Reality check time: editing a draft

Well, first save a backup in case you do chuck too many babies with the bathwater. Then, maybe a combination plod-through and hack-as-you-go. Don't try to do it all at once, and take long breaks.

I never think in terms of second or third drafts. The editing process goes on until...it stops.

I don't know if there's any specific step-by-step for editing, like destroy the passive! first and then make sure all the commas are in the right spots.

I just begin with sentence #1 - read it aloud. Does it sound good? Awkward? Awful? Play with it. Fiddle with the structure, add a few words, delete a few. Sound good, or at least passable? Go on to sentence #2. Sounds awesome. #3 = crap? Fool around with it.

It's a matter of taste. And sound and feel. Just have fun shaping and moulding until every sentence, 1-1,000,000, sounds perfect. I love editing because you're working with clay - not making it.

Good luck!

Have you given it a chance to sit and stew? If you just finished it, you might want to stick it in a drawer for a month before you try to edit it. Write something else, catch up on your reading, etc.

And as already stated, definitely make a backup before you delete anything.

Then you've got at least a couple different kinds of editing to do: Architecture and carpentry. Architecture is the big stuff: this scene needs to be cut, this one needs to happen before this other one, this plot thread got dropped, this character needs to be developed better, etc. Carpentry is the little stuff: getting rid of unnecessary passive voice, fixing grammar, making sure your characters don't end up finishing the same cup of coffee twice in one scene, etc.

For the architecture, you're going to need a good sense of where your keeper-scenes fit into your story arcs, and where the gaps are. A visual system might help with this--I hear some people use note cards or color-coding. A basic outline of the plot you've got going now will probably work just fine. Or just do it all in your head--whatever works. Once you know where the gaps are... you fill them. That might seem really daunting, especially if you've got a lot of them, but you might be surprised how easy it is to plug the plot holes once you've got a good idea of where they are and how to fix them.

Compared to that, the carpentry's kind of a walk in the park. Personally, I go through sentence by sentence and paragraph by paragraph with an eye towards whether or not there's a better way to say what I'm saying. Then I go back through and read the whole thing aloud--and find a whole lot of awkward and confusing parts to clarify. Rinse and repeat.

Then I hand the whole thing over to my betas, who ask amazingly astute and terribly inconvenient questions about plot holes, character inconsistencies, pacing, and world-building. They also draw big red circles around sentences that make no frakin' sense to anyone but me.

I take it back from them and head back to the architectural drawing board to work good answers to their inconvenient questions into the story. Then I take a look at the parts of the prose they had a problem with and see what I can do to clarify, read it out loud again, and fix any more errors I find. Rinse and repeat.

Then it goes off to the betas again for (hopefully) a final polish, but occasionally a "Please tell us you made a backup of this, Lee, because you totally maimed it. Try again."

Then-- you guessed it--rinse and repeat.

Matera the Mad said:

Well, first save a backup in case you do chuck too many babies with the bathwater.

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^^^

It's also good practice to have a system for creating regular backups even before you've finished a draft. If nothing else, periodically archive your novel directory and e-mail it to yourself somewhere that the archive will be stored server-side. I do it every 5-10K words. Creating hardcopies isn't a bad idea (DVD, CD, whatever), and you might consider saving versions to a thumbdrive or something like that.

That's a public service message for YOU, whoever happens to be reading this post. Backups backups backups! You'll thank me someday.

It depends on how I'm writing the book.

Right now, I'm doing a middle-grade series with my fiction, so I wrote the first draft in a spiral notebook. (YES. All 12 chapters fit in there! LOL) Now I'm working on Draft 2: Typing it up and fleshing it out. Giving people last names, hair color, fact-checking historical info and putting together the city my characters live in, along with the people in that city. Draft 3 will involve giving it a through run-through, editing and fixing here and there. Eliminating or shortening scenes, if necessary.

