46. Six editing lenses that help with revisions
06/20/23 • 14 min
Have you started revising your story only to feel like you're going in circles? Does the revision process feel overwhelming and you don't know what to tackle next?
In today's episode, you are going to learn how you can use different lenses to review your work and how this method can help make the revision process less chaotic.
Tune in to learn 6 different editing lenses for the revision process that you can start using today.
Topics discussed in this episode:
- Changing your focus
- Simplifying overwhelm
- 1. Time and location
- 2. Showing emotions
- 3. Character arcs
- 4. Chapter purpose
- 5. Plot
- 6. Mood
- The four stages of the writing process
About Erin:
Erin P.T. Canning has worked for more than 15 years as a magazine and book editor, encouraging each writer’s individual voice and strengthening their writing goals.
She always planned to write a book. Then she had kids. While she focused on them, she stopped writing—for six years. Something deep inside was missing. Depression, anxiety, and anger forced her to search for herself, both for her sake and her family’s.
Despite fearing her skills had atrophied, Erin started writing again. One journal entry led to one blog post that led to her creating her podcast, Parents Who Write. Erin’s current role as a podcaster and writing coach enables her to help others pursue their writing dreams.
Finally, she finished writing her own shitty first draft and will release her first novel in 2023. She earned her MA in Writing from Johns Hopkins University, and she lives with her husband and their two boys in Maryland.
Connect with Erin:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erinptcanning
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/erinptcanning
- Facebook group: https://facebook.com/groups/parentswhowrite
- Book a free 30-minute consultation call: https://calendly.com/parentswhowrite/30min-meeting
Looking for an editor or book coach?
As an indie author, editor, and book coach, I teach authors how to untangle their jumbled ideas and tackle each writing stage one at a time.
With my 20 years’ experience and my master’s in writing, I have a 4-stage process that takes authors from struggling with overwhelm to finishing their manuscripts with confidence and direction in 6 months.
As such, I love spending time with my clients and watching them grow into strong, knowledgeable authors. Read more here, and schedule a call to see if we're a good fit: https://calendly.com/erinptcanning/30min-meeting.
Have you started revising your story only to feel like you're going in circles? Does the revision process feel overwhelming and you don't know what to tackle next?
In today's episode, you are going to learn how you can use different lenses to review your work and how this method can help make the revision process less chaotic.
Tune in to learn 6 different editing lenses for the revision process that you can start using today.
Topics discussed in this episode:
- Changing your focus
- Simplifying overwhelm
- 1. Time and location
- 2. Showing emotions
- 3. Character arcs
- 4. Chapter purpose
- 5. Plot
- 6. Mood
- The four stages of the writing process
About Erin:
Erin P.T. Canning has worked for more than 15 years as a magazine and book editor, encouraging each writer’s individual voice and strengthening their writing goals.
She always planned to write a book. Then she had kids. While she focused on them, she stopped writing—for six years. Something deep inside was missing. Depression, anxiety, and anger forced her to search for herself, both for her sake and her family’s.
Despite fearing her skills had atrophied, Erin started writing again. One journal entry led to one blog post that led to her creating her podcast, Parents Who Write. Erin’s current role as a podcaster and writing coach enables her to help others pursue their writing dreams.
Finally, she finished writing her own shitty first draft and will release her first novel in 2023. She earned her MA in Writing from Johns Hopkins University, and she lives with her husband and their two boys in Maryland.
Connect with Erin:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erinptcanning
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/erinptcanning
- Facebook group: https://facebook.com/groups/parentswhowrite
- Book a free 30-minute consultation call: https://calendly.com/parentswhowrite/30min-meeting
Looking for an editor or book coach?
As an indie author, editor, and book coach, I teach authors how to untangle their jumbled ideas and tackle each writing stage one at a time.
With my 20 years’ experience and my master’s in writing, I have a 4-stage process that takes authors from struggling with overwhelm to finishing their manuscripts with confidence and direction in 6 months.
As such, I love spending time with my clients and watching them grow into strong, knowledgeable authors. Read more here, and schedule a call to see if we're a good fit: https://calendly.com/erinptcanning/30min-meeting.
Previous Episode
45. Normalizing mental health issues in romantic historical fiction w/ Ginny Moore
How often do you read romance novels in which mental health issues are a normal part of the main characters?
Joining today’s conversation is Ginny Moore, a romantic historical fiction author, middle school assistant principal, and mother to three kids.
