Editing Musings

Thursday, January 15, 2015
Weeelll....
 
I was hoping to have more than just one post up in two weeks, but part of the problem was that my computer charger broke (gasp!) , and that deleted a couple days out of my schedule.  ...And there's this thing called editing.
 
Yup. I've started editing my novel.
 
And simply put, I like writing a whole lot more.
 
Writing actually goes quickly for me. Between Word Wars and the help of NaNo programs, my novel was finished within a few months. It was exciting to see my story grow and the characters move forward in their journey. I never had the problem with having to force myself down to write the words.
 
This January, with a few other writing buddies, I set up a goal to edit my novel for thirty minutes a day so then I'd have time for reading, school, and blogging. Thirty minutes isn't that bad, right? I mean, thirty minutes of writing goes by super quickly, so why shouldn't editing be the same?
 
... I wish it was the same.
 
I've spent about six hours so far, attacking my precious novel to pieces, and I've only just started chapter five. It's a bit discouraging. It's easy for me to find mistakes in my novel, but it's a lot harder to know how to make them better. I often spend minutes on just one sentence, agonizing on how I should change the wording---how I can make it better. I have the way it's already written cemented in my mind, so it's sometimes hard to take a different angled view on it. 
 
But the encouraging part, is that I can see definite improvements. (Yay!) I think I'm finally knowing where to put the puzzle pieces together, and finding the missing ones that weren't there before. I'm actually liking what's being written. Which is a good thing, because why write something you dislike? I'm hoping I can finish the first draft of editing by May. Possibly June. I'll have to see if the NaNoWriMo chapters continue to be showered with grammar and typo errors...
 
So, in all, I've started editing.
 
Byeeeee!
- Katie Grace
 
Do you have any experience with editing?
 
 
 
 

9 comments :

  1. Well, I am proud of you for keeping at it, Katie, regardless of how slowly you feel it's going! I feel bad that I haven't even touched my manuscript yet, but my schedule has changed dramatically this month, so, it may be a while *sigh*

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    1. Thank you! *grins*
      Yeah... Schedules can do that. I completely understand. :)

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  2. Oh editing. I have a love/hate relationship. I love the way it makes my writing look at the end, but it's so hard to like it in the middle when I'm cutting huge swaths out of my book and rewriting parts over and over again. It gets easier the more you do it, but it's still hard work. Good luck with your editing. I'm sure that all the hard work will pay off int eh end when your book really starts to shine.

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    1. I know... I'm cutting out more than I thought I would right now. It's a hard process. :p
      Thank you! I can already see that it is going to be more than worth it. I just have to keep up the motivation to continue.

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  3. Editing is really hard for me, too. I'm mostly trying to cut out filler and make my prose a little bit less awkwardly phrased right now, because I haven't found many major plot or character inconsistencies. However, I think writing is an even slower process. I can edit for a long time, but I really need to take breaks as I write.

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    1. I haven't found any major plot things I need to change, either... I hope that it stays that way so I won't have to rewrite it all again. :)
      Really? Interesting. I think writing would be a lot slower for me if I didn't have NaNo to help me out.

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  4. Katie, I just went through a major editing job. So I completely understand your arguments. I believe, as with writing, editing also needs you in the right 'mood' that you enjoy what you are doing. Setting a time frame for each day may not be so good, better is perhaps shooting for a minimum number of hours per week.
    Editing is so important: It transfers a good and interesting novel into an excellent one, first of all from your perspective!
    Good luck, Katie! You will make it.

    Konrad, aka Opa

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  5. Hello, I nominated you for the Stranded on a Deserted Island tag on my blog! =D http://thebubblegumballerina.blogspot.com/2015/01/tag.html

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