Why Do You Need Professional Editors?

The first book, In The Light We Breathe Out, was a trial by fire in the editing process. It was ego-crushing, almost bringing me to tears. It's not easy when your firstborn is scrutinized to the fullest by an editor! But that is the rite of passage for every manuscript in the world.

As the manuscript was being refined, I learned so much from its metaphorical ashes (my brain's way of editing out the BS!). So, what have I learned?

• Our manuscript needs to be edited, elevating it  from a journal reserved only for you to read to the public paying readers.  

• Even if it's poetry, it should not be a puzzle to be solved (too many metaphors can be overwhelming).

• Cut, cut, cut, even if it's the best line you've ever written! (This is truly heartbreaking!)

• Before you even start writing, clearly define the purpose of your book. (CRITICAL!)

Happy writing, but remember—the crucial part begins with the editing! :) 

 Where do ideas come from? 

 Can I make my cloud? Impossible to answer. I can detail the process from words to ideas to storytelling, except for the nature of the idea itself. I will try to describe it as if the mind has its own feet, leaving my brain and effortlessly wandering in another realm, and comes back with images that need to be deciphered. Other times its from a dream.  I am always jolted by what it brings back, and like switching on a computer, all systems go. With butt on chair and pen on white pages, the stream of flooding ideas is about to overflow! Sometimes I write so fast, but the flow of words is faster. Therefore, the editing process is crucial, a day after dumping all these ideas from my mind's escapades into its own world. These ideas are not mine, I am just a channel for these words with meaning. Then I write, the only job I can do to convey the message to the readers or whoever needs these words. So, where is this world full of ideas? I don't know.

Butt on Chair

Writing is a solitary process. I don't think anyone who embarks on a writing project can do it like those who knit, casually chatting over tea. I mean, how?

A writer requires a space and a lot of time to let one's imagination run wild, often in seclusion that might span years. Essentially, the mind and body focus on not engaging with people and simply "butt on chair" to write.

The Routine :

I write before the sun rises. The goal is to finish a draft of a poem daily, handwritten in my 6x5 in. notebook. Once I finished all 176 pages, I draft the next collection. 

On Writing

 Fiction is the fog that diffuses the truth.