A Virtual Visit

Katherine Ayres At Work

Here I am, hard at work in my office.  I do most of my writing on a computer because my handwriting is pretty messy.  As you can see from the center photo, I have the covers of my books framed and hanging above my desk.  On days when the writing is hard and I'm tempted to go outdoors or grab a snack instead of writing, those book covers help me stay focused and keep working.  I hope one day I can fill up all the walls with book covers!

As I said, I do most of my writing on the computer but when it comes time to revise and edit, I do that the old-fashioned way, by hand, scribbling on paper copies of the story with a pencil.  And as you might imagine, it takes several drafts to get it right.  [I write fast, so my early drafts are far from perfect.]  On the chair in the middle, you can see the stack of paper that will become the novel, Macaroni Boy.  It always takes at least seven or eight drafts to get the story written properly.  Some books have taken twelve.  And while rewriting and revising isn't my favorite activity in the world, I do like the way the book keeps getting better as I fix it.  The last thing I do before sending off the manuscript is to sit in a comfy spot and read the whole book out loud.  When I do that, I hear mistakes that I might skip over when I read silently, such as awkward or repeated words or phrases.  It's lots better to find those and fix them before the book is printed.  No typos for me!