Castle Walls Editing

Tag: Fictionary

  • Scene It First with Delancey Stewart, Marika Ray, Melanie Summers and Kelly Collins (Ep. 7)

    Scene It First with Delancey Stewart, Marika Ray, Melanie Summers and Kelly Collins (Ep. 7)

    On July 19, 2023, acclaimed romance authors Delancey Stewart, Marika Ray, Melanie Summers, and Kelly Collins joined me for the seventh episode of the Scene It First series, sponsored by Fictionary. In this series, I speak with bestselling, award-winning authors to talk about first scenes, share secrets of writing craft, and celebrate the stories that thrill and inspire us all.

    In this episode, we enjoyed a lively roundtable discussion of writing romance and of how these friends and writing partners each approach their craft. See more about each author below.

    Upcoming interviews can be joined live by registered members of the Fictionary community, and it’s always free to register.

    In addition to hosting the Scene It First series, James Gallagher is the owner of Castle Walls Editing, a Fictionary-Certified StoryCoach Editor, and the copy editor, developmental editor, or proofreader of more than 300 books.

    About Delancey Stewart

    USA Today bestselling author Delancey Stewart pens steamy, small-town rom-coms that run the gamut of settings and setups, but they always deliver humor, heart, and heat. It’s a guarantee.

    www.delanceystewart.com

    About Marika Ray

    Marika Ray is a USA Today bestselling author who writes steamy rom-coms to brighten your day. All her books come with a money-back guarantee you’ll laugh at least once with every story.

    www.marikaray.com

    About Melanie Summers

    Having sold more than a quarter of a million books around the globe, Melanie Summers has received a Silver Medal and two Bronze Medals at the Readers’ Favorite Awards in the Chick Lit Category.

    www.melaniesummersbooks.com

    About Kelly Collins

    The internationally bestselling author of over 30 novels, Kelly Collins incorporates real-life events to craft stories that lovers of contemporary romance, new adult, and romantic suspense will return to again and again.

    www.authorkellycollins.com

    About Fictionary

    Fictionary is a story-editing software that allows writers and editors to glean insights and perform developmental edits on their works using Fictionary’s 38 story elements for character, plot, and setting.

    The software also provides attractive visual reports, including the story arc (showing location of the inciting incident, plot point 1, midpoint, plot point 2, and climax), as well as reports illustrating such items as the story map, character list, and word count per scene.

    More information can be found at Fictionary.co.

    The Fictionary community can be found here (free to register).

  • Scene It First Interview with Marshall J. Moore (Ep. 4)

    Scene It First Interview with Marshall J. Moore (Ep. 4)

    On April 26, 2023, I was thrilled to welcome fantasy author Marshall J. Moore to the fourth episode of Fictionary‘s Scene It First series, in which we speak with bestselling, award-winning authors to talk about first scenes, share secrets of writing craft, and celebrate the stories that thrill and inspire us all.

    In this episode, Marshall talks about an encounter with Jackie Chan and his approach to writing fantasy, including his strategy for world-building and his incorporation of setting elements. Later in the episode we look at the first scene from his novel The Pale City and take questions from the audience.

     

     

    Upcoming interviews can be joined live by registered members of the Fictionary community, and it’s always free to register.

    In addition to hosting the Scene It First series, James Gallagher is the owner of Castle Walls Editing, a Fictionary-Certified StoryCoach Editor, and the copy editor of more than 250 books.

    About Marshall J. Moore

    Marshall J. Moore is a writer and martial artist who was born and raised on Kwajalein, a tiny Pacific island. He has trained a professional mercenary in unarmed combat, sold a thousand dollars’ worth of teapots to Jackie Chan, and was once tracked down by a bounty hunter for owing $300 in overdue fees to the Los Angeles Public Library. An active member of SFWA, Marshall has been published by the Escape Artists podcast network, Air and Nothingness Press, Mysterion, and many others. His short story “Red Lanterns” won second place in the 2022 Baen Fantasy Adventure Award. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife, Megan, and their two cats.

    About Fictionary

    Fictionary is a story-editing software that allows writers and editors to glean insights and perform developmental edits on their works using Fictionary’s 38 story elements for character, plot, and setting.

