Writing Run Robin Run
Telling Stories
Imagine your closest friend asks you to spy on their significant other? Just a quick drive by viewing to see if the label of cheater should be applied. Would you do it?
What if you decided to spy and end up seeing something monumentally worse than cheating? You see someone murdered.
In my novella, Run Robin Run, Robin witnesses a crime. Until she can figure out a way to bring the culprits to justice she goes on the run. Now she has to trust strangers that may or may not betray her. While trying to keep herself alive, she also attempts to reign in her heart as it opens to the least desirable candidate.
Writing this story was a rollercoaster ride for me. It first rattled around in my head for months until I finally wrote a draft that had a lot of holes. While writing it, the characters went rogue and changed the storyline. I shelved the story for over a year until I told my sister, Karen, about the story and she read it. She agreed it was full of holes, but convinced me I needed to finish it.
Let me tell you, once I filled the gaps in the first draft I was glad I picked up the story again. I have to admit that I love how the storyline changed. Robin’s love interest was never supposed to be who it turned out to be. When changes like that happen as I’m writing, it pulls me in more. Now I had to finish to find out what happens. That is one of the things I love about writing, it takes you on an unexpected journey that you can lose yourself in and then share with others who you hope are drawn into as well.
Preparing to publish - alpha reader
What happened after the holes were filled and a new draft was born? I handed it to a alpha reader. An alpha reader is someone who read your work before it’s polished and provides feedback. Was the pace good? Were there parts that were too long, too short or unnecessary? Did something not make sense? These are some of the things an alpha reader will highlight. You probably can guess who I use as my alpha reader. My sister was already familiar with the holes that were in the story. She has been my alpha reader since before I knew what an alpha reader does.
I reviewed the comments and questions from my alpha reader. I made some changes and was on my third draft. I sent the manuscript off to my editor. Who, in my opinion, is one of the best. Finding the right editor is crucial to every author. You want someone who understand your voice and doesn’t try to change it, but works to strengthen it. Michelle is that editor for me.
Preparing to publish - Editing
Editing can be brutal to a writer’s ego, but it is necessary. Having someone like Michelle who is thorough, but is willing to explain the why behind anything she marks up is priceless. If you are planning to write a book, please do not skip the editing step. Take the time to find right editor but make sure you find one.
Per her usual excellence, Michelle edited Run Robin Run which helped me improve it even more. She also provided such positive feedback about the story that it fueled me even more to make sure I published it.
Preparing to publish - Beta reader
Once I made changes based off the editor’s notes I was now on the fourth draft. This was the draft I sent to a beta reader. This was a new step for me, but one that is valuable. A beta reader reads what you consider your final manuscript before publishing and gives you feedback from a reader’s perspective. This person should be someone in your target market. Debra, my beta reader, read through the story quickly and commented “I absolutely love this story! It’s action packed! And absolutely a page turner.”
Run Robin Run book cover by Jenetta M. Bradley.
Writing Run Robin Run has been one of my best writing experiences. Not just because of the wonderful people I worked with to get it ready to publish, but because it really pushed me as a writer. If you like reading “action packed”, “page turners” I would love for you to :
Purchase Run Robin Run - available as an e-book on Amazon for $2.99
Kindle sample of story also available for those who want to preview first
Read Run Robin Run
Rate Run Robin Run on Amazon - this will help immeasurably with getting the book in the line of sight of other readers
As a writer I’m often asked how to write a novel? This covered the process I went through to write Run, Robin, Run. Hopefully, it provided some insight on one way to do it.