My Latest Guest Blog (About Editing “A Little Elfy in Big Trouble”) Is Up at Murder By Four

I’m happy to report that my latest guest blog, this one about editing A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE twelve years after I first wrote it, is up at the prestigious writing website Murder by Four.

Now, you might be asking yourselves, why have I been doing so many guest blogs? (Much less why I have had a number of guest bloggers at the Elfyverse.)

There is, of course, a reason for that.

A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE has been out exactly one month. And between that and the two stories I have in the EXQUISITE CHRISTMAS anthology, I wanted to make sure anyone who had any interest in my writing was aware of these things.

(As for an answer to the second question: reciprocating with my fellow authors in the EXQUISITE CHRISTMAS anthology just seemed fair…besides, they’re all fine writers and I thought at least a few of you would enjoy hearing about them and their stories.)

Anyway, I’ve tried to write a wide variety of things. Some have been about the nature of romance, while some have been about editing.

Why did I write two blogs about editing? Well, I found editing A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE to be a major challenge, something completely unlike anything else I’ve done to date. And I figured that two places would appreciate hearing about this — my friend Chris Nuttall’s blog, and the prestigious writing website Murder by Four.

Fortunately for me, both places appreciated me talking about editing. Chris ran the blog first — bless him forever! — and now, Murder by Four has decided to run the editing blog as well.

Here’s a bit from the guest blog:

“So, Barb, what’s the difference between a full-on edit and a rewrite? Especially since you’re talking about adding things or rewriting them?”

A full-on edit is meant to help you, as a writer, figure out what else needs to be added to complete your novel and make it the best novel you are capable of writing. It is not a rewrite, because those usually mean you’re starting from scratch, and you might use some of what you had before – or you might not.

It’s a matter of emphasis, mostly. Analytical skills, perhaps. And certainly a matter of thoughtfulness, thoroughness, and sticktuitiveness…because when you edit for yourself, you have to believe you can see it as someone else does.

Anyway, I do hope you will enjoy reading this guest blog as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Happy Monday, everyone!