Well, friends, the time has come to open the word document again with baited breath and dive head-first back into the glorious atrocity that is my NaNoWriMo novel. (more info here!) I finally finished my book the day before my trip to Jordan and Israel, and I jumped straight into editing the week I returned. (This was probably definitely a terrible idea and I should have waited longer, but I just didn't have the patience. I MISSED it.)
BUT ANYWAY.
I started out with a super-quick read through of the whole book, mostly to check for little errors or misspellings and to refresh myself with the plot. Confession: I didn't really leave it alone for a long enough time, since it was fresh enough in my head that I declared it "pretty close to perfect" and gave it to my sister to read.
(Do NOT do this.)
It wasn't anything that she said (except she asked the three major questions that I'd been hoping she wouldn't ask, meaning that I would have to do actual WORK on the next draft. Can you imagine that?) but more what she didn't say... and the fact that her progress got slower and slower as she progressed through the book, instead of speeding up.
(Can someone please check and see if I have any dignity left, because I've been trying to scrape some together and it's not working very well.)
This is actually a good thing, because it means that I've put my current copy of the book under lock and key and am not letting anyone else see it until it is at least half-decent! But beyond saving me from public humiliation, her feedback has been extremely useful because now I know how I want to tackle my editing process (at least, sort of. The specifics continue to elude me, but that's nothing new.)
So, as I journey through the next few weeks, (or months. Probably months) I thought it might be fun to follow along on here. We can talk strategy, the joy of highlighters and ink pens, and the struggle that is re-writing (the bane of my existence.If you want to see me cry, say "re-write." tears are guaranteed.)
I know lots of you did NaNoWriMo this year... is anyone else editing yet? (or maybe you did the smart thing and had self-control and waited longer than I did before picking it back up again...) Are you beating it or is it beating you?? Any advice?
xx,
Olivia
p.s. I 100% did not intend to write a post today, but woop de doo! Here we are!
p.p.s. You know what else I miss? Sherlock episodes. I need to cuddle up with a cup of tea and have a marathon soon. Maybe Thursday.
BUT ANYWAY.
I started out with a super-quick read through of the whole book, mostly to check for little errors or misspellings and to refresh myself with the plot. Confession: I didn't really leave it alone for a long enough time, since it was fresh enough in my head that I declared it "pretty close to perfect" and gave it to my sister to read.
(Do NOT do this.)
It wasn't anything that she said (except she asked the three major questions that I'd been hoping she wouldn't ask, meaning that I would have to do actual WORK on the next draft. Can you imagine that?) but more what she didn't say... and the fact that her progress got slower and slower as she progressed through the book, instead of speeding up.
(Can someone please check and see if I have any dignity left, because I've been trying to scrape some together and it's not working very well.)
This is actually a good thing, because it means that I've put my current copy of the book under lock and key and am not letting anyone else see it until it is at least half-decent! But beyond saving me from public humiliation, her feedback has been extremely useful because now I know how I want to tackle my editing process (at least, sort of. The specifics continue to elude me, but that's nothing new.)
So, as I journey through the next few weeks, (or months. Probably months) I thought it might be fun to follow along on here. We can talk strategy, the joy of highlighters and ink pens, and the struggle that is re-writing (the bane of my existence.If you want to see me cry, say "re-write." tears are guaranteed.)
I know lots of you did NaNoWriMo this year... is anyone else editing yet? (or maybe you did the smart thing and had self-control and waited longer than I did before picking it back up again...) Are you beating it or is it beating you?? Any advice?
xx,
Olivia
p.s. I 100% did not intend to write a post today, but woop de doo! Here we are!
p.p.s. You know what else I miss? Sherlock episodes. I need to cuddle up with a cup of tea and have a marathon soon. Maybe Thursday.
Not going to lie, I've really wanted to hear more about your novel ever since you posted that excerpt!
ReplyDeleteI didn't do NaNo, mainly because this has been such a crazy month that I would have completely lost my sanity had I attempted it. But I'm currently in the process of writing a novel of my own (just with a much slower pace than NaNo, haha!), so I FEEL YA GIRL. We can commiserate and sob over our novels with chocolate chip cookies in hand. Because sugar is extremely important for the novel process.
Not going to lie, I've really wanted to hear more about your novel ever since you posted that excerpt!
ReplyDeleteI didn't do NaNo, mainly because this has been such a crazy month that I would have completely lost my sanity had I attempted it. But I'm currently in the process of writing a novel of my own (just with a much slower pace than NaNo, haha!), so I FEEL YA GIRL. We can commiserate and sob over our novels with chocolate chip cookies in hand. Because sugar is extremely important for the novel process.
Not going to lie, your comment made me PLEASED AS PUNCH!! (I almost said "happy as punch" and now I'm kind of horrified at myself.) Sugar IS so important to the writing process! Clearly I didn't eat enough of it during November! This explains everything!! :p kidding. I'm so excited to share my editing journey and hear all about yours too!!
DeleteOh, Olivia -- good luck with your editing! (I won't say "re-writing" cause I don't want to make you cry.) I actually just finished my novel a little over a week ago (my first too, WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!) and I've only just started the editing business. I actually love editing, because I deliberate so much on my first writing that all I really do the second time is fix little things and add stuff to make it better. I have a strange method, I guess. :-P
ReplyDeleteI am really curious to hear more about your novel!
Lol!! Thanks, Emma! Congrats on finishing your first novel, too, that's SO exciting!! :D I'm glad we can walk the editing journey together! How long did it take you to write your first draft? I tend to rush through mine with the intent of "getting it out there" all ugly and unfinished so I have something to work with in my editing stage, so I'm interested to hear how your method works for you too!
DeleteThank you! I know, it's fun when you know someone else is doing the same thing as you are. :-) Ummm, it took me about four months to write it. Usually I'm a really slow writer and I tend to re-write as I write the first draft, so this time I just wrote it through without stopping. I'm actually really surprised it turned out as good as it did!
DeleteI love that you're doing a series of editing posts! :) I give my sister all my drafts to read, too, and it is the most nerve-wrecking and vulnerable thing ever. I love that you do the same! But don't be discouraged, because writing IS re-writing. As upsetting as that is, it's really helpful. And YES! Sherlock is the best! I just got the Season 1 DVD from the library and can't wait to watch it :D
ReplyDeleteYAY I LOVE THAT YOU LOVE IT. Whew, thank goodness, the end. :p And thank you for the encouragement!! It made me feel a lot better to read your comment. also, have you NOT SEEN Sherlock yet??? You will LOVE it. Please give me updated feels approximately every five minutes! Agh!!
DeleteOKAY SO I CAN RELATE TO THIS ON TOO MANY LEVELS. First, I totally know what you mean about waiting a while before editing and it's sooo important to take that reflective time before going back to a book -- because it's almost like you're too close to see it?? if that makes sense?? BUT I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS. I miss my books/characters too much to stay away very long...although a mess to clean up should scare me off... XD
ReplyDelete"...and the fact that her progress got slower and slower as she progressed through the book, instead of speeding up." << okay this is a REALLY interesting thought that I haven't really given much consideration to before!! that's a good point -- your reader should speed up as they get further in...hmm... *takes this information and stuffs it in with all my other writerly things*
"But beyond saving me from public humiliation, her feedback has been extremely useful..." < SO TRUE. I usually share all my writing with my sister (well most of it, anyhow) and it's sooo helpful to have feedback! Even on rough edits, sometimes other people will see (surprisingly big) errors that I've missed.
YAYYYY YES PLEASE TALK ABOUT YOUR FABULOUS NOVEL MOAARRRR. <3 Because, like, I need it in my life right abOUT NOWWW. *bounces around* Can't wait!! :D
abbiee
Being too close to see the issues in my book was DEFINITELY my problem... oopsie! It's taught me a lot about this style of book that I've been experimenting with, though, and reminded me of a few key editing details *facepalm* so overall I think it's been a good thing... (I think...lol!)
DeleteYAY GIVE IT ALL THE THOUGHTS. Honestly she kept telling me it was good, she liked the characters, but it was her lack of ENTHUSIASM and DESIRE to keep going that totally clued me in to the fact that Houston, we have a problem.
So excited for the next installment of this series!! Once I figure out what it's going to be...!!
I let/make my sister read drafts of pretty much everything I