roina_arwen

For the past year and a half, in my spare time I have been employed by a small-but-mighty press as one of their copy editors. To date, I have edited about forty short stories (there are approximately ten stories per anthology) plus three juvenile boys adventure novels. This is work that I very much enjoy doing. My husband likes to say that I’ve been editing him for thirty years, and his writing for two.

He’s not wrong. To our credit, he has had over fifteen short stories published within that timeframe.

Copy editing is something I was born to do. Like it or not, I’m the sort that tends to notice every stinkin’ typo in every email I receive. I’m nice enough not to point them out, of course, but they do make me cringe a little. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure I often type too fast and make errors of my own, but I do try to at least read what I’ve typed before hitting send, so I will catch most of my typos a majority of the time.

In addition to checking stories for the obvious spelling errors, typos, and grammar, I will also notice correctly spelled words that are, in point of fact, incorrect. One of the most memorable that I caught was for an anthology with a coffee theme. The author of the story meant to write that the character steepled his fingers. What he actually typed was that he steeped his fingers. Ouch!!

Another error that I found more recently in one of the novels was with a youthful spaceship captain who was speaking with one of his passengers. She inquired what sort of dangers he had to face in interstellar space. The author wrote something to the gist of “it was barely above zero out there.” Uh, no. Buzzz! What he should have said, and what I edited in, was that “it was barely above absolute zero out there.” That’s a HUGE difference, since absolute zero is -459.67 degrees Fahrenheit!

A good copy editor cares—or at least, should care—as much about correct spelling and proper punctuation as they do about making sure the author’s voice and story are clear. Mistakes affect the clarity of the work, as well as being a distraction to the reader, and that impacts the overall quality.

Don’t get me wrong—all the stories and novels that I’ve worked on have been quality works to start with, or they wouldn’t have been selected for publication. My job is to ensure that nothing distracts the reader from enjoying the highest quality possible. I hope I’ve succeeded.

Thanks for reading!

Another Cento or patchwork poem, composed entirely of lines from other poets to create a new and unique poem for you. Each of the poets whose lines I have used are given credit (in order) at the bottom. Enjoy!

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"It Ain't Bragging if it's True"

This is the bar of broken survivors, the club of the shotgun, knife wound, of
these delicious improvisations we show each other,
Then, too, there are my soldiers, my great, invincible army,
who had been perfectly nice when last seen at a poetry reading.

Truthfully, I am not enough to steer clear of. To fall in love again,
Maybe I listened to the wind sighing and shivered,
I mistook the train for a thunder storm,
my adrenaline raging without cease.

You know as you feel that first solid slam you are lost.
It pinned the Amazon queen and her horse together
at a stone image serene in a neighbor’s garden,
Breathing the warmth into their soul.

A smirk emerges like a shark fin. Circles
haiku me into 17 bursts of blossoms & cold saki;
Trophies at head, and kelp for a winding-sheet
and was it exhaled in exasperation or ecstasy?

And all have one credential that entitles us to brag—
just a few highlights from my résumé.


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Credits Go To:
Joy Harjo; Vicente Aleixandre; Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; Juliana Spahr
francine j. harris; Janice N. Harrington; Joseph Millar; Rasheed Copeland
Catherine Doty; Tony Barnstone; Mark Doty; Arthur Rimbaud
Kristi Maxwell; Regie Cabico; Herman Melville; Barbara Ras
Emily Pauline Johnson; Nicole Sealey.

There’s a Sudden Death poll happening over in TheRealLJIdol for the week seven write-off. One of the five of us used a Bye; of the other four entries (of which I am one) TWO of the contestants will be eliminated (the two with the fewest votes). I would VERY much appreciate a vote, if you’re so inclined. The poll is open until 8pm ET on Tuesday, September 3rd.

You can find the poll here:
https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1159836.html?view=86817180&posted=1#cmt86817180

I already have an idea for my next entry, and hope to be able to write it! Thank you! ❤️

It had been exciting, at first, being alone in her own head, with no underlying echo of her sister. She had felt lighter, and oddly free, as if a weight she hadn't known she was carrying had been lifted off. Ember had relished the sensation at the time, but lately she had begun to miss Aisling's calm presence, the solidity and unity she had taken for granted in her life. Losing their twin-bond suddenly felt like a cozy sweater being ripped off her shoulders.