    The software also provides attractive visual reports, including the story arc (showing location of the inciting incident, plot point 1, midpoint, plot point 2, and climax), as well as reports illustrating such items as the story map, character list, and word count per scene.

    More information can be found at Fictionary.co.

    The Fictionary community can be found here (free to register).

  • Fictionary Interview with Authenticity Reader Crystal Shelley

    Fictionary Interview with Authenticity Reader Crystal Shelley

    On April 4, 2023, I was pleased to interview authenticity reader Crystal Shelley before a live audience in the Fictionary community. I’ve long benefited from the resources Crystal produces, and I have unending respect for her and for the way she approaches her work.

    In this informative interview Crystal sheds light on authenticity reading and her approach to language. We also talk about her Conscious Language Toolkit for writers and editors, and at the end of the presentation we give away a copy of that wonderful resource to one of our lucky attendees.

     

     

    Upcoming interviews can be joined live by registered members of the Fictionary community, and it’s always free to register.

    James Gallagher is the owner of Castle Walls Editing, a Fictionary-Certified StoryCoach, and the copy editor of more than 250 books.

    About Crystal Shelley

    Crystal Shelley is the owner of Rabbit with a Red Pen, where she provides editing and authenticity reading services to fiction authors. Drawing on her background as a social worker, she unites her love of language and her passion for social justice by advocating conscious language use and inclusive representation in her editorial work. She is the creator of the Conscious Language Toolkit for Editors and Writers and serves on the board of ACES: The Society for Editing.

    About Fictionary

    Fictionary is a story-editing software that allows writers and editors to glean insights and perform developmental edits on their works using Fictionary’s 38 story elements for character, plot, and setting.

    The software also provides attractive visual reports, including the story arc (showing location of the inciting incident, plot point 1, midpoint, plot point 2, and climax), as well as reports illustrating such items as the story map, character list, and word count per scene.

    More information can be found at Fictionary.co.

    The Fictionary community can be found here (free to register).

  • Scene It First Interview with Rio Youers (Ep. 3)

    Scene It First Interview with Rio Youers (Ep. 3)

    The third episode of the Fictionary Scene It First interview series welcomed bestselling author Rio Youers on March 22, 2023.

    In this episode, Rio talked about his graphic adaptations (Sleeping Beauties, Refrigerator Full of Heads) and novels such as The Forgotten Girl, Halcyon, Lola on Fire, and No Second Chances.

    Just before the seven-minute mark, Rio shares his experience writing Westlake Soul, and it absolutely gave me chills. You won’t want to miss it.

     

     

    Upcoming interviews can be joined live by registered members of the Fictionary community, and it’s always free to register.

    In addition to hosting the Scene It First series, James Gallagher is the owner of Castle Walls Editing, a Fictionary-Certified StoryCoach Editor, and the copy editor of more than 250 books.

    About Rio Youers

    Rio Youers is the British Fantasy and Sunburst Award–nominated author of Westlake Soul and Lola on Fire. His 2017 thriller, The Forgotten Girl, was a finalist for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel. He is the writer of Refrigerator Full of Heads, a new six-issue series from DC Comics, and Sleeping Beauties, based on the best-selling novel by Stephen King and Owen King. Rio’s new novel, No Second Chances, is available now from William Morrow.

    About Fictionary

    Fictionary is a story-editing software that allows writers and editors to glean insights and perform developmental edits on their works using Fictionary’s 38 story elements for character, plot, and setting.

    The software also provides attractive visual reports, including the story arc (showing location of the inciting incident, plot point 1, midpoint, plot point 2, and climax), as well as reports illustrating such items as the story map, character list, and word count per scene.

    More information can be found at Fictionary.co.

    The Fictionary community can be found here (free to register).

  • Fictionary Interview with Ellen Jovin

    Fictionary Interview with Ellen Jovin

    On March 4, 2023, I had the honor of interviewing Ellen Jovin, author of Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian. In this lively discussion we talked about her adventures with the Grammar Table, her approach to language, and the wonders of the English language.

     

    Upcoming interviews can be joined live by registered members of the Fictionary community, and it’s always free to register.

