enjoy, one for poetry gems, and another for golden nuggets I find in my daily Spurgeon devotional. Here are a few from the devotional:
"In the very beginning, when this great universe lay in the mind of God, like unborn forests in the acorn-cup..."
"God's name is written in gilt letters on the brow of night."
and
"What seems to you a crushing burden, would be to Him but as the small dust in the balance."
I love collecting this kind of rich inspiration. Surgeon wrote in one of my favourite eras, so I'm particularly inspired by his works.