Welcome to the November issue of Editing Tips!

As the year is drawing to a close, I thought I would share an idea I heard recently on social media. For a few years now, Karin Nordin PhD has set goals on November 1 of what she wants to accomplish before January 1 of the following year. This year it with be “Twenty-Six Before Twenty-Six.”

What a great idea!

For the purposes of this month’s newsletter, let’s apply this concept in our Editing Tips categories below.

And don’t forget to read about Author April Kidwell’s process at the end of the newsletter. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing with us, April!

Editing Tips

There is always more to learn. You could select eight to sixteen editing rules you would like to learn and do some research.

For example…

1. When to use a comma before “because.”

2. When to use “loose” and when to use “lose.”

3. When to begin a sentence with “so” and when to include it in a longer sentence.

4. When to use “then” and when to use “than.”

That could account for a dozen or more of your twenty-six items right off the bat.

Tips for Fiction Writers

You could…

1. Read a new novel or novella.

2. Write a short story.

3. Write a fanfic story based on your favorite fictional characters.

4. Jump into NovNov, ProWritingAid’s answer to the now-defunct NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month.

Tips for Nonfiction Writers

How about…

1. Reading about a skill you’ve been wanting to learn?

2. Creating step-by-step instructions to do something you’re skilled at and sharing it on social media or elsewhere?

3. Outlining that NF book you’ve been wanting to write?

4. Writing one or more chapters of that nonfiction manuscript that has been gathering physical or virtual dust for quite a while?

Tips for Memoir Writers

What writer doesn’t want to include more reading in their day?

If you love memoirs, why not nab a new one and read it between now and the end of the year?

If memoirs “aren’t your thing,” why not select one that piques your interest and give it a shot?

And maybe, just maybe, you may want to select a vignette from your life and try your hand at memoir yourself.

Deep Point of View Basics

Select a scene from your WIP or from a published novel or memoir and rewrite it in DPOV.

Learning more about writing in deep point of view and practicing doing so could count toward your personal Twenty-Six Before Twenty-Six.

Featured Author’s Writing Process

Read how April Kidwell is “Breaking the Mold.”

I’m neither a pantser nor a plotter—but somewhere in between.

I write every day, except when I don’t.

I like to write at my desk in silence or with music, on my laptop in a park, or in a journal in the car.

When I hear authors being chastised to follow a routine, sit down and write no matter what, or power through a messy first draft, I shiver.

Believe me, I understand the need for routine, for showing up and writing. But writing is a process, and for me, it doesn’t look like what others might call “normal.”

I’ve tried to conform. The messy first draft? Too much stress. Seat in chair and just write? Wastes time when I have nothing to say.

So, I compromise.

Even though I work from home, I get up, get dressed, and go to work—like any other job. Then I immerse myself in the story world—through pictures, music, or video. Stories find me in new settings, especially historical places, even when I’m writing contemporary. And then the characters follow.

I commit to writing for a set amount of time or until I hit a minimum word count. Frequent breaks minimize my chronic pain and keep the furry associates from getting too wild. Social media and administrative tasks are relegated to specific times of the week or day.

And when there is a day I simply can’t concentrate or break into the story world, I give myself grace. It’s one of the benefits of independent publishing. But I can’t wallow in that space for long. I set deadlines and do my utmost to meet them. I join other writers in virtual sprints. I keep my ultimate goals in mind: serving the Lord, being there for my family, and publishing the best stories I can.

Collaboration has also been an important part of my growth as an author, strengthening those “showing up” and “meeting deadline” muscles. Last year, I worked alongside four wonderful women to create Christmas in the Cascades: A Romance Novella Collection, five holiday stories spanning 150 years in Dane’s Creek. My story, “The Thrill of Hope,” is my first published Christian historical piece.

For contemporary romance readers, look for Next Christmas and A Love for All Seasons. Connect with me on Facebook or Instagram @aprilkidwellauthor. Or sign-up for my newsletter and a free flash fiction story at https://dl.bookfunnel.com/k2ql5l45qy.

I’ve had to find my own way: what works for me and what doesn’t. May you do the same.

A Final Word

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends.

And if you’re making a list of twenty-six things to accomplish before 2026, why not try one or more of April’s ideas and break out of the mold that may be holding you back from your writing?

Plus...

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