What feedback do you pay attention to, how do you edit, what do you do once you have an idea for a story?
Just some of the questions that came out of Ask Me Anything about writing.
Hi there,
We had a great session with members of Wild Writing with Sanjida. We talked about where we all were with our writing and what we needed help with.
Paid members can watch the full session below.
Thank you so much to the people who came and asked questions - jasmine rogers, Ken Preston, Camilla Grayley, Claire and Mark Fresolone.
We talked about:
Editing:
Claire is writing a series of novels and needs to revise them before she publishes them.
What do you do when you have got to the end of your manuscript? How do you work out what to do next and how do you edit it?
I often tell people that writing a book is like running a marathon, but Ken came up with an even better metaphor.
He quoted American crime, Lawrence Block, who said that
writing a book is like running a marathon, but editing is like walking the route again, whilst looking for your keys.
How perfect is that?!
You might be interested in this article on Editing.
Feedback from publishers:
Camilla Grayley has a fantastic idea for a garden design book. She’s sent a synopsis to publishers and had some feedback, where the editor would like to steer the book in a different direction.
So what do you do when the gate-keeper—a publisher, editor or agent—wants you to change your vision? How far do you compromise, if at all?
You might like this workshop on how to deal with feedback.
Getting started:
jasmine rogers wanted to know what you do once you have an idea for a story. What are the next steps to take?
This article on beginning to write could be useful!
Writing thrillers:
Mark Fresolone made lots of kind comments and asked me questions about my own writing—how I got into writing thrillers and why (I was writing historical-literary fiction and non-fiction as Sanjida O’Connell before switching to crime fiction-suspense as Sanjida Kay); and how I work out the different layers in a book, in terms of plot and what characters know or feel about other people and events in the story.
This masterclass on suspense might be helpful.
Next up!
I’m taking August off from Substack to focus on our mini rewilding project, Wild Pinebeck in Somerset. You’re most welcome to come and stay if you want a dedicated writing retreat! (I’ll pause paid subscriptions).
In September I’ll be back with:
more in-depth articles on the craft of writing, like these ones on How to write dialogue and How to create a meaningful connection with your reader (by using leitmotifs).
practical help to get published—beginning with finding an agent and writing a synopsis.
live masterclasses.
NEW! A monthly (maybe fortnightly?) meet-up online where we have a quick chat and then we all write together. Hopefully a way to keep accountable, keep writing and keep in touch with each other.
I offer Book Coaching—feedback on your work, help with plotting, mentoring and manuscript consultancy. I’m thinking of having monthly sessions where we can give each other feedback on short extracts of our work-in-progress. Let me know what you think!
The replay of our Ask Me Anything about writing is below.
Looking forward to seeing you after the summer!
Sanjida x