IWSGIt’s the Insecure Writers’ Support Group today, asking about a valuable lesson you’ve learnt.  I’m at Camp Nano, so this is just a quickie to show willing.

My most valuable lesson

The most valuable lesson I’ve learnt while writing comes in three parts:

  1. When you need to write, write
  2. When you don’t need to write, don’t write
  3. When you need to edit, set a timetable and deadlines.

So now, back to Camp Nano, to continue editing the albatross around my neck.

Hopefully next month I’ll tell you what I’ve learnt from editing it!

Excerpt from my WIP

As a treat, here is the current revised start of the Perihelix.

It was the last working day of this tour.

“Just don’t mess up.”

“I won’t. I always check. You know that.”

Lars Nilsson, known as the Swede, ignored the narrowed eyes and shake of the head from his partner, and swung himself into the airlock. Twenty minutes later he finished checking the security of the pins in the rocky entrance to their current mining site, and started the fiddly job of fixing the safety net behind him.  Across the void of space, the pale green light of Viridium, their sun, cast an eerie colour wash over the asteroid’s surface; it was bright enough for Lars to read by, but then, he was born on a dim-sun planet. Further in, Pleasant Valley and Sunset Strip, the twin habitable Viridian planets, reflected the sunlight across the ecliptic, left and right, the furthest separation they would have when seen from the asteroid belt. It was a grand sight, but miners never had time to admire it.

Lars swore a few times as he used the hooked tool to fix the netting; space-suited fingers were as clumsy as ever, and they’d found an antique in a market on some planet which worked better, but still imperfectly. He hadn’t yet discovered what ‘crochet’ was, though.

One hundred metres away on the skin of their craft, his partner, ‘Big’ Pete Garcia, waved his arm from one side to the other: ‘all clear’. Few asteroid miners used voice comms when mining—might as well put out a homing beacon for pirates. The Viridian system was too far from most places to be a target, but a few claim-jumpers would love to know which rock the system’s most successful orichalcum miners were working.

Lars floated down the tunnel to the fresh rockface.

Just one more day. Don’t mess up.  Safety first.

© J M Pett 2017

#IWSG | Most valuable lesson in writing
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5 thoughts on “#IWSG | Most valuable lesson in writing

  • 5 July, 2017 at 2:41 pm
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    Hi Jemima – excellent three points … good luck with that editing … cheers Hilary

  • 5 July, 2017 at 3:11 pm
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    Hi,
    You have found the rhythm that works for you and I’m glad you did.
    Good luck with your revision and thanks for sharing your excerpt.
    All the best.
    Shalom aleichem,
    Pst G at Everything Must Change

  • 5 July, 2017 at 3:26 pm
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    Going with what the need dictates sure is the way. Forcing it can sometimes provide fruitless results.

  • 5 July, 2017 at 5:01 pm
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    Excellent words of wisdom! You also remind me that I forgot this is IWSG day. I’ll have to get my post up ASAP!

  • 6 July, 2017 at 12:47 am
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    Great points. I especially think the bit about not writing is important. There is suck pressure on writers to do it 24/7, but if we did that with day jobs, we’d burn out. The same will happen with writing and suck the joy out of it.

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