Pear Tree Blossoms

 

Blossoms on our pear tree beside the lake peek out

 

A few at a time

Then more . . . and, finally, the pear tree standing in a dress of white blossoms.

 

 

Book writing, too, starts small . . .

My memoir began as aย Kinko-bound collection of scenes, a collaboration with my friend Carolyn in 1999.

 

 

Then Artist Man entered with a booklet of sketches, more baby steps, 2001

Tomato Girl with watercolor studies

 

The Story formed, like a sketch on an easel, sort ofย 

 

From the colored stickies and after days, months and years, a draft emerged

Thick pile of 294 pages scrutinized . . .

 

 

 

Now, the book has become something else

  1. About Rheems, more than Queens although New York City appears in one chapter
  2. About working in the tomato field, but more
  3. With a pear tree, a willow tree, oaks and maples, anchoring a childhood playground

 

April Status

My book has been revised and edited, ad infinitum.

In the beginning, readers helped me shape the shifting sands of my unformed mass of ideas into a recognizable story. Then I paid for deep developmental editing, twice, using editors that suggested moving content from here to there, adding and deleting.

Then followed an editorial evaluation, revision, more editing, self-editing, more rounds of proofreading. One dear memoirist, Liesbet, even volunteered to do another editing, to polish.

Next steps: typesetting; thenย one final author review.

Soon the book will be out of my hands.

Root out repetition

Stamp out that semicolon

Tramp those typos

Egads! Is the modifier dangling?

How did that misspelling sneak in?

 

 

Anne Bradstreet, dear lady, sweat bullets over her book, and shows how hard it is to let go of her brainchild

The Author to Her Book, Anne Bradstreet

 

Anne Bradstreet, looking unperturbed here, Pinterest image

ย 

ย 

Want more editing inspiration?

The Artful Editย by Susan Bell, which Goodreads describes as aย “vigorous investigation into the history and meaning of the edit. This book, likeย The Triggering Townย andย The Elements of Style, is a must-have companion for every writer.” The author takes illustrations from F. Scott Fitzgerald, Michael Ondaatje, Tracy Kidder, and Ann Patchett.

 

Your Turn: Tips for memoirists, and other writers; parallel (or different) experiences at any stage of the writing game. All welcome!