On what authority do I offer advice on the Craft of Writing?  Well, I am a published author. In 2000 I had the privilege of adding to and rewriting local treasure Harvey Manning’s guidebook to the trails of Cougar Mountain, published by nonprofit organization the Issaquah Alps Trails Club. In 2003 I wrote the bulk of the content for eMedia’s Rock Guitar CD-ROM, which has since been sold to the Dummies franchise and become Rock Guitar for Dummies. But my fantasy opus, Siana’s War, is currently unpublished. I don’t see it as a question of authority. I included this section because I’m excited about writing. I want to share that excitement, my experiences and failures, and tips I’ve picked up in spending the last three years editing the first volume of Siana’s War by rereading it over 100 times. I’ve learned so many new things from the massive job of editing this 550 page novel, going through it with a fine-tooth comb to raise it to a level of perfection to which I’ve never aspired in any of my prior writing endeavors. It is kind of amazing I managed to write 8 years of high school and college papers (and land a 3.99 GPA) without knowing this stuff.