Recently, I went about the curious process of self-publishing. As part of this process I asked my friend Bill Olson to do some structural editing and I’m pretty impressed with the results! Below is a sample of the before and after of the Fruit of the Lute short story from Porcelain Reads: Small Stories for Small Bladders. I picked this one since I think Bill’s expertise as a performer / actor really helped highlight the issues with the story.
Note: Spoilers for Porcelain Reads
This is only a portion but overall I’d say his feedback greatly helped me identify the character’s motives and flaws. This in turned greatly improved the story to the point where I made it the first one featured in the science fiction section of my short story novel. So a special thanks Bill for helping improve my stories!
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Published by Laughing Briar
Budding author, Laughing Briar, is a science fiction and fantasy writer, traveler, and lover of the written word just like any other flower pen out there.
Feeding on the madness of a woman’s mind, they’ve planted roots in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Nourished by an engineering education from The Ohio State University, a blended family upbringing, and an insatiable wanderlust, Briar draws deeply from these wells to inspire their stories.
In their free time, Briar enjoys tumbling down mountain trails, seeding songs in karaoke, and rooting for their D&D party to survive the darkest of dungeons. Today, they are the author of exactly forty-two short stories and are planning to release their debut novel, ‘Gambling on Common Sense,’ by 2024.
For those new to them, time is a cycle, and it’s great to see you again.
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