Editing Sucks. It says so on this list of 5
Things About Writing, so it must be true, right?
There is a feeling of satisfaction that comes when the story is done and I can literally, if not figuratively, write the final two words…The End. But in writing the end, I know it is just the beginning, of the rewriting and revision phase.
What I have is a First Draft. I’ve gotten
to know the characters, and have figured out the story. No matter how much
planning went into my book there are always surprises when I actually start to
write. The story may go off in an unexpected direction and I have to go back
and introduce supporting information, but basically, it’s write until it’s
done. It might be messy but that’s the creative process.
On to the Second Draft. This is when the
inspirational and analytical processes meet. I’ve worked out the main points
and get to work, maybe writing new material, restructuring, and rearranging
scenes. The key elements should be in place, but here I try to fix any
problems, paying attention to grammar and spelling. I read the story out loud
and pick up on awkward phrasing, repetitive words, and anything that stops the
flow of the story.
I read an article on editing that talked
about the use of the words ‘had been’ and ‘have been’. It suggested using the
FIND and HIGHLIGHT features on your computer to show how many times these
phrases were used. It was an amazing learning tool. I had to do some rewrites to
get rid of that wording. That same article suggested doing the same
find/highlight with the words he/she and the protagonist’s name, to see how
many sentences started that way. More rewrites.
This is also when I look at the use of
adverbs rather than action verbs. Like he
went quickly could be changed to he
hurried. I read the narrative passages, did I describe the setting clear
enough, or too much? Are the story elements clear, have I wrapped up all the
loose ends?
I print out a clean copy of the story and
pass it around to some select friends and fellow writers, asking for feedback,
for impressions, and comments. And I step away and forget about it for awhile.
By the time the book has made the rounds
I’ve had a break from the story and come back to it with fresh eyes. I read the
book through as a reader would, from beginning to end, to get a sense of how
the story flows. I may make note of typos or changes needed, but I don’t make
those edits now, I’ll go back later when I get into the final editing process.
The final edit, what a joke. It seems like
it’s never done. I go through the book, line by line, making changes as noted
on my read through, and incorporating any worthwhile suggestions from my reader
feedback.
In my NaNo novel from last November, my
readers had concern for the names I’d used. My detectives were Steve Kowalski
and Danny Hayes. What was wrong with that I asked? Steve and Danny? Hawaii Five-O? I still
don’t know how I did that unless I had just watched the show on television and
it was my subconscious at work. So I changed the names. I also had a character
called Dominic, and changed it to Salvatore. I like Uncle Sal better than Uncle
Dom, it read easier if you know what I mean.
I used FIND and REPLACE and made the name
change. But on doing the edit I learned that using capitals means nothing to
find/replace. Anywhere the three letters ‘dom’ appeared; it was changed to
‘sal’. While editing I found the word ‘ransal’ and couldn’t figure out how I
made such a mistake, then realized it was from that name change. The word was
‘random’. Another lesson learned. Better to find and highlight, and make the
changes one at a time to prevent this kind of mistake.
No matter how many times I go over the
book, there are small mistakes that are easily missed, things like repeated
words, the the, for example, or extra words left over from some revision that
were not deleted. As good as spell check is, it doesn’t find all spelling
mistakes. A word may be spelled wrong for the story, but be a real word and not
be picked up as a mistake.
I think I have Hiding From the Night, my
NaNo novel, as finished as it can get, maybe. I think I’ll ask my friend to
give the final copy another read, she’s got an eagle eye. Who knows what she
might find.
Like I said, editing sucks.
3 comments:
I like your poster!
I'm an AZtech minion stopping by to say hi! Editing is so important and such a hard thing to do, particularly when you read your story 12 hundred times!
Editing does suck, but I've learned to endure it. I am a list person, so as long as I have a to list when it comes editing, I can get through it.
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