In this episode, you’ll hear Ginny share not only why her postpartum anxiety and depression went undiagnosed for far too long but also how subconsciously funneling her mental health issues into her main characters has helped her to know herself better, heal, and save her marriage.
So tune in to hear more about how Ginny uses romantic historical fiction to push boundaries—both externally among a more formal, ridged society and internally as characters wrestle with their worst sides.
Topics discussed in this episode:
- Struggling with depression, anxiety, and ADHD
- Using writing to cope with mental health struggles
- Using two lead characters to reconcile different sides of yourself
- Forcing characters to reckon with their worst sides amid history
- Oxford University’s unwanted, first female students
- How car notes evolved into a full novel
- The non-career goal of one writer
- Finding a great writing buddy
- Sharing your other hobbies with your audience
- Reaching burn out, again
- Favorite books
About Ginny:
Ginny B. Moore was the kid who loved kissing scenes in movies and always rooted for Mulder and Scully to hook up. Her first piece of writing was a horrendous fanfic romance based on The Three Musketeers when she was thirteen years old.
Ginny started reading romance during the pandemic. In an effort to avoid doom-scrolling social media, she decided to put her own stories to paper. She is a middle school assistant principal and has been in education for eighteen years. Most of her writing is done on her phone or in the parking lot of her kids' extracurricular activities.
When she is not writing, Ginny is a slow long-distance runner. She is the mother of three kids, two exceptionally stupid dogs, two codependent cats, and the grandmother to a hermit crab.
Get her books:
- Adding Up to Love: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSB9G8BS
- The Countess and the Casanova: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2N89ZGW
Connect w/ Ginny:
- Website: https://www.ginnymooreauthor.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginny_moore_writes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GinnyMooreAuthor/
Books discussed during the show:
- Author Sarah MacLean
- Author Tessa Dare
- Thornchapel series by Sierra Simone
- Julius Caesar by William Shakesp
Looking for an editor or book coach?
As an indie author, editor, and book coach, I teach authors how to untangle their jumbled ideas and tackle each writing stage one at a time.
With my 20 years’ experience and my master’s in writing, I have a 4-stage process that takes authors from struggling with overwhelm to finishing their manuscripts with confidence and direction in 6 months.
As such, I love spending time with my clients and watching them grow into strong, knowledgeable authors. Read more here, and schedule a call to see if we're a good fit: https://calendly.com/erinptcanning/30min-meeting.
Next Episode
47. Shifting the needle from dreaming to writing
One year ago, I released my first podcast episodes. Since then, I have had the privilege of speaking with 26 other writers who have shared their lessons learned and inspired more parents and writers to pursue their writing dreams.
I've noticed some reoccurring themes among my guests and myself, choices and ways of thinking that shift the needle from dreaming about writing to taking action.
So, I've compiled these clips with the hope that when you're done listening to this, you not only will know you can do this too, but you'll also pick up a pen or sit down at a keyboard and write.
Topics discussed in this episode:
- Nancy McCabe on shaping her life around writing
- Dominique Snedeker on letting us be ourselves
- Sara Burnett on writing and parenting simultaneously
- Amanda Schiller on teaching herself writing
- Melissa Puritis on taking herself off the shelf
- Gina Colgrove on writing fearlessly
- Esme Iris on finding the right support
- Linnea March on fighting self-doubt
- Camisha Broussard on transparency and judgment
Connect with Parents Who Write:
- Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/parentswhowrite
- Facebook group: https://facebook.com/groups/parentswhowrite
- Book a free 30-minute consultation call: https://calendly.com/parentswhowrite/30min-meeting
Looking for an editor or book coach?
As an indie author, editor, and book coach, I teach authors how to untangle their jumbled ideas and tackle each writing stage one at a time.
With my 20 years’ experience and my master’s in writing, I have a 4-stage process that takes authors from struggling with overwhelm to finishing their manuscripts with confidence and direction in 6 months.
As such, I love spending time with my clients and watching them grow into strong, knowledgeable authors. Read more here, and schedule a call to see if we're a good fit: https://calendly.com/erinptcanning/30min-meeting.
Embracing the Fiction Author Journey - 46. Six editing lenses that help with revisions
Transcript
Have you started revising your story only to feel like you're going in circles? Does the revision process feel overwhelming and you don't know what to tackle next? In today's episode, you are going to learn how you can use different lenses to review your work and how this method can help make the revision process less chaotic. You'll also learn six lenses you can start using today.
Welcome to Parents Who Write, the podcast that helps pa
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