​It happened on Monday.  I had taken a systematic approach to the task of a major re-write of my manuscript for DEAD RECKONING because my editor said it lacked punch.  I printed out all 347 pages and reviewed all of her suggested edits and there were a lot.  As with her editing of my previous book, OUT OF DARKNESS, I agreed with all her edits.  I clicked on “accept all” and that job was done.
While editing I was reading the book for our August book club meeting.  The book was suggested by one of our group who followed a prolific mystery author for years.  Summertime is perfect for a nice mystery read.  The group selected the first book in the series.  Within the first few chapters I concluded it would be one of those “quick read” books with a simple, straight forward plot line, two historical murders to investigate and about mid-way in the book a fresh murder which may or may not have been related to the private detective’s investigation.  I couldn’t help but notice the author had a lot of “filler” or “business”.   The protagonist drove throughout California and we were told about each trip in detail.  Getting from one place to another in a book is boring and this book had a lot of boring drives because interesting details like weather, smells, change in landscape were not included in the drives.  There was also a lot of eating or not eating, again boring and all the “business” didn’t advance the story, in fact, it made it sluggish and uninteresting.
I convinced myself having too much “business” was the core problem of my manuscript which had lead my editor to say the story was sluggish.  I read again with the intent of ripping out as much unnecessary background information as I could.  When I was done I cut about 5600 words or 6% of the first draft.  That’s when I had the meltdown.  It didn’t seem like enough.  For example I was still left with one chapter devoted to having all the characters in one room sharing a traditional Irish Christmas dinner.  Why did I devote a chapter to that one scene?  I dashed off an e-mail to my editor, explained my dilemma and asked for her help.
In the meantime I reviewed each of the comments my editor added to the draft manuscript.  The comments question details of the story, suggest alternate language, question plot development and a host of other details.  There must have been at least 100 comments to review.  It took me three days to plow through the comments and make decisions on how to fix the problems identified.
In the meantime my editor reviewed Chapter Sixteen, the Christmas dinner chapter.  As it turned out she suggested cutting only two sentences in the entire chapter.  Her view was that I needed the chapter because it was the first time all the characters meet each other and the dinner was a good vehicle to accomplish that story goal.
Perspective restored.  Sometimes applying what you read from other books is a big mistake.  I manufactured a problem for myself that I didn’t have.  I am lucky to have an editor who is accessible and can guide me gently through the re-write process.  Reassured that the plot was fine, I finished editing the comments and returned the entire manuscript to my editor for another review.
Whew!          

​Blog 7-19-17
Smithing and Writing
 
This past weekend I drove to Mineral Point in the heart of the Driftless Region for a class at the Shake Rag Alley School of the Arts in Blacksmithing.  I attended a beginning blacksmithing course several years ago, learned about fire, and basic forging skills and ending the class with a variety of steel hooks.  I can’t explain why I have an appetite for smithing – I just do.  In the Shake Rag Alley School of the Arts catalog they offered a variety of smithing classes this year, several more extensive than the basic course.  I chose the course on making a bell from an old oxygen tank.
Smithing is like the Latin Language, it is nearly dead expect for those who appreciate metal craftwork made by hand.  What is a blacksmith? 
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (Wikipedia).
The first line of the sentence begins to explain my love for the art “a metalsmith who creates objects . . .”  Blacksmithing is a creative craft.  As I breathed in dark bellowing smoke from the charcoal fire in the forge and pounded a quarter inch metal rod in the shape I desired I experienced a eureka moment.  For me, blacksmithing is a metaphor for writing.
Pounding out words on my lap top, forming them into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, paragraphs into chapters and story evolves with characters, a plot and a story.
True smithing takes years to learn the fine art of the craft including forge welding.  Writing takes years to learn and the learning never ceases.  You can become a master blacksmith and continue learning as you can become a master writer and continue to learn with each completed writing project.
Blacksmithing forces me to express myself in a different medium that is physical and at the end of the day my clothes are filled with soot, my arm muscles sore from swinging a hammer for eight hours, my legs ache from standing over the anvil.  I hang my bell on a hook in the blacksmith shop, grab the clapper and thrill at the clear, crisp ring of metal against metal.  It has been a good day.