In the past, if I've typed up my novel on the first go, I tackle it a second time with edits, omissions and general fixing of the writing. After that, I'll read it all over again then fix the parts which I think don't work and move things around, if necessary.

Letting it sit for a while is a good idea, too. One which I'm using right before I go into Draft 3.

lfraser said:

(Would you look at this crap? What was she thinking, poor old dear?)

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Hey, look on the bright side: you'll be able to tell yourself that you've improved.

When rewriting I like to summarise what I have so far and work on the summary - broad picture instead of fine details.

A while back I put an article on my website called 'Working with an editor' - it covers the whole process, and it still applies even if the editor and writer are the same person:

http://www.spacejock.com.au/WorkingWithAnEditor.html

Okay, here's what I've been trying - it's a pain, but it does help. Go through your book chapter by chapter, writing a paragraph summary for each.

When you're done, you'll a) hate the book, b) have a pretty good idea of where you lost the plot, and c) have the basics of your dreaded synopsis down.

Now, cut, trim, add until you have a cohesive story.

Then start playing with the in-line edits.

Betas are invaluable - they will find all the loopholes you missed, ask you questions you forgot to ask yourself, and nitpick over whn you changed Bob's eyes from green to brown - love them, feed them cake and whisky.

I don't outline before I write, but when I have an unstructured mess, sometimes an outline at that point can be really helpful for getting an overview of what is there and what isn't, where plot lines are going to die, etc.

I start with the first word and then move on to the second. And so on and so on. I weigh the importance of each word and then each sentence. I need to move in a linear when editing. My mind can't keep everything in order if I don't.

For story-level edits, I'd print out the whole thing. Give it a wide edge margin, then read it like a novel - but cross out sections you hate, make notes on ideas for needed scenes, or for revising scenes you already have, add it bits of needed dialogue and so on. You might notice, for example, that one of your characters is a bit too much of a jerk, and you can underline the passages that bug you about him and then revise those later.

Just do all of this on paper, then use it as a guide as you work through draft two.

Make a list of the problems and plot holes you're already aware of, then add to it as you find new ones during your read-through. When I did this with my last book, I also kept a running list of words, phrases and devices I'd overused.

I'd definitely do this before bothering about the one-word-at-a-time line editing. No point in line editing entire chapters that you may chuck or revise from scratch anyway.

Yes. I have a rule: WRITE ON SCREEN/EDIT ON PAPER.

Also.
When it comes to editing, regardless of how long and hard you've worked on it, be ruthless.

spacejock2 said:

A while back I put an article on my website called 'Working with an editor' - it covers the whole process, and it still applies even if the editor and writer are the same person:

http://www.spacejock.com.au/WorkingWithAnEditor.html

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^^ full of win.

I really like LeeFlower's architecture/carpentry analogy. Justine Larbalestier says much the same thing in this post on how to rewrite:

http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/?p=890

As for throwing things out, be of good cheer! You've finished an entire draft, which means you're a writer. There's plenty more where that came from.

My method -- cut and paste it as you like.

1.) First, as already suggested, take a break between drafts. I take six week breaks between novel drafts, during which time I keep the writing muscles strong with short story work and submissions. During the break, I jot down any ideas for the novel that may pop into my head, but that's it, no peeking at the MS.

2.) Six weeks gone, I reread the novel without making any changes. At the same time, I write a chapter by chapter outline of the novel as it exists. For example:

Chapter 1
July 5, 2006, 11 am
Drive from Providence to Arkham
POV: Sean
1-12 (12 pgs.)

Sean, Jeremy and Eddy drive to Arkham, discussing the LSM and CM.

Strengthen the long-standing conflict between Sean and Jeremy. Sean should dwell with more relish on the witchy glamor of Kingsport and Arkham as they come into view.

The bits in italics are ideas for revision that occur to me as I do the first read-through.

