Guest Blog: On Fighting the Internal Censor (without Also Fighting the Internal Editor)

Author Gary W. Olson is here today to discuss the struggles that sometimes shape and influence the way he writes.
Read on to find out more. On to you, Gary.

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On Fighting the Internal Censor (without Also Fighting the Internal Editor)

 As a writer, one of my most constant challenges has been to push past the objections of my Internal Censor.  The Internal Censor, of course, being that part of myself that challenges things I write by saying 'what will your mother/your father/your co-workers/your parole officer/etc think of this?  You'd better take it out!'  It's something I haven't always been successful with in my years of writing, though I think I managed to do a good job of putting it on the ropes during the writing of my novel, Brutal Light.

Of course, I'm hardly the only writer who struggles with an Internal Censor, and it's hardly only writers who have to struggle with this creature.  To varying degrees, I think we all have to cope with some form of Internal Censor in our daily expressions, both online and in the 'real world.'  Writers, though, have an added burden, in that in order to tell the stories we have inside us fully and honestly, we may have to go through territory we ordinarily would not in public.  Flinch from doing so, and we tell a story we know has had its wings clipped--and if we know it, odds are our readers will, too.  Steam on ahead, and we risk disapproving looks and words from those whose judgments we value--or, at least, we imagine we do.

One thing I always have to remember to do is to give these people some credit.  My mother reads some horror fiction and a lot of crime and mystery fiction.  Other family members read crime, horror, science fiction, and fantasy--often books with content as dark as what's going in mine.  I remind myself that each one is more than the roles that define our relationship.  This quiets my internal censor some, but not fully.

That's when I bring on my surprise ally, the Internal Editor.  Despite what you might think, it's role is not the same as that of the Censor.  It might demand that some lines (or an entire scene) be cut--not because its contents are objectionable, but because they do not serve the story.  It might demand that some words be removed, not because they're 'dirty,' but because they set a different tone for the scene than I wanted.  Writing something violent, or erotic, or disturbing is fine, if that's what I'm striving for, but if it's not, or if it feels like something that brings the story to a screeching halt for x number of paragraphs or pages while it plays out, then the Editor has the go-ahead to cut it.

Once I've made all the cuts for the right reasons (the Internal Editor's), I tend to feel better about overruling the Internal Censor's objections.  The Editor left those bits in there for good, story-related reasons; the Censor should have no compelling arguments against those reasons.  The content stands, and I have (hopefully) created a story that is both honest and fully-told without being gratuitous.  As a writer, I don't think I can hope to do more than that.

 Blurb

 All Kagami Takeda wants is to be left alone, so that no one else can be destroyed by the madness she keeps at bay.  Her connection to the Radiance--a merciless and godlike sea of light--has driven her family insane and given her lover strange abilities and terrible visions.  But the occult forces that covet her access to the Radiance are relentless in their pursuit.  Worse, the Radiance itself has created an enemy who can kill her--a fate that would unleash its ravenous power on a defenseless city...

Rhea Cole is also on the run, after murdering her husband with a power she never knew she had--a power given her by a strange girl with a single touch.  Pursued by a grim man unable to dream and a dead soul with a taste for human flesh, she must contend with those who would use her to open the way to the Radiance, and fight a battle that stretches from the streets of Detroit to a forest of terrifying rogue memories.

 Excerpt

 Gordon screamed, and Kagami fell into the current of sound.  The sharp edge of the scream faded into nothing, and the nothing became the ghost of a boy.

No...there were two boys--light-skinned, brown-haired, and lost in their own shared world. There had been parents, Kagami sensed, but they had gone early, and those who tried to fill in were inadequate at keeping the boys from running wild. They stole money and cars, first through force, then through a variety of cons. The older one burned through money and women, and the younger--

One girl in the blur of stolen memories drew Kagami's attention.  She had black hair and pale skin, and there was fear in her eyes as Kelly pulled her onto him. Gordon watched, frozen.  Horror boiled in his sunken eyes, but something else burned beneath, and she could taste it for a single moment.

Then the light came, and the girl vanished.

Her name is Olivia Harbaugh.

Kagami repeated the name into the wave of consuming light, though she didn't know why. She was there and gone, a teenage girl who came to a sick end at the hands of two sick young men, and all she had was her name, her taste and her fear.

When the light receded, Kagami was in Kelly's body. His hands were on the steering wheel of a pickup truck. Outside was absolute night, pierced only by headlights. A featureless dirt road rolled beneath. Anonymous fields and trees were on either side of the road. There were no mailboxes or signs.

Though Kelly's body was flesh and blood, he felt as hollow as he had as a mane. He had told her, near the start of their time together, that he once had flesh, but she found it hard to credit.  He was like no soul she had ever touched, no soul she thought possible.

The servant I served. My corruption. My immane.

Buy links for "Brutal Light":

• Amazon.com (Kindleedition)
• DamnationBooks.com (.mobi, .epub, .pdf, .pdb)
• Links for of all other vendors (continually updated): http://BrutalLight.GaryWOlson.com

Print ISBN (for ordering paperback via bookstore): 978-1-61572-539-7

Digital ISBN: 978-1-61572-538-0

 

Author Bio:

Gary W. Olson grew up in Michigan and, despite the weather, stuck around.  In 1991 he graduated from Central Michigan University and went to work as a software engineer.  He loves to read and write stories that transgress the boundaries of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, while examining ideas of identity and its loss in the many forms it can have.

Away from working and writing, Gary enjoys spending time with his wife, their cats, and their mostly reputable family and friends.  His website is at http://www.garywolson.com, and features his blog, A Taste of Strange (http://www.garywolson.com/blog), as well as links to everyplace else he is on the Internet, such as Twitter (http://twitter.com/gwox) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/gary.w.olson.author).

A Chat with Jay

My latest release, Seeker, is with Devine Destinies/eXtasy books. I managed to snag Jay Austin, their Editor-In-Chief, for an interview today. Not only does she assign manuscripts to her army of "Track Change"-wielding editors, but she supports her authors with solid advice. She's also a strong believer that readers are intelligent people who should be entertained…emphasis on the entertaining part. That includes enjoying an error-free read and not using a thesaurus every few minutes.

Please join us.

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Su: Jay, thank you for accepting to sit for this interview. Please have a seat and tell us a bit about yourself. For example, does the "J" stand for anything or is it just "Jay"? (Yes, I've been dying to know the answer to this one)

Jay: I could tell you the J stands for a misprinted smiley face in an email and is something I adopted on a spur of the moment, that it has been my mark ever since, but would you believe me? Jay Austin is real, the name, the person, the experience, all of it, and I’m just Jay. Do I hide behind an alias? Most in the writing field do for various reasons and there’s nothing wrong with that. I sidestepped that question because I want to leave at least one secret behind this Mystery Meat. ;)

Experience? It’s been said one needs this degree or that degree to be a good editor. Truth is, you don’t need any degree, but journalism experience is a huge benefit. There’s far more to editing than just mechanics and grammar. A good editor excels at communication, at working with and encouraging authors, at teaching, at explaining the why behind the reason, at researching and always keeping up-to-date and in practice on the rules.

I did a few years of journalism, do a lot of researching of language do’s and don’ts on a daily basis, accept that all characters do not speak proper grammar and work with my authors and editors as needed, even one-on-one. I may have the last say about what does and doesn’t get put in a published book, but if an author understands why something is and not just that it is, the author is more likely to learn, understand, accept and avoid repeated mistakes.

Su: If we take a glance through your bookshelf, what types of books will we see?

Jay: The electronic shelf contains every ebook by eXtasy and Devine and it is from there I select for reading pleasure. The physical shelf contains a variety of genres and treasured gems. On one shelf is a collection of Reader’s Digest hardbound books, on another is a group of nonfiction, on a third is a series of romance novels from infamous bodice rippers to today’s erotica and on yet another are age-old books dating back over a century—I even have a 1910 novel and 1870 grammar book, revised edition. Some books are perfectly intact, some have the covers worn off them, all are valued.

My work books—Little Brown Brief, Chicago Manual of Style, Strunk & White: Elements of Style—those are on a bookshelf at my fingertips.

Su: What's your editing style?

Jay: Up front and honest. I correct errors, but also tell when I laugh. I do what I can to make a book the best possible before it sees the world. Reviews affect us all, one way or another, but I am right there with each author when a review appears.

While all editors try, not one can catch every mistake—it’s impossible for any human and there is not a single editing program that can come close to spotting a head hop and many other issues.

Please note, we do not un-language our authors and this means our authors use their native spelling—Australian writers use Australian, Canadian writers use Canadian, British writers use British and American writers use American. Depending on the author’s home, flavour and flavor, neighbour and neighbor, colour and color, etc. are correct.

Su: What do you look for in an editor when hiring one?

Jay: An editor needs to spot errors ranging from POV’s/head hops, needed rewrites, grammar and mechanical issues, word misuse, passive instead of active, telling instead of showing, loose writing, misplaced modifiers and hyphens, misused punctuation, ellipses, em dashes and commas, use of semicolons, colons and parentheses, plot holes, story flow, consistency, etc.

While experience is a nice benefit, it is never a prerequisite. No one knows it all so the ability to learn is vital. Most of the above I can teach, but some is more experience, more familiarity than trained knowledge, like head hopping, telling instead of showing and story flow.

I look for someone who enjoys reading, hates mistakes, is willing to learn, is willing to research language on a daily basis, is communicative and is willing to mentor. Reviewers tend to spot flow and consistency very well in addition to so much more.

Su: What makes eXtasy and Devine Destinies different from other publishing houses?

Jay: Not sure, but I know what makes us who we are. We’re very upfront with our authors in the business sense. We have a House Style PDF along with ten Tips & Tricks Guides available to every author and editor in the company via the company loops. The editing team edits the same way I do, so authors know what to expect and there are no surprises. Communication is always open and Tina (founder/owner) and I do our utmost to answer within twenty-four hours. We work with our authors. We consider quality and honesty highly valued because reputation and honor matter.

We have recently acquired a brand new website that is much faster. The lines are cleaner and crisper, and the shopping cart works better than ever. The links are more precise and we’ve added a wish list.

We’re now doing a 5% cash-back reward—solely at company expense—for all customers. New customers receive $5.00 toward a first purchase of $20.00 or more after creating a new account.

Su: What genres do you accept in eXtasy and Devine Destinies? What genres you do not accept?
Jay: Any on the front page of the site at http://extasybooks.com but here’s a short list of accepted genres: Action, Adventure, BDSM, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Erotica, Fantasy, Futuristic, GLBT, Historical, Horror, Humor, Interracial, Mainstream, Mystery, Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, Western. Devine also accepts Juvenile and Young Adult. I’m unaware of a genre we do not accept, but there is a list of unacceptable material quoted in our submission guidelines at http://www.extasybooks.com/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=9

Su: Give us a glimpse of a typical day in your life as an editor?

Jay: Something most often forgotten is editors have simple, common human needs—family, food, sleep. Here’s the simple routine process for us:

·       Acceptance and into editing queue where wait time depends on several factors: company process, available editor and more.

·       Manuscript to editor where time depends on how many corrections are needed or if a manuscript is ninth on an editor’s desk.

·       Manuscript to writer is a process lasts as long as the author and editor feel it should.

·       Second round manuscript to writer after a second pass by editor.

·       Manuscript to EIC where I read and double-check every book possible and that’s usually all, even going back to the author if needed. The end of this process is formatting books to house standard.

·       Manuscript to galley is where the manuscript becomes a PDF.

·       Galley to writer is the last and final chance to read and find any and all errors that might have been missed in grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc before publication. The author controls the amount of time this takes to get back to the EIC.

·       Final galley back to the EIC is where the ISBN is added, then each book is made into the ten formats we have available for the buyer.

·       Release day is decided after a galley is finished.

This is how we work at eXtasy and Devine, but the process can vary from company to company. I usually take the first and fifteenth off because I spend two to three days before releases doing a final prep of all new books. When someone points out an error, I fix the book, re-make all ten formats and re-upload the corrected version.

Su: I know from personal experience that you have cool tricks to avoid confusing issues in writing. My "Confused Manual" is built on your tricks. Can you share a couple with us here for common mistakes writers make?

Jay: Word confusion is a major one. I use a general rule of thumb: when in doubt, look it up. Some of the most common are:

·       Who’s (who is)/whose (belonging to someone)

·       It’s (it is)/ its (owner)

·       Lie (recline, done by noun)/lay (place, done to subject)

·       Site (location)/sight (see)

·       Loose (not tight)/lose (can be removed or misplaced)

·       Their (pronoun-possession of more than one)/there (location)/they’re (they are)

·       Except (preposition, conjunction-not included)/accept (verb-receive, give approval)

·       Effect (noun-result)/affect (verb-impact)

·       You’re (you are)/your (belongs to you)

·       Then (time)/than (comparison) (hint: leave off then when if starts the sentence)

·       Lead (noun-soft gray metal, verb-guide)/led (verb-past tense of verb lead)

·       Reign (control, influence)/rein (guides a mount)/rain (water from the sky)

·       Past (far side, later, beyond amount, previously)/passed (move, overtake, give, transfer)

·       Worse (adjective-less good than something else, more severe, adverb-worse degree, noun-something worse)/worst (adverb-least good or well, noun-least good thing, verb-defeat somebody)

·       Could or would of is always incorrect and should be could or would have

The absolute worst I encounter is head hopping/POV jumping. It’s the hardest one as it requires re-writes to fix. Head hops are both difficult to explain and avoid, but devastating to story flow and reader attention. Head hopping is shifting perspective from one character viewpoint to another while in a scene.

My pet peeve it the disappearing, the forgotten, the lacking use of the Direct Address Comma. It has a specific name because it has a specific purpose. The use or lack of makes the difference in a character saying:

Don’t eat that Aunt Martha -vs- Don’t eat that, Aunt Martha

…or this one…

I have to help my uncle Jack off the horse -vs- I have to help my uncle, Jack, off the horse.

Su: On average, how many books go under your microscope per month? Do you take an active role in editing some of them?

Jay: Twenty-eight every month—twenty at eXtasy, six at Devine and two at Trapezium. How many do I read? I do my best to read every book before it is released, but I am human and am not perfect. This means that one might be a scan rather than an intense read. I do familiarize myself with each author and do focus on each individual weakness.

For fun, I checked the last six months and my average word count per release day was 387,983, which breaks into an average of 27,500 words a day—and I do occasionally have a day off. Oh, and contrary to popular belief, I actually do sleep—sometimes.

Su: Jay, what advice would you give to writers? Do you have anything to say to readers?

Jay: Writers, if you feel the need take any courses, take a journalism course as it’ll teach you more about writing fiction than any other instructional course out there. Research the spelling and correct use of a word as well as the correct use of punctuation. Nothing will get you rejected faster than for an editor/publisher to open a manuscript only to see it riddled with misspellings. Research the genres of the publisher to whom you wish to submit. Submitting erotic romance to a YA publisher indicates you failed to research. Follow the publisher’s submission guidelines because sending content to a publisher who doesn’t accept such indicates you failed to read the submission guidelines. Research the publisher you wish to submit to, poll their authors even, but make sure you select the right publisher for you and one that has a strong background. Do not add weird formatting, pretty fonts, graphics and other little things to make the story look great as the story content is what will earn acceptance, not the fancy things you do to it. Read your manuscript aloud to help eliminate errors. There are programs that can do this for you and it’s the best thing any author can do before submission. There are several free reader programs out there. The human eyes and mind have the ability to see and translate misspelled words and typos when you are reading and you never even realize it. I’m sure all of you have seen the misspelled paragraph floating around the internet. It’s not a joke—it’s the mind’s ability to translate. Don’t rely on the opinion of family and friends concerning your story as family members and friends may be afraid of hurting your feelings and will tell you what they think you want to hear. Seek out someone not close.

Readers, please remember, editors and authors are human and do make mistakes. This EIC is more than happy to fix any mistakes you find in our books. All you have to do is send an email to jmmeditor@gmail.com and in the subject line please put error found. Tell me the book title, the flawed sentence and the specific flaw. I will happily fix any discovered error and re-upload the corrected version as well.

And thank you for purchasing, for reading and for being what authors and editors treasure because it’s for you, the reader, that we do what we do.

About Jay Austin:

Jay is closing the gap on fifty fast and lives in Tennessee with her husband of almost thirty years. She enjoys occasionally reading, loves editing and happily works for eXtasy Books and Devine Destinies at http://extasybooks.com/ .

Jay, thank you for taking the time to visit Vivid Sentiments.