Then, a writer friend explained to me that book doctors use the term "plussing" as well as "pruning." Both are taken into consideration as they edit a writer's work, especially in the following two areas:
- Scene setting ~~ which is often woefully inadequate or entirely missing from the manuscript.
- Staging, or moving the story forward ~~ but omitting descriptions of the physical movements called for, or using unclear or impossible actions.
Recently, Ann Hite received what every writer wants to hear, a marvelous complement from her editor. It's a terrific example of the value of "plussing" a novel. Her editor wrote the following about the edits of Ann's current novel, Ghost On Black Mountain:
"Very impressive, but what's really impressive is the work you have done on Ghost On Black Mountain. I honestly have been savoring it. I'm three quarters of the way through and I have to say you nailed the Josie and Shelly sections. I'm so over the moon with the work you've done. I'll finish this week and we should chat ... honestly, I also don't want the last page to come so I've been reading the book in pieces as a present to myself after a long day. What a wonderful sign, right?!
"More to come, but I didn't want to keep you in suspense any longer. Your additions really made this story bigger and better. Excited to read more tonight when I finally get home!"When Ann recovered from the thrill, she knew her editor had increased her awareness of how important it is that as you write, avoid the need to fill in missing details by not omit them in the first place.
Ghost On Black Mountain is scheduled for release the fall of 2011 by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. While waiting for it, enjoy Ann's spellbinding stories on her web site, http://www.annhite.com./
See also, Chapter 18 - Book Publishing: http://tinyurl.com/38d98qf
2 comments:
Gosh, I'd never heard of the term, but it makes sense. This filling out of settings and scenes often happens for me in my second and third drafts. It's essential.
Plussing and pruning...good concepts to know. Looking forward to Ann's novel!
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