Spit Shine Your Writing

Excerpt from Shine that will be published at the end of the year.

Someone told me yesterday that nothing polishes boots better than a little spit. Having a scientific bent of mind, I wondered about “spit.”

I know that real “spit,” saliva if you prefer, moistens our food and helps it slide down our esophagus easier. Even the most delicious food becomes challenging if saliva is not present. We choke on it.

In the same way, if our writing does not contain “spit,” readers are going to choke on it. They may manage to swallow, but it will be difficult.

Besides moistening food, saliva also contains enzymes that begin the breakdown of food. I’m guessing here that the enzymes might be the reason spit works better than plain water. The enzymes help eat away the gunk clinging to the boots.

In our first drafts, we also have gunk. Our “spit” will remove the gunk and let our words shine.

Spit is rather disgusting, and, yet, it gets the job done. Anyone who has ever spit polished a pair of boots will tell you it takes a lot of elbow grease and a lot of time.

Many people want to be writers. What many do not realize is the messy, disgusting part of getting the manuscript polished to a perfect shine.

How many are willing to take the time and effort needed to bring their writing to a stage of palatability for their readers?

Notice the title of this series? Rise, Write, Shine? Today, let’s make it:

Rise, Write, Spit-Shine!

Review of Armored Hearts

Armored Hearts by Melissa Turner Lee and Pauline Creeden is about a young man, Gareth Smyth, who is a cripple, confined to a wheelchair. Gareth is not happy with his lot in life. The only one he allows to get close is his young aunt, Tabitha.

And then one day he discovers his special power when a girl, Jessamine, falls from a tree. More secrets reveal themselves as he grows to adulthood and discovers those around him are not whom they seem. Will Jessamine help him stand on moral precepts? Will Gareth allow even a chink in the armor he is encased in?

This is a fun read with likable characters. It delves into equal rights for women, steam punk, and the land of fairies.

However, there were a couple of problems—one was that the “bad guys” seem to come out of nowhere. I would have liked to have seen  more scenes leading up to the ending. And, speaking of the ending, it seems over before beginning. Also, although I skim when confronted with long descriptions, at times it was difficult to visualize the surroundings due to the sparseness of detail.

Despite the minor problems, overall, I enjoyed the book and can’t wait for the next in the series.
**I received an ARC for a fair, honest review.**