The world was definitely colder without her sister. Six weeks ago, Aisling decided it was time to “find her true self,” or so she had said. She abruptly packed some clothes and essentials into a few small bags, grabbed a wad of cash from the safe, pocketed her car keys, and left. She even went so far as to turn her phone's tracking feature off. With the exception of one brief email, Ember hadn't heard from her since, and it worried her.

Slowly, Ember had turned her view inward.

She realized she needed time to focus on herself. Although it was hard to admit, Ember didn't know how to proceed without Aisling by her side – they had worked so well as a team, as twins, her own dark yin complementing Aisling's bright yang.

Without Aisling's influence, Ember's darkness had taken over. She was drowning in it.
( Read more... )

So what shows are you watching/streaming and/or looking forward to the new season of? I’m waiting for “Elsbeth” to come back in October, as well as “The Rookie,” “Outlander” (in November, sigh) and of course “Survivor.”

For streaming, I’m looking forward to the next season of “Emily in Paris,” and “School Spirits.” I’m currently watching an Italian show (dubbed into English) called “The Law According to Lidia Poet” and just finished “The Cook of Castamar” and “The Empress,” all of which are on Netflix. Yes, I do like period dramas, why do you ask?

Any recommendations? We have more platforms but I mostly watch Netflix and Hulu.

Also, the week 5 poll for LJ Idol is open until Monday at 9pm ET. There are many great entries to read and vote for, and I could use a little extra love - I really NEED to make it through this week, and the bottom two are headed to the Home Game, so if you haven’t yet voted, please do! Thank you! https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1152560.html

Major Amelia “Amy” Cooper strode quickly down the hallway of the hospital wing with a no-nonsense, don’t-interrupt-me look on her face. She was busy strategizing an attack plan for her task force and trying to decide which of her team members had the skills most likely to successfully complete the mission.

She entered the outer office and nodded politely at the fresh-faced lieutenant who manned the desk. “Hold my calls for the next hour,” she told him as she entered her private office and shut the door firmly behind her. Amy walked to one of her filing cabinets and rifled through personnel files until she had a few dozen candidates, then sat stiffly behind her wide mahogany desk. She scanned each dossier with efficiency and a good eye for detail, making notes on a leather-bound legal pad. Amy had only received her promotion to Major a few months ago and wanted to prove herself to the General.

Failure was never an option.
( Read more... )

She missed the days of being able to wake up slowly, serenely, quietly. The early morning sun would lightly kiss her eyes and caress her cheeks from behind gauzy white curtains. The salt-laden breeze off the ocean had once encouraged her lungs to breathe deeply, to yawn, and to stretch her athletic body like a lazy kitten.

She used to open her eyes, blink a few times to clear away the haziness of remnant dreams and sit up in her soft bed. Often, she listened to the radio play whatever musical hits were at the top of the charts that day, that month, or that year.

She missed music most of all. Music was her release, her confessor, and a much needed outlet for excessive emotions - to sing loudly, beat her hands rhythmically against a table or the wall, tap her bare feet against the cottage floor.

Now, there was only silence, darkness, and unyielding cold. Aisling hated the cold.

Why was she cold?
( Read more... )

I hereby do declare that the party of the first part (aka, me) will be forthwith participating in the LJ Idol Mini Season!

*insert 21 pop-gun salute*

The party of the second part (you) are now free to go about your regularly scheduled programming.

Thank you!

I posted my entry over on LJ, and it’s friends locked. LJ just does a better job with poetry line breaks, or at least my theme there seems to. Here’s the link, you’re welcome to reply on either platform.

I don’t know if it will get me to round 3, but I’m very pleased with it, so it is what it is.

Entry here: https://roina-arwen.livejournal.com/1712234.html

Just got the round two assignment in my email. We have a bit under three days to submit a rhyming story, using a maximum of 500 words. There are 22 groups with 32 writers in each.

I’m in group 9, and my assignment is:
Genre: Drama
Theme: Independence
Emotion: Regretful

Per instructions: “If the assigned theme is not easily apparent and/or does not play an important role in the plot, the writer will run the risk of being disqualified.”

The emotion has to be expressed at least once in the piece; I don’t have to use that specific word as long as the emotion of regret is apparent. To quote the email: “the emotion must be expressed in the story somehow through narration, a character's actions, dialogue, or another way. If the emotion is not clearly expressed in the story, it will run the risk of being disqualified.”

Now to come up with a basic plot to base my rhyme upon. I’m considering also trying to make it an acrostic, in addition to the rhyming couplets, but I’ll have to see how that goes. Fingers crossed!!