A Trinity of Wicked Tales + Article by Kyla Ross

Title: A Trinity of Wicked Tales  Author: Kyla Ross Release: Available HERE!
Synopsis: Suspicion meets desperation in this compendium of dark tales that ignite the inner demons of desperate souls and take them on a violent journey filled with rage, deception, and horrifying acts that will either make or break them. Do they have what it takes to survive or will their worlds continue to spiral out of control? Guest Article from  Kyla Ross Perfecting My Writing Process-- What I learned I’m a novice in the field of writing fiction. I don’t have an English degree, I don’t blog often, and I am not well-read in the classics. But after realizing how much fun writing was, the ideas kept flowing. Really. I have writing ideas that’ll take me up to 2027. But there is more to the trade, much more, than just having cool ideas. My first book, A Trinity of Wicked Tales—Jilted, is a collection of short, dark tales. I used this to get acquainted with my would-be audience and to fine-tune the process. What process you ask? Writing a good book. So, what did I learn from writing The Trinity, and how have I incorporated these lessons into my first novel, When We Swing? Well, I’ll tell you.

1. Write it. That’s the first step. I wrote it. It didn’t matter how bad it sounded. I wrote an outline and made sure the plot was well laid out. “What is the point of the story?” I asked myself. Don’t get me wrong, character development and story arc are just as important. But you don’t want to sit on the first manuscript too long, or you’ll find yourself sitting on it forever. There’s more than enough time for perfection after the developmental edit, during the dreaded rewriting stage.
2. Get critiquing partners. Other writers are amazing resources for critiques. Why? Because they know what it’s like to finish a first draft and how hesitation can prolong submission to the editor. Sending my manuscript to writing buddies who wrote in the same genre eased the separation anxiety. They were honest, asked questions, and revealed blind spots that I totally overlooked. Example: “Instead of information dumping, add flashbacks.”
3. Get a writing coach. I had a nasty telling habit that I was desperate to kick. Talking to a seasoned professional helped me understand what telling meant and how to catch myself when I was doing it. Example: “Who are your protagonists and antagonists? What type of people are they? Show how they would react to each situation. What would they say? What's their body language? ”
4. Understand the different the types of editors. I had to learn this the hard way. For The Trinity, there was a developmental edit, a line edit, and another line edit by the same person. Then two proofreads. But for When We Swing, I did things different:

• A developmental editor read my manuscript and pointed out inconsistencies in character development, story arc, and things that didn’t seem to fit in or make sense with the plot.

Example: “Maybe you should drop more clues about the ending by diving more into this character’s intentions. Show it by using their personality. It’ll add more suspense.”

• A line editor went through my manuscript line by line checking for word misuse, spelling inconsistencies, and sentence structure. This is not the same as the developmental editor or a proofreader. Actually, this editor got the manuscript after the developmental edit and rewrite.

Example: “Lilly should be spelled Lily as you have spelled it this way through most of the story. There are quite of few times when you’ve spelled it Lilly.” And “’Their going to rome this Summer.’ should be ‘They’re going to Rome this summer.’”

• Proofreaders read through the story and checked for grammar, punctuation, and spelling. I don’t think you need an example for that. I found three proofreaders at reasonable prices using fiverr.

Five sets of eyes. Three different duties. One cool story in the end. How do I know it’s a cool story?

5. Get beta readers. Beta readers who enjoy the genre read the book before I compiled a list of reviewers. It gave me the chance to get a reader’s input on the story. They asked questions and pointed out holes and things that annoyed them. They identified likable characters and gave details about how the story made them feel.

Example: “Wait. You mentioned how he loved her a few paragraphs ago. Now he hates her? I’m not understanding the subtle change of heart,” and “I need a drink after finishing this. I totally didn’t see that coming,” and “This transition from past to present isn’t clear,” and “I finished this in two days. I couldn’t put it down.” For me, three is the perfect number of beta readers.

6. Take the criticism. I agree that some criticism is arguable, but I took every question and comment into consideration. If you refuse to take criticism, you won’t learn anything. All the money and time spent on developing your product would be worthless, and you won’t grow as a writer. Period.

Writing a good book is the first step to growing an audience and becoming a paid author. With this process and doing some beta reading and critiquing for others, there has been some massive improvement in my writing skills and I've made some new friends along the way. Be open-minded, perfect your process, and remember, patience is key.

About Kyla Ross 
Kyla Ross is a horror, thriller, and dark fiction writer from Detroit, Michigan. She posts suspense and horror flash fiction on her blog at kyrobooks.com and is the author of a gruesome, suspenseful short story series titled A Trinity of Wicked Tales and an erotic thriller novel titled When We Swing—An Erotic Thriller. Kyla’s extreme horror novel, Hotel Holly, will be released fall 2017. Brought to you by:

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A TRINITY OF WICKED TALES + ARTICLE BY KYLA ROSS