Wednesday, July 15, 2015

For Love of Editing.

I think we've all heard of those authors who think they don't need to edit, or think they don't need anyone else editing their work.  I'm saying this right now: if I ever claim either of those things, I want you to link me back to this entry, so I can tell myself I'm an utter and complete idiot for ever thinking I don't need to edit.

Because I totally do, for one simple reason: editing makes everything better.

As I mentioned earlier, I finished the line edits on The Book of Lost Runes yesterday.  (Yes, saying it on Twitter counts as mentioning it earlier.  This is the internet.)  I did two chapters a day, so while it might have only taken me nine days, it felt like one enormous slog.  Mostly because going over everything by hand forces me to see how the story actually works on paper, to see the story how a reader would.  And making a whole bunch of changes with a pen takes a long time.

It also really drove home the fact that I'm a writer, because I was overly happy to find a pen that worked well for this task.  It's the simple things, really.  And I'm now stealing the pens from every hotel room I stay in, because damn.

It's amazing how many things I notice when I'm not staring at a screen.  Little things like how I fall back on using some of my favorite words, or when I describe something the exact same way in two sentences in a row, or when a character's eye color rapidly changes between chapters.  Yes, all of these things happened.  Some of them repeatedly.

For example, the story is done in third person limited perspective, so when writing it, I often used "Shiloh thought" in lines where the main character was considering something that happened and/or drawing conclusions.  It was supposed to be a simple way to designate that I was dealing with her internal monologue, not stating things as objective fact.  Over the course of editing, I realized that the whole book is effectively her internal monologue, third person or not.  So there's rarely reason to designate something as one of Shiloh's thoughts - it quite literally could not be anyone else's.  I crossed out a lot of "Shiloh thought" over the past few days, believe me.

But better to do that now than have a pre-reader hand the book back to me with every single instance of "Shiloh thought" marked in the text.  There would have been many.  Many.

I also nailed down some things I'd been questioning myself on while I wrote the book.  Do people speak runes or write them?  Runes are written, only spoken for constant magical effects like maintaining a shield or runeweaving or ███ ███████ ████.  Is Cordobrae all desert, or desert and wasteland?  The latter, though the wasteland can be much like the desert, just with more magical poisoning.  How many chains drape over the Lady of Chains's shoulders?  As many as she needs.

Some things don't need a concrete answer.  That's my decision and I'm sticking to it.  :P

So, yes.  The point of this overly wordy little ramble?  No matter what you've done, editing can only make it better.  I know this is something most if not all of my readers will know and understand.  But given the vast and often overwhelming uncertainty of this profession, and the equally vast and overwhelming anxiety that too often comes with it, sometimes a reminder can help.

It's all right if you think you've written something that no one - including you - should ever read.  Because there's always something you can do to make it better.

Not that this has me considering picking up the books I tossed aside last year and editing them.  Let's not get crazy, I have enough to do already....

14 comments:

  1. Ah, yes, the dreaded filtering. My first edit letter was basically "if you used the words thought, saw, felt, or heard, I want it cut. NOW." And the reason for all of that was because anytime you use a filter like that, it puts the story at arm's length; it's one step farther (hmm, or is this metaphorical and further...?) from the reader. Kudos for picking it out for yourself, that's some high level writing mojo. (not to be confused with high level writing mojito, which is similar, but distinctly full of more alcohol).

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    1. I didn't know there was a term for it, but that makes a lot of sense. I'm going to find every instance of "thought" in the book and make sure it has a very good reason to be there. Looking for the words you listed sounds like a good idea too.

      I didn't know this was a high-level writing thing, though - I learned a few books ago that I have words I fall back on and need to make sure I don't use too much. And they're different words in every book. >_< But I'm glad I know to look for that.

      Also: mmm, mojito. Pity I don't drink while editing.

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  2. You'd laugh me out of the comment box if you knew some of the mistakes I caught (thank gawd!) before my manuscript went to the beta readers. :D

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    1. There might be laughter, but it would be that relieved sort that means "I'm so happy I'm not the only one who did this!" :P

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  3. "I realized that the whole book is effectively her internal monologue, third person or not. " - LOLOLOLOL!!!! Sorry, sorry, sorry, it's just that Shiloh thinks WAY TOO MUCH (she says this herself, right?) so this is just hilarious. Ahem. Let me get a grip here...

    Anyway, yes. No one is ever ever allowed to read my rough drafts for precisely this reason. I do the dumbest, weirdest things in rough drafts. And I am so with you - printing it out is really helpful. So is reading it out loud - that more than anything helps me realize when the story is dragging.

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    1. Hey, there's a lot less time devoted to Shiloh's wool-gathering in this book. Which is probably why it's over 10K words shorter than TAW. :P

      I don't read the whole thing aloud, unless there's a passage where I can't figure out why it doesn't work. But I do read all my dialogue out loud. That's been a huge help.

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  4. Yep! I totally hear you. I find so many mistakes and repeats and stuff that can be pared down when editing. The first draft of anything is crap. :)

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    1. Eeyup. I've learned that one of the big tricks is not thinking "it's crap and always will be", but "it's crap but I can fix that".

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  5. I actually plan on blogging about the editing process soon (and talking about all the things that pop up over and over in my manuscripts) because no matter how many times I do it, it never gets easy. And I mean NEVER. And if there are any writers who think their work doesn't need editing, well, that's probably a book that no one should read (unless they're just a freaking genius). Good luck with the book (and stealing pens:)

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    1. It's the things that pop up over and over that always get me. Always. I'm putting in all my line edits now and I'm still finding more of those that I didn't catch the first time. Then I have to decide whether or not to change them. It never ends. >_<

      And the hotels want you to take the pens! I think. I hope, because I'm swiping them. :P

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  6. The other question is of course when do you stop editing and start getting the thing out there! I have stories that have been edited so much they're not the same thing I started with and it's like they're now draft 1 of something entirely different. Which might be a better thing but... sooner or later I gotta get something, you know, done. :D

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    1. Hmm. I find a point where I've fixed everything I could find to fix, and that's when I send it out to people. Usually, they tell me more things I need to fix. ^_^ But you're right, there has to be a point when you proclaim the story done.

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  7. I also feel there's benefit in letting a manuscript rest for a few weeks before returning to edit and revise it. I didn't always believe this, thinking I could get the job done in quick, successive rounds of revision. But the slow pace of the publishing world has FORCED me to lay manuscripts aside for months at a time -- because I have to wait on my editor's notes. When I finally get back to the manuscript, I see SO MANY THINGS I overlooked in all my previous drafts, things even my editor hasn't noticed.

    I am now a convert to the "put it away and let it age a bit" process. :)

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    1. Oh yes. I didn't mention that in the entry, but I set this book aside for five or six weeks after finishing it. I also wrote another book, to completely clear it from my mind; it's a strategy I've been wanting to try for a while. It worked out pretty well, because as much as I love this story, I've found a ton of things to fix.

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