Category: Books

Editing Book One : Sentinals Awaken

Sentinals Awaken is the first book in my Sentinals series set in the world of Remargaren.

I invested in a Market Editor to make sure my story was on point and made sense! And was surprised to find out that my weakness was grammar! Sentence structure and use of commas. So back to the grammar drawing board to relearn the grammar rules and how to avoid the dreaded comma splice! And hello semicolon. I’ve never used semicolons, and was interested to see that the eye does run over it more than a full stop, which if used too often I think can make sentences choppy. (Unless you want choppy of course!)

Photo by hannah grace on Unsplash

The good news was that she loved the story, found the plot original and the characters engaging. And learning grammar is probable simpler than rewriting the story or having to address plot holes or flat characters! I am sure there will many who disagree.

I addressed the issues the editor raised and relearnt my grammar (and groaned over the comma rules), and had a discussion about Point of View (POV) and how to bring out a character’s inner thoughts. I then developed one of my Sentinal characters a bit more as I had deliberately down-played him as he was threatening to take over, and he was obviously down-played too much! I have written a book just for him so he doesn’t get too downhearted and that led to me writing his backstory which became the prequel as it was such fun discovering where the Sentinals came from to begin with.

Next step is to get a few beta readers to do a final sanity check and then to find a copy editor/proofreader to check the final version, and then it will be on to formatting and cover design as dip my toe into the world of self-publishing.

Welcome

The first step is always the hardest, as is the first word on the page. But once you get going, they don’t stop.

Join me, Helen Garraway, on my journey to get published, or self-published if that ends up being the best way to go.

I’ve spent the last four years writing fantasy novels, and now it’s time to do something with them. This is because I have more ideas tumbling, and I’d like to share them. Hopefully, my future readers will enjoy my characters and world-building as much as I do.

Let’s start at the beginning.

Welcome to the world of Remargaren.

I first started writing when there was that ‘perfect storm’ of a moment when my mother passed away, and my daughter graduated from university and left the nest to travel the world. Suddenly I had an empty house and time on my hands, and ideas started bubbling, and I had to get them on paper.

I’ve always been an avid reader. I got that from my mum. We were both bookworms, and she was one who would watch the telly, read a book and knit at the same time, quite astonishing. I can’t do the knitting bit!

But I have drafted quite a few books and need to do something with them. I want to see them in print and to share my wonderful world.

Now. I’m new to creating websites and blogging, so don’t expect to get inundated with posts, you’ll probably be lucky to get one a month unless something EXCITING happens!

Thank you for joining me. I hope you subscribe and enjoy my writing when it finally gets out there.