Now that the glow from Realm Makers is wearing off, it’s time for the rubber to hit the road. The inspiration of RM has me fired up with goals and dreams. I have to get them implemented.

A primary goal is to edit and revise the first draft of my YA story so it can be submitted. And writers just LOVE editing.

Some actually do. I like it when I get into making a story better, but it can be a slog as well.

One of the best decisions I’ve done with my writing is to work with freelance editors. On an early draft of my suspense, my heroine wasn’t likable. Thanks to Becky Miller, I was able to turn my main character around.

Then I worked with Ben Wolf after a couple of revisions of the full novel. This is where the nightmares set in.

See, Ben would see all the spots where I was telling something, instead of SHOWING what happened. Early in the book, he’d explain in his comments. As it went along, the code became:

Get Physical.physical

I’ve had a couple dreams where I see red over the manuscript, and the continual admonition to “get physical.” And it’s a great code to remind me to not be lazy and just tell the reader something.

Of course there’s time for telling. I’m not going to show you every breath a character takes. But we writers need to be ever vigilant on letting bad habits slip in.

That’s my encouragement to my writer friends, especially those Realm Makers Alumni who are hard at work on their WIPs. Keep going. Remember what Robert Liparulo said.

And get physical.