The Trendsetter

So, it has been almost two months since I completed my short story and I’m still working on improving it so it looks like it was written by someone who knows how to write fiction. Well, it’s almost there and I’m still trying to find a way to improve the story’s depth. So far, I’ve polished the characters and each has a life. As far as the theme is concerned, I figured it’s really tied to the characters or plot. So, I also summarized the theme for my own reference. I also improved the dialogues so it has more slants and not bores the reader.

I am not sure if I found my own voice yet.
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So I completed my short story and had fermented it for a while and am now editing it to death! However, in these past few weeks, I’ve found myself also writing the sequel to the story. The MMC and FMC (Male Main Character and Female Main Character) bugged me to write more about them. Hmmm…maybe this was crazy, but if you were the author, you’d know what I mean. Writers are like that. They dwell on their writing for a long time and hope something would come up making it even better than their previous writing.
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Now you have completed your first draft of your manuscript - what’s next?

You should ignore it for several weeks – at least two to three weeks. When you take it out and look at it you should examine it and read it - as a reader with a fresh mind and perspective.

After completing your reading you should ask yourself these questions, “What lingers the most in your mind with what you’ve written?” Are you happy with the ending - or do you think something could be done to improve it? What is it? I find myself asking the same questions over and over when I revise my manuscript.

It is true. Writing is actually rewriting. Your first draft is not complete until it has been revised and rewritten.

There are a lot of “how to books” out there to assist you with the task of editing your manuscript. I find the following advice found in many of them to be helpful:
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