I'm Learning

Editing.
Its roots must come from the Greek words for torture, evil, and above all else painful. And yet I'm enjoying it.
Yes, I'm the girl who threw a huge fit about how much I wanted to quit writing when my editor sent word back about my book. I pouted, cried, threw things and nearly took up knitting instead of writing.
Thankfully I managed to get back on my feet. One of my friends who is an author told me that editing is hard and can be painful, but in the end you might start to like it. After coming up with new material for the second book of Twisted (a book that has ALWAYS given me trouble) I'm happy to work with existing material that just needs a little polishing to shine.
I'm learning.
It's as easy as that.
At first, everything was new to me. I knew how to write, but I didn't know how to polish that writing. My editor told me I needed to lighten up on the telling and show things instead. I took that to heart. Telling is easy.
I was scared as I looked up.
That is telling. That is what my book was full of. (Oops!)
My heart hammered. Cold sweat dribbled down my forehead. I could barely convince myself to make lift my head. My eyes refused to open as I raised my chin. Seconds passed. My hands clenched. My eyes opened.
That is showing. See the difference? I feel it's a better way to grab your readers and get them to feel their own hearts pounding. It just takes longer to write. You really have to put yourself into your character's shoes and imagine how you'd feel in that situation.
I did this. I couldn't sleep a couple weeks ago so I went out into the family room down the hall from my room. I live in the basement and it used to be the dreaded place. None of us would go down there alone for fear of getting eaten by the monster we knew had to be down there.
I'd just come from a bright area and the room was dark. I could see the lights from the Wii and our HD converter box (a red light, often resembling an evil glaring eye to late night wanderers) but I couldn't see much else. It was too dark. I noticed right away what happened. My hands went to my chest. I kept myself small, making as little disturbance to the area around me as I possibly could. Every time I turned, my back felt exposed, like something was going to come and gnaw on it.
I wanted safety, comfort. I wanted to run to my room and flip on the light. I wanted a door between me and the darkness.
I was amazed. I'd never really paid attention to what I did in the darkness when I was afraid. I usually ran. (Yes, I am a wimp :D)
I used this and put it into Twisted where Aster was trying to sneak through the Secret Keeper's castle. In a scary place like that, you want to run where you're comfortable.
So using experiences like that, I'm able to tell. I've been in a lot of awkward situations where I wanted out. I used my own body language for the Secret Keeper, withdrawing, growing quiet, watching, listening and how I felt.
See, I'm learning. I can even tell the difference between my old writing styles and how I am now. It takes a lot of brainpower, but I'm happy. Plus, YouTube stopped crashing, so that's always a plus. :)
I'm going to start another blog about my experiences with horses (I just got back and I'm smelling lovely) Amy Miller my violin teacher is very good with horses. She taught her horses how to paint! Cheyenne can even play the piano.
Believe it or not, I'm using what I'm learning from the horses in my book. Horses can't tell you how they feel, they show it. :)

No idea who the quote is by. If you know, tell me so I can give them proper credit. :)