In addition to the long outline, I do a short outline, which allows me to see the overall structure of the novel more clearly:

1 Wed 7/5 11 am Sean
Kingsport-Arkham 1-12/12 pgs
Drive to Arkham

2 Wed 75, 1 pm Sean
Arkham/Bookstore 12-30/18 pgs
Meeting Marvell; Redemption Orne

etc.

3.) Based on the first read-through, I develop a list of fic elements about which I need to write extensive "think-through" essays. For example:

Character arcs for Sean, Jeremy and Helen
Magical theory
Psychic communication -- determine steps between inception and possession
Christian/Cthulhu Mythos parallels

4. Review chapter outline, incorporating insights from the think-through essays and any research into the italicized revision notes. By the time (4) is done, I should have a detailed working outline for Draft 2.

5. Start the actual rewriting of Draft 2. Main goals are to get the story line, structure and characters down this time. Intensive tightening and polishing are the job of Draft 3, if all goes well with 2.

Maybe this is one of those instances where you put up your first draft on one side of the screen (which, BTW, is great that you have a shitty first draft that you can mold), then open a new screen and retype the whole thing, making changes as you go. I can't say I've ever done this but I can see how it might work. Look at your first draft as one long, very detailed outline.

lfraser said:

I'm wondering if I'm not really finished draft #1. If all I had to do was edit mere sentences, I'd be golden. I'm still dealing with a very unstructured piece, full of plot holes and dead ends.

Maybe I just need to keep writing.

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I'm in a similar spot with my WIP, especially the unstructured part. I let my pseudo-finished draft sit for awhile (about 2 months, really) and then I printed out everything I had and divided it into sections. There's the pile of pages that will likely be cut, the pile that needs a lot of work, and the pile that's actually pretty decent.

Now I'm going through the entire thing with a pencil and a notebook, editing the bits that need editing and taking notes on things that need to be changed and things that still need to be written.

It's a big project, but it seems to be working fairly well so far. Good luck with your draft!

Congratulations on finishing your first draft. If you do a quick outline of each chapter (I recommend bullet form, 2 or 3 lines per chapter) you will quickly see the scenes that can be cut. You will likely also see areas where pieces need to be inserted for a better flow.

I'm on my 4th novel and I've always worked with outlines. It's almost impossible to keep track of everything and find scenes quickly without. But they also help you to see the whole picture.

You can also use index cards, with a scene per card, to summarize what you have so far, and then move things around. I did this (on the living room floor) before putting everything together in outline form. It's easier to juggle the cards.

I am settling into a rhythm with my first rounds of revision. I print up the first draft chapter by chapter, write out a one-three sentence summary of that chapter, and then go through it ruthlessly with an eye to cutting. I take out all the boring blah-blah, anything that isn't really important to the story, sometimes the entire chapter. Some of the boring blah-blah is important, so then I rewrite it to make it pop. I try to work in small sensory details and make sure there's something actually happening. Every chapter should be moving the plot along at least a little. Even if it is primarily world-building and revealing/developing character, I try to make sure that there is an internal storyline (read "conflict") within the chapter.

To summarize: Cut. Change. Add. Then I do some polishing, although the really intense polishing will be for the second round of revisions. But if a sentence is clunky (once it has earned the right to remain) I will change it.

Caveat: this is my first time doing this. I can't claim great expertise.

The one tool that really helped me get editing down - in terms of structure and weeding out excess material particularly - is Martha Alderson's 'Blockbuster Plots - pure and simple'. Her method identifies seven essential elements every scene should have: Setting, Character Development, Goal, Action, Conflict, Emotional Change and Thematic Significance. By drawing up a chart showing all my scenes and how they contribute to each element it was easy to see which scenes were not very relevant, which could be combined, and where more material was needed. It completely revolutionised my writing, and I highly recommend it!

Another great help for editing is 'Self-Editing for Fiction Writers' by Rennie Browne and Dave King - also highly recommended. I know some people don't find how-to books very useful when it comes to writing, but I owe them a lot!