Editing - What do you do?

Horserider · Apr 15, 2009

I've been having so much trouble getting into an editing mood lately. I just never want to do it. I procrastinate, I dread editing, and it seems like it's never going to be done. I realize that it's an essential part of the writing process since a normal writer like me can't just send off a first draft to agents, but I can't seem to get through it.

What do you do to get into an editing frame of mind?

ccarver30 · Apr 15, 2009

Sorry, I kind of love editing.

Kathleen42 · Apr 15, 2009

Horserider said:
I've been having so much trouble getting into an editing mood lately. I just never want to do it. I procrastinate, I dread editing, and it seems like it's never going to be done. I realize that it's an essential part of the writing process since a normal writer like me can't just send off a first draft to agents, but I can't seem to get through it.

What do you do to get into an editing frame of mind?

I found working in the library helped.

Izz · Apr 15, 2009

Horserider said:
What do you do to get into an editing frame of mind?

Sometimes I pop in here to AW and crit some work. I find that looking at other peoples work before looking at my own helps me to be more objective.

Schedule time each day for it.

Printing out a hard copy of the section or story I'm editing helps me too. It seems that having paper in front of me that I can scribble on with a pen or pencil works well. (shameless self-promotion time: if you're worried about the cost of ink and paper when printing, I have some handy tips up on my blog about how to conserve such: Printing Tips).

I also look at editing as an exercise/game. How many words can I cut from this section or story without losing the meaning or the voice? Does every word or sentence here justify its existence?

Do you have anybody you can share your work with for critique? I find that other peoples' opinions really help me see my work in perspective and make editing a whole lot easier. If you haven't already, I recommend posting some of your first chapter in the Share Your Work area of AW, under the appropriate genre.

mscelina · Apr 15, 2009

I edit first thing every day. I make it a point to spend at least an hour a day editing and never on the project I'm currently writing. Once you have the self-discipline to work on it daily, you lose your dread of it. Good luck!

stormie · Apr 15, 2009

Been there, done that, and wondered how the heck I was going to edit the work they wanted when I was so sick of looking at it.

Even if you're under the gun, so to speak, put it aside for at least a week. Write other things. Then go back. Reread it out loud. That helps me a lot.

TheIT · Apr 15, 2009

Read it out loud.

Edit on paper with colored pens and highlighters.

Intersperse editing with writing something new. If I'm at the point where I'm sick of looking at the same words, it helps to think about something else for a time.

jy'lenn · Apr 15, 2009

Put it down and come back to it. You'd be amazed what you'll find by doing that. Of course, I ended up editing the last novel by writing it using google docs and having to reformat it to fit Word. I kept reading what I wrote and finding mistakes and errors as I changed the formating. (It was a pain in the rear and I swear I'll never do that again, but I got it edited! lol)

Take time off, give it to someone you trust, and then go back to it again.

Look at the bright side! Nothing and no one is perfect!

Delhomeboy · Apr 15, 2009

I drink a bottle of scotch that I'm not legal for yet and bang my head against a desk. GAWD! I hate editing...why can't I just write everything perfectly the first time.

dawinsor · Apr 15, 2009

I love editing, and I'm puzzled by people who don't. They're like a different species.

DeleyanLee · Apr 15, 2009

I detest editing, but I also know it needs to be done.

First thing I had to do was accept that editing involves a different set of tools than creative writing does and that it was just something I had to learn, like techniques and dialogue and all that. Once I accepted that and started working on it. I still don't like it, but I'm getting really good at it.

The big thing that gets me editing is having seen how much better the prose is after I've done it. Reading the shiny sentences makes the work worth doing.

Zipotes · Apr 15, 2009

I get obsessed with my editing. I've already gone through my first novel so many times and I just can't stop and it keeps growing. I don't know if I'll ever be happy.

Chasing the Horizon · Apr 15, 2009

DeleyanLee said:
I detest editing, but I also know it needs to be done.

<snip>

The big thing that gets me editing is having seen how much better the prose is after I've done it. Reading the shiny sentences makes the work worth doing.

That.

I also keep in mind that most writers have to do a lot more editing than I do, and if possible I edit each chapter as I complete it so I'm not left facing 100k plus words all needing edited.

Calliopenjo · Apr 15, 2009

I suffer from the "I can't see a dam thing wrong with it" after tweaking my story three times myself. When that happens I know it's time to give it to somebody else to critt. Then I get the "Oh yeah. Duuuuh" thing going on as I look at what needs to be fixed. As for what gets me in the editing mood? It's what needs to be done. I had a copy editor tell me that the writing part is easy. It's the rewriting part that makes the author who he/she is. Keeping that mind I get motivated to go over my stories until it can't be edited any more.

KosseMix · Apr 15, 2009

Those are a lot of good comments... I'm currently in the same boat as the OP.

