Spoiler Sponge

Well, that round of editing is in the bag. Now to do it all over again.

This time, I'm bringing in my Team to help me get through the rest. (Now that they all have time set aside to hash through it with me.)

Of course, when it comes to things like books and series with a lot of elements to them, there is always one person on your team that should be kept separated from the others at all costs: your Spoiler Sponge.

For me, this person used to be (still sometimes is) my brother. Together, we'd go on long walks down backroads and we'd talk about my current WIP (Work In Progress). We'd bounce ideas back and forth, I'd tell him everything that would happen that I hadn't gotten a chance to write yet.

As things happen, time moves on and I had to find myself a new sponge. Enter the cousin. (Maniacal laughter ensues.) When two writers who know each other well get into a conversation about our projects, nothing else is important. It is so hard for writers to talk to other people–much less each other–because we all feel like we're bothering other people.

This is why a Spoiler Sponge is so valuable. This is the one person you decide to tell everything to. For my cousin and I, we act as this individual to each other. We bounce back and forth in sharing our ideas and unloading on each other everything we've been keeping inside.

It's an outlet. A helpful, cathartic relief to use someone else as a sounding board. Not only do you have a chance to hear everything out loud as you plan it, but your Sponge is able to offer feedback or add perspective. They are the most valuable person on your team, because they will help you to shape the story to come. Which will make it all the more fulfilling when your other team members get to read your WIP for the first time.

And now that I'm bringing in everyone else on the editing, my Spoiler Sponge gets to sit back and keep her mouth shut as she traverses this next draft.