OVER-EDITING

Suzan · Feb 21, 2010

Over-editing!! It's the opposite of over-eating and I'm SO guilty. I starved my manuscript to death with edits and deleted passages. Anyone else ever find themselves in this rut? Long ago, I read something in an esteemed writer's magazine that said you can never over-edit a story. Bull-DINGY. I did!. And worse, I sent it out to a couple of agents. After two rejects with similar comments I started to read it (yes, it had been awhile) and I was almost embarrassed over the bland sentence structure. So, I pulled out the manuscript of six months prior (before the massive edits) and started reading it with fresh eyes. The magic that I'd deleted had survived there. I can't believe I blew my shot with two-agents, but am thankful I'd saved the old copy which is now sitting with another agent. Anyone else ever do this?

thothguard51 · Feb 21, 2010

Yep... But not sure its a case of over editing, as much as never being satisified and over experimenting with this or that in changes. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. Thank the gods of Netherron I keep all my files seperate so I can go back if need be...

Stunted · Feb 21, 2010

This is SUCH a problem for me. I really need to learn how to conquer it, but I don't know how.

Stijn Hommes · Feb 21, 2010

I'm someone who severely under-edits. It takes me ages to find what to edit and why, but it does make for pretty good stories.

Forsaken · Feb 21, 2010

When I edit I tend to add sentences or whole passages. So with every edit my manuscript grows longer and longer. Deleting passages or even sentences is difficult for me.
But I don't edit that much. Maybe I should.

DonnaDuck · Feb 21, 2010

I'm afraid I've done that to an extent now with my current WIP. I don't think I've hacked out every viable piece of the manuscript as I've left too much to the imagination. I know there are some spots that could use some good padding both for the sake of the plot and characterization. I do think it's highly likely to over-edit a manuscript and as writers we need to recognize when too much is too much.

Matera the Mad · Feb 21, 2010

I'm sure that trying to apply every known (or newly-revealed) Rule will result in over-editing. So will trying to please every whim of every beta reader. But editing to one's own satisfaction should have a ceiling, however vague the boundary. My problem is that the boundary shifts with time :ROFL:

shaldna · Feb 22, 2010

No. I practice the 'write a first draft that's almost a final draft' method of writing.

It means I take care to write well and write what I want at the outset because I know I might not have time to come back and edit too much later.

I very rarely cut stuff out - with the exception of some paragraphs or lines, but I usually end up adding some stuff in the rewrite.s

Sheila Muirenn · Feb 22, 2010

shaldna said:
No. I practice the 'write a first draft that's almost a final draft' method of writing.

It means I take care to write well and write what I want at the outset because I know I might not have time to come back and edit too much later.

I very rarely cut stuff out - with the exception of some paragraphs or lines, but I usually end up adding some stuff in the rewrite.s

We write the same way Shaldna

Midnight Star · Feb 22, 2010

I did that to my MS about two months ago. I wasn't satisfied, so I kept on editing....everything imaginable. Dialogue was added, and so were (useless) paragraphs that only moved the plot along. It was even worse after the editing than it was to begin with.

So, I decided to read through it and write down everything that was necessary to the plot. I ended up with only about half of the book.

Then, I made my decision that I was going to start from scratch. I'd keep the original plot and necessary characters, but I'm changing a lot of things based on my own opinions and the opinions of my beta readers.

Now, my novel is turning out great so far, even though I'm only about 20% of the way through it. Everything I wanted is in, everything i didn't like is out. My characters are more developed and I can spend more time working on them.

This isnt the only solution to the over-editing disease, but it's one that I found very useful.

shaldna · Feb 22, 2010

Sheila Muirenn said:
We write the same way Shaldna

they way I look at it is this; why would I spend time writing soemthing i'm going to cut. it wastes time in writing and it wastes time in editing.

i have to admit that i used to be of the 'write it all and edit later' method, buit I relaly just can't be bothered with that now.

Sheila Muirenn · Feb 22, 2010

Absolutely!

~~~~~~~~~
Ha ha, I read the first 5 or so pages of Twilight on Amazon through the 'search inside' feature.

And that was quite enough thanks.

Semper Write · Feb 22, 2010

I edited, re-wrote, re-read, fixed, tinkered, added, erased and put down my MS for a solid year. You cannot do it yourself because we become blind to our own rabbits at the bottom of our own hats.

dawinsor · Feb 22, 2010

I have to edit. For me, writing is a forest/tree problem. A novel is created tree by tree, but at the end it has to look like a forest. And it's the look of the forest I edit for. I can't do that until I have it. Then I need to check things like pacing, character arcs, sufficient seeding of later events.

Plainly it's possible to over edit. But I can't imagine not editing at all.

If you can, my hat's off to you!

lucidzfl · Feb 22, 2010

I'm finishing up my revision of my first draft of my last WIP. Once I'm done, I'm shipping it off to editors.

In the meantime I'm working on the next book.

DonnaDuck · Feb 22, 2010

shaldna said:
they way I look at it is this; why would I spend time writing soemthing i'm going to cut. it wastes time in writing and it wastes time in editing.

i have to admit that i used to be of the 'write it all and edit later' method, buit I relaly just can't be bothered with that now.

But don't you do that when you edit as you go along? While you may not get the words down on the paper and scratch them out over and over again, don't you do it in your head? You toil away editing while writing which means, I'm guessing, you take a lot more time to put down a sentence than someone like me, who writes now, edits later, does. So basically you can rightly edit the same amount, just in a different order. So saying you don't edit isn't really truthful. You do; its just done in your head. So whether you waste the time in the process or seventeen times afterwards, it's still time gone editing.

dawinsor said:
Plainly it's possible to over edit. But I can't imagine not editing at all.

If you can, my hat's off to you!

I'm sure Anne Rice can give you an idea of what's it's like to "not have to edit."

OVER-EDITING

Suzan

Living the Dream...

thothguard51

A Gentleman of a refined age...

Stunted

Ich heiße Superphantastisch!

Stijn Hommes

Know what you write...

Forsaken

...Writing...

DonnaDuck

My Worlds Are Building

Matera the Mad

Bartender, gimme a Linux Mint

shaldna

The cake is a lie. But still cake.

Sheila Muirenn

Rebuilding My Brain

Midnight Star

We are once in a lifetime.

shaldna

The cake is a lie. But still cake.

Sheila Muirenn

Rebuilding My Brain

Semper Write

Flying on two wheels

dawinsor

Dorothy A. Winsor

lucidzfl

Back from the dead

DonnaDuck

My Worlds Are Building