I may or may not have mentioned it before, but I work as a writer-editor for a government agency. It’s what pays the bills. It also, as I’ve found out in the past year, helps my growth as a writer as a whole.

I also help friends of mine, who are also aspiring writers, edit their work. It has been an eye-opening experience all around, but it’s also part of my own personal growth.

Normally, many people rely on the ever-present and evil “spell check” to keep them on the straight and narrow. The problem with that is it doesn’t always work. When you write “he” and you meant to write “her” it won’t make that change. I also believe that spell check makes you lazy as a writer. As much as I love auto-correct, it sometimes allows me to skip spelling it right as I know it’ll do it for me. Even now, as I write this blog, it’s doing my job for me.

Some say this is the benefit of technology, but I disagree. I started my career as a Navy Journalist, learning on a manual typewriter and editing in pencil. That’s how it was done for decades, and it worked then, so why change now?

Sorry, I got off track there. Technology is a blessing in disguise for writers. It makes it easier for people to edit your manuscript and comment on why these changes are important. It helps in the overall growth of a writer.

At the same time, being a writer and editing another writer’s work has its benefits. You see how others write–a similar benefit you get from being an avid reader–but you also see things from a different perspective.

For example, how many different words are there for the word said and when is it appropriate to use them? These are things that can drive a writer crazy, but it’ll make an editor a little loopy too. I just edited a friends manuscript, and everytime his characters thought something, he wrote “he thought” or “she thought” down. I got to the point I stopped editing it and just made a comment to remind him to use other words for thought, like “wondered” or “pondered” for example. You learn as you edit.

That’s my advice to all my fellow independent and self-published authors out there… Connect with your fellow authors and offer to edit their work. Do it for reviews, exchange manuscripts for editing, what ever it takes. It’ll help you as a writer and your efforts will help someone else in the long run.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.

There is an age old question that has haunted people since the 80s… Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? It takes place at the holidays, there Christmas decorations, Christmas music playing, so doesn’t that make it a Christmas movie? Bruce Willis himself answered this question at his celebrity roast earlier this year when he said:

“‘Die Hard’ is not a Christmas move! It’s a God Damn Bruce Willis movie!”

I know many who would disagree with that sentiment, but that’s where this idea originated. Besides an obvious holiday theme, what makes a movie a Christmas movie?

A great example is the classic Gremlins. It has all the elements of a Christmas movie, just like Die Hard, i.e. it’s Christmas time, decorations, music, etc. The cute little Mogwi is a present for the main character. So what if they turn into deadly little gremlins that kill, maim, and destroy everything in sight. It’s still Christmas, right?

Tim Burton likes making non-Christmas movies at Christmas time. How can you forget Batman Returns with “the Bat, the Cat, and the Penguin” amidst the Gotham City Christmas tree lighting. Then there’s Edward Scissorhands and his freakish hands carving ice to make it snow every Christmas. These have that holiday feel, but are never really considered a holiday movie. I could list dozens more… Trading Places, Lethal Weapon, Rocky IV, and You’ve Got Mail to name a few.

Is it weird to watch movies like this at other times of the year or does it make you one of those Christmas weirdos that watches White Christmas in June? (Hint, I live with one of those weirdos so I know what I’m talking about.)

There are even classic movies that have nothing to do with Christmas but are usually only seen at the holidays. This is because they are family movies and, since families gather at the holidays, it’s the best time to air them. The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St. Louis, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory are some of the movies regularly seen this time of year.

So if you’re tired of watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas for the tenth time since Thanksgiving, I’ve got four words for you… “Yippee Ki-Yay Mother Fucker!”

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.

I am happy to report that The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is progressing nicely through Austin Macauley Publishing and I have my first update.

For the book interior, I requested the Coat of Arms of Lord Bryan MoonDrake, the Gil-Gamesh of Avalon. This is the rendering they sent me. It’s a good likeness, similar to what I had in mind when I created it. Their first rendition had traditional medieval long swords, but I explained the importance of Twlight and Dusk, the Twin Swords of the Dragon Knight. They replicated them beautifully.

The Coat of Arms represents the three tenants of Lord MoonDrake: The swords are the symbol of his title as a Knight of Avalon and the Gil-Gamesh, the Eternal Champion of Avalon; the dragon is a symbol of his magical prowess as a DragonMage and, combined with the crescent moon, represents his name MoonDrake.

This artwork is a first step in working with the artists at the publishers for both interior art and cover art. They responded to my request for changes and came back within a week with the updated drawing. This is what you want to experience in that writer/publisher relationship.

More updates to come as the publishing process continues. I’m still waiting for them to finish editing and send me my manuscript back with red line edits, and cover art. I will keep you I formed as it progresses. Any questions on my publishing experience, please ask in the comments below.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.