Beta reading is a tough but necessary process on any publication journey. While staying true to your original intent, protecting your writer’s voice, and reminding your fragile writer’s ego that your work has a purpose and place, you must assess the value of every comment shared. Case in point; I have read through novel number one many times, yet I failed to notice the ubiquitous phrase “What the heck.” It appears way too many times in the novel. Worse, it is spoken by nearly every character! What a rookie mistake. Since these Wednesday blogs are about my writing journey, their purpose being to encourage other writers, I”ll fess up. I know how it happened. I’d sit in my writing closet working out scenes and dialogues, and that phrase would shoot from the tip of my tongue through my fingertips. My writing reflected my own personal voice, no matter the character. I am revising said novel again (!) and one chapter in, I have already found one “What the heck?” to be slashed from the page. When I wrote Monday’s blog about “Watch Your Language,” I didn’t necessarily mean in your written word. But yes, watch your characters’ language, every one of them. Our job as writers is to bring them to life as people of interest rather than mere names on the page. I’m so grateful to those who agree to read my work and then bravely point out such glaring errors! But really, what the heck?
Quote of the Week…
“A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world. Everyone you meet is a mirror.” Ken Keyes, Jr. 1921-1995
Patty Mayeux Blog 
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