​Last week I had two of those unexpected, unexplained, mysterious “out of the blue incidents”. 
I received an e-mail from the marketing coordinator for a brand new hotel, The Madison Graduate Hotel, on the edge of the University of Wisconsin Madison Campus (UMAD).  She wanted to know if I was interested in helping coordinate author book signings at the hotel.  WHAT?  I honestly thought it was a hoax or a scam.  I googled the hotel and learned that it is a “retro” hotel designed to be like it was when you attended college in the 70’s or 80’s.  I wondered how the person found my e-mail but was shy about asking.  I responded to the e-mail by asking if we could meet to further explore what they were interested in doing.  I received a response the same day and we are meeting later today.  I was copied in an e-mail to other hotel staff where I learned that I am the Wisconsin Writer’s Association Social Coordinator.  That’s not exactly accurate, I am the facebook manager for WWA but it got me the meeting so I don’t care if it’s not totally accurate.  I’m excited that I may be able to help a lot of local authors get a venue to sign and sell their books.  I’ll let you know what happens next week.
The second “out of the blue” experience was another e-mail from a bookstore in Omaha.  Several years ago our son and family lived in Omaha.  While visiting them they took us to their favorite bookstore, The Bookworm, where I met the owner.  They agreed to take my first book, Murphy’s Troubles, on consignment.  It was impressive; they offered a written contract and the hope of selling the five books I left with them.  The thrill was taking my granddaughters picture standing in front of where my book sat on the shelf.
In their e-mail I learned that in three years they had sold only one book.   They offered to return the four remaining books but pointed out that postage would be more than the $14.95 they collected for the single sale.  They suggested I might want to donate the four remaining books to their library and they would send me a check for the single sale.  Can you imagine that?  What a kind and thoughtful suggestion.  I wrote back the following day that they didn’t need to send me a check for the single sale; they had been kind to carry my books for three years.  I agreed donating the remaining books to their public library was a great idea.
You never know what can happen “out of the blue”.   
   

​“I have finished the majority of the edit but I'm sorry to say what I noticed is that the story lacks punch.”  This was the first sentence in an e-mail my editor, Christine Keleny, sent me after copy editing the manuscript for my third novel Dead Reckoning.  That one sentence was concise, straightforward and painfully honest.  Writers need someone who will be honest with them and for years Christine has been that person for me along with Christine DeSmet (must be something about the name Christine).
Further in the e-mail she offered me a choice, I could ignore for critique, review the copy editing and move along with the manuscript or I could review her developmental edits and undertake deep revision.  I didn’t hesitate in making my decision, I will do deep editing.
When I finished the manuscript I had this nagging fear “is this enough” meaning is the story compelling enough.  Put another way – will anyone give a damn what happens to the protagonist – Ian Murphy.  Before submitting my manuscript to Christine I read it at least three times cover to cover.  I knew the ending was critical and focused on the last several chapters, wanting the tension to crescendo and end with a triumphant upbeat.
I began the novel with Ian’s best friend, Kieran Fitzpatrick, dying unexpectedly of a massive heart attack during weekday mass.  Kieran’s death puts Ian’s life in a tailspin.  Christine’s next comment is intriguing:  “So what I see is you tell too much to the reader  - particularly toward the end. There is very little building of tension/building of tensions related to the two major questions - will he do it?”  I will need to work to understand this comment.  I confess to giving the reader a lot of detail but I don’t understand how the outcome is a lack of tension. 
I had been developing a list of publishers who accept unsolicited manuscripts and drafting a standard query letter that I could adapt for each submission.  Another friend, Marshall Cook, is helping me craft the query letter.  Those jobs need to be set on the proverbial “back burner”; I need to concentrate on the craft of storytelling.
I’m going to give myself a few days to adjust mentally and emotionally.  I’ll print the manuscript this week and begin by reviewing all her comments next week.  Then I’ll pause again for a few days, maybe a week, to absorb Christine’s comments.  I’ll be ready to begin the re-write after following this process.
I want to be the best writer I can be, the journey is a constant learning experience and I must carry on.