One thing, though - a lot of people seem to be referring to doing LBL or prose/style editing... how would you guys go about editing on a bigger level - eg: character development, plot, story mechanics, etc? It's such a daunting task that I don't even know where to start.

Izz · Apr 15, 2009

KosseMix said:
Those are a lot of good comments... I'm currently in the same boat as the OP.

One thing, though - a lot of people seem to be referring to doing LBL or prose/style editing... how would you guys go about editing on a bigger level - eg: character development, plot, story mechanics, etc? It's such a daunting task that I don't even know where to start.

Condense your entire plot into 200 words or less. Does everything make sense? Or are gaping holes suddenly shown up?

Mindmap all the story arcs you can find in your story and whether they resolve or not, and then analyze whether they're necessary or not.

Start editing the story from the middle onwards.

Try reading it backwards.

Reading aloud can help just as much with determining pacing issues as it can with prose issues.

For character development, condense what happens to the character and how the character changes throughout the story down to one paragraph, then compare that with what you want to happen to the character.

And often it's other people who will spot the inconsistencies in plot. That's the value of critters and betas

KosseMix · Apr 15, 2009

Amazing suggestions, Issac! Thank you

Izz · Apr 15, 2009

KosseMix said:
Amazing suggestions, Issac! Thank you

None of them are originally mine, of course

but i'm glad i could be helpful.

Straka · Apr 15, 2009

I edit by rewriting. I member the spirit of the scene or section, then without looking at the last draft, rewrite it.

WKolodzieski · Apr 15, 2009

I know your question was how to get in the mood to edit but I'm not exactly sure how to answer that so I'll just say what I do to edit instead.

Write the first draft. Print the first draft. Write something else.
Six weeks later I take that draft and say aloud to myself that I'm going to read "this great book by some up-and-coming-author." And then I read it, realize it's crap, and then sit down with my yellow legal pad and pencil and make notes about everything I want to change (whether it be a badly written sentence, adding a conversation, deleting entire paragraps, etc.). Just seeing the work that needs to be done in order to make it "the great book" I intended it to be is enough motivation for me to begin editing it.

Doubt it'll help, but here's my suggestion: Let the flaws of your work motivate you to turn it into the masterpiece you want it to be.

Good luck and Happy Editing!

P.S. - I forget who said it (maybe Golding?), but it's something like "A great writer is a great rewriter."

Judg · Apr 15, 2009

Force yourself to sit down and make one paragraph really, really beautiful. Then sit back and admire it. Bask a little. Savour how much better it is.

The second paragraph will come much easier that way.

timewaster · Apr 16, 2009

I don't like editing, but I do it quickly to get it out of the way. My first drafts are usually OK so though I have done total rewrites I don't start out with that in mind. i usually do it in a couple of days.

This is what I do.
1. Day 1 Print out novel. Find comfy chair,+ coffee/wine/chocolate. Mark up anything obvious on text. Make a note of the page number on a separte piece of paper.
Because I have been doing this a while I tend to deal with everything at once but to start with it might be easier to do separate passes.

Day 2/3/4 I sit at my desk and fix everything on my mss and on my page notes. I do this until it is done. I work pretty flat out because I find it easier to keep changes in my head if I do it intensively.

3.Day 5 I usually read it through again to make sure I haven't introduced new errors.
Send it out. Celebrate.

4. Day 6 Celebrate. This is an important stage : )

Linda Adams · Apr 16, 2009

KosseMix said:
One thing, though - a lot of people seem to be referring to doing LBL or prose/style editing... how would you guys go about editing on a bigger level - eg: character development, plot, story mechanics, etc? It's such a daunting task that I don't even know where to start.

Take everything in small bites. It's not so bad when it's only one chapter that needs to be fixed. You might try picking a chapter at random and work through just it.

Try focusing on fixing one issue in the manuscript, perhaps a nuisance thing that's easy to fix. If you know you have a problem with dialogue tags, for example, you could go on a search and destroy mission through the entire manuscript just for that.

Try outlining the manuscript. First, go through and hit the major plot points of the story. Then go through and repeat the same thing for the subplots.

Remember, you don't need to fix everything all at once. You can always come back to a chapter later on to do more work.

Samantha's_Song · Apr 16, 2009

I do the editing on the days I don't feel like writing anything. That sounds weird really, as I'm always rewriting bits when I'm editing anyway.

kaitlin008 · Apr 16, 2009

I love editing. Almost as much as I love writing. But what helps get me started are comments from my critique group. Once I get going, I correct more than what they suggested, but sometimes it's hard to see what you need to fix if no one's read it but you, and that makes editing more of a challenge. So I read through their suggestions and comments, then I read through my document, adding in suggestions I thought were good, cutting out unnecessary words/phrases/sentences/paragraphs, and adding anything else I decide I want.

Sometimes it's just getting started that's the hardest thing.

Editing - What do you do?

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