...The edits begin.
Yay.
Self-editing has to be my least favorite part of the writing process, which is why I've developed a little system that seems to work fairly decently for me.
Instead of writing, writing, writing and never editing like most of the speakers at writing conferences and most of the books on writing encourage you to do ("Keep on your creative hat!" "Don't touch the editing until you're done!"), I do it a little differently.
I like to call it Survival Editing. As in, if I do it this way, I usually survive the editing process with very few extra pounds from those necessary chocolate chip cookies that have to accompany it.
My process? I write, write, write all day. At the end of the day, I save my work and close my computer. The next morning, I get up and reread what I wrote the day before, making the corrections as I see them. Then I start writing, writing, writing again.
It only takes a few minutes every day. And then, once you finish your book, you have something that is very close to a finished draft instead of a horrific rough draft that makes you add two cups of chocolate chips to the cookie batch instead of just one.
So, once I finish a deadline, it only takes me about two full days to completely read through and do the last few edits before it's ready to be sent off. Fairly painless, fairly easy to burn off those few days' extra calories rather than a whole month's worth of cookies and candy like it used to take.
How do you edit your work? And what are some of your trade secrets that you're willing to share?
I send it to a friend to edit. I can't stand reading my own work, I don't know why. It's like how when I used to be in singing competitions I could not bare to listen to the recordings, I still don't know what my voice sounds like... Anyways, I know I have to do it so occasionally I will go back and edit, but I like to print out the pages and attack with a red pen. I am a tree killer. lol.
ReplyDeleteI send it to an online critique group. It has been a great help, because they see things I might miss.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I like your idea and I think I will start doing it that way.
Thanks for the post.
I'm a 24/7 editor. I might write a paragraph, then re-read and edit, then write a few pages, then go back and re-read. I basically only ever do ONE draft. I still have revisions but those are more along the story/plot line suggestions from my editor. I can't turn off my editor, it doesn't turn off, so I quit fighting that battle long ago. lol
ReplyDeleteAnd Erynn you crack me up with your cups of chocolate chips reference. It's pillsbury cut and bake all the way at my house. lol No measuring, no pouring, no mixing. You're such a domestic diva =P