    In addition to hosting the Scene It First series, James Gallagher is the owner of Castle Walls Editing, a Fictionary-Certified StoryCoach Editor, and the copy editor of more than 250 books.

    About Ellen

    Ellen Jovin is a cofounder of Syntaxis, a communication skills training consultancy, and the author of four books on language, most recently Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian (HarperCollins, July 2022). She is also the creator of a traveling pop-up grammar advice stand called the Grammar Table, whose adventures serve as the basis of this book. Ellen has a B.A. from Harvard College in German studies and an M.A. from UCLA in comparative literature, and has studied twenty-five languages for fun. She lives with her husband, Brandt Johnson, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

    About Fictionary

    Fictionary is a story-editing software that allows writers and editors to glean insights and perform developmental edits on their works using Fictionary’s 38 story elements for character, plot, and setting.

    The software also provides attractive visual reports, including the story arc (showing location of the inciting incident, plot point 1, midpoint, plot point 2, and climax), as well as reports illustrating such items as the story map, character list, and word count per scene.

    More information can be found at Fictionary.co.

    The Fictionary community can be found here (free to register).

  • Scene It First with Delancey Stewart (Ep. 2)

    Scene It First with Delancey Stewart (Ep. 2)

    The second episode of the Fictionary Scene It First interview series welcomed bestselling romance author Delancey Stewart on February 22, 2023.

    In this episode, Delancey talked about all things romance, writing strategies, and her favorite tropes.

    Upcoming interviews can be joined live by registered members of the Fictionary community, and it’s always free to register.

    In addition to hosting the Scene It First series, James Gallagher is the owner of Castle Walls Editing, a Fictionary-Certified StoryCoach Editor, and the copy editor of more than 250 books.

    About Fictionary

    Fictionary is a story-editing software that allows writers and editors to glean insights and perform developmental edits on their works using Fictionary’s 38 story elements for character, plot, and setting.

    The software also provides attractive visual reports, including the story arc (showing location of the inciting incident, plot point 1, midpoint, plot point 2, and climax), as well as reports illustrating such items as the story map, character list, and word count per scene.

    More information can be found at Fictionary.co.

    The Fictionary community can be found here (free to register).

  • I’m Now a Fictionary-Certified Editor

    I’m Now a Fictionary-Certified Editor

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I’m pleased to announce that I’ve completed my Fictionary certification and am now listed among the program’s Fictionary-Certified StoryCoach Editors.

     

     

    The training program entailed two months of text and video lessons, biweekly Zoom calls with Fictionary founder Kristina Stanley and other members of the class, and the completion of an entire developmental edit using Fictionary software.

    The edit included the tracking of story elements in the software, notes per scene, in-line comments, and what turned out to be a thirty-page summary letter complete with story insights and visuals.

    My certification also came with this cool badge:

    About Fictionary

    Fictionary is an editing aid for performing developmental edits in a comprehensive and objective manner.

    Fictionary makes it easy for editors to track 38 story elements for character, plot, setting, and structure. The software also allows editors to view data in a variety of ways and to produce visual insights to help clients better see story and character arcs, words and characters per scene, POV issues, POV goals, scene tension, and other important elements. 

    Other Training

    I’m proud of the work I put in on my Fictionary certification, as it isn’t easy to add training to a full editing schedule. Continued development is important, though, and I try to regularly take classes, often through ACES or the EFA (I’m a member of both). To further my studies, I regularly view webinars and read craft books on editing.

    I also meet biweekly with my editors’ group, Pens & Pilcrows, which I founded in 2021. The group has provided a wonderful level of support and inspiration, and it has been all that I’d hoped it would be.

    As I said above, adding training to a full schedule is never easy, but I always come away feeling as though I have more to offer clients. This year I’ve taken courses in manuscript evaluation, line editing, markup in PDF page proofs, and, of course, Fictionary.

    I’m also enrolled in a class for editing science fiction and fantasy. That kicks off at the end of September, and it’s one I’ve been looking forward to.

    Need Copyediting or a Story Edit?

    If you’d like to learn more about story editing with Fictionary or my copyediting services, email me at James@castlewallsediting.com or use the online form on this site.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]