R’s—Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle by Adriana Marella-Wolfe

Adriana Marella-Wolfe, a new member to InScribe, joins us once again as our Guest Blogger on InScribe Writers Online.

"This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, "Write in a book

all the words I have spoken to you." Jeremiah 30:2 (NIV)

The three R's—Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle—are October’s blog prompt. Below are hints I use for my writing that are written out as a prayer. Enjoy.

“Heavenly Father, how do I reduce my writing? I am an over-writer. It’s true I admit it.”

Checklist #1

- Remove all the “that, just” and so on from “the list of unnecessary words in writing". Here are a couple of lists that I refer to: 43 Words You Should Cut From Your Writing Immediately by Diane Urban and 298 Useless Filler Words That Rob Your Writing of Its Power by Smartblogger.com

- An on-line copyeditor course “The Keys to Effective Editing” Southeast College in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada, has given me great guidelines.

- Marie Powell’s editing workshop. Count the total number of words in a paragraph. Divide it by two. The result is crossing out the unneeded words.

- Acronyms. Using acronyms helps me to shorten my ideas or give me direction. For example, r- reduce. My tangled web disappears.

- Discard repeated words like “said”. Use more action verbs.

- Use the five senses and intuition. Go with the gut.

- Reduce to three opinions for each character in dialogue: positive, negative, and neutral/undecided.

“Lord Jesus, my teacher, how do I reuse? I am a pack rat.”

Checklist #2

- Reuse patterns with my dual time lines. Consider locations and dates.

- Edit. Watch for spelling, grammar, tenses. That's my task as a copyeditor.

- Have empathy for your characters. Dialogue helps me to interact with them. I act it out.

- Reusing tones helps to generate arcs - rising, falling, and healing.

- Press "Save As" and then print a hard copy. When our computer broke down, I did not have a backup or printed copy. I lost everything. Now with my new computer, I save as and print a hard copy.

- Double check with a short list. On the side of my work, I write down the five senses and intuition: who, what, when, where, why, and how. I place a check mark or X beside each one after I look to see if I have inserted them.

- Yes, I am a pack rat. I have copies of my first draft ever. Travel pieces are a keepsake for me. I reuse places, times, and events.

- Headers/Footers. Here is a short video: How to Create Reusable Headers and Footers in Microsoft Word (on YouTube) by Erin Wright Writing.

“Holy Spirit, my advocate. How do I recycle my writing? “Yuck, who writes this? Oh yeah, it’s me.”

Checklist #3

- Keep all notes and old inserts. I may not use them, but I can recreate new scenes.

- My journals. Write past or present travel stories using location and dates. Check out these links: Journaling, slow living, and the analog life and 30 Inspiring September Journal Prompts (+ Ideas)

- Recycle emotions. Check out: The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Expression by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi.

- Phrases for giving constructive criticism. Check out this article by Zip Recruiter: 11 Constructive Criticism Writing Examples to Produce Results

- Use writing prompts. For example, write your life story in five sentences.

- Use action verbs. As a teacher, in my lesson plans I could not use “learn” as a verb. It must show movement, i.e., "The student sketches, using charcoal sticks, of their favorite fruit."

- Dialogue can be reinvented.

- Flashbacks are scenes of trauma. They are more than a memory. They can be emotional and/or physical sensations. They can be a sign of recovery. Check out the short article Experiencing Flashback by www.cisters.org.uk

Thank you for your guidance. Amen.

Adriana Marella-Wolfe is a retired teacher, wife, and mom living in Regina, most of her life. Adriana has a Bachelor of Education Degree, University of Regina, Laity - Archdiocese of Regina and People of the Archangel Publications - home-based business as a self-publisher, copyeditor, author with craft/trade shows. Historical/contemporary fiction, poetry and spiritual stories are published in anthologies, newspapers, and magazines. Adriana loves to travel, write, read, knit, and crochet.

Exploring a New Writing Direction by Adriana Marella-Wolfe

 

Please welcome InScribe member Adriana Marella-Wolfe today as our Guest Blogger on InScribe Writers Online.

How do I explore in a new direction with split themes or dual timelines? A split time novel must have multiple storylines in more than one time period. I am trying two time periods since I am a beginner. Dual timelines can be linear that bridges two time periods which bridges time and space.

Past publications in historical/contemporary fiction, poetry, and spiritual stories lead me to the next level. I am a late bloomer in writing. My spiritual fiction, Mystia, has been on pause. Plans to revive it are in the works. Resources navigate my path.

What have I done so far? I have self-published two spiritual books: A Time for God and A Time for Prayer; anthologies with Wascana Writers; newspaper articles in The Leader Post, Regina Sun, and North Battleford Optimist; magazine articles such as "Sisters of Charity" in FellowScript, Wascana Writers (freelance), and Saskatchewan Writers' Guild. My vision expands to a place where God uses my characters and me as instruments to connect with the reader.

What do I think will work for me? With my research at the Sherwood Village Library, the librarian finds two resources. First, one book online which I ordered—A Split in Time: How to Write Dual Timeline, Split Time, and Time-Slip Fiction by Melanie Dobson and Morgan Tarpley Smith, 2020. Three specific styles: staccato, sandwich, or sectional are recommendations. To me, staccato style is snapshots. Sandwich style is two in the present and one in the past, or the other way. Sectionals are the long version. My first attempt uses staccato and sectional. I will try staccato to refresh and add suspense. It helps me steer dual timelines.

With this resource, chapters are aligned with an ABA pattern. Present to past to present is my first try. I will weave them together. I need to reedit again to make it come alive for the reader.

The second resource from the library is The Memory House by Rachel Hauck, 2019. A split time theme and romance patterned contemporary, then historical. This book is on the way.

My InScribe writing group, with Sharon Hamilton and Sharon Heagy, aid me to identify where my spiritual fiction fits. Sharon Hamilton describes my work for Early Readers ages 5-10. She sent me to Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers (CANSCAIP). These resources have rebalanced my writing and business with positive critiques.

Illustrations are my next task. Choices are black or white, colourized, both, or none. At the conference, a cover illustration will sell a book in three seconds. I need the help of an illustrator, hopefully MaryAnn Ward to visualize my novel.

How do I incorporate business in writing? My home-based business, People of the Archangel Publications, is where I self-publish, copyedit, retreats/workshops, and author with craft/trade shows. I implement my tools into rural and urban areas booked by the librarian with the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild. God Moments is one of them by contract work.

People need to feed the spiritual side. My priest hires me to do a spiritual retreat, “From the Desert to the Promised Land” is another one of them. Biblical growth heals the wounds.

 
Social media and advertising are avenues to explore. Using the internet is new to me, since I am a people person. Instagram is the venue I use to keep track of views, followers, and promote my business. Advertisements through parish bulletins, word of mouth, and craft/trade shows are icebreakers for me. CANSCAIP was a godsend for me. I met other authors in the same field. It helped me with marketing ideas and writing a formula/synopsis for my spiritual fiction. I did not meet anyone who writes with dual timelines.

My adventure through the craft and business of writing is a teeter-totter. I will pray to God for the words to be an instrument to readers.

Adriana Marella-Wolfe is a retired teacher, wife, and mom living in Regina, most of her life. Adriana has a Bachelor of Education Degree, University of Regina, Laity - Archdiocese of Regina and People of the Archangel Publications - home-based business as a self-publisher, copyeditor, author with craft/trade shows. Historical/contemporary fiction, poetry and spiritual stories are published in anthologies, newspapers, and magazines. Adriana loves to travel, write, read, knit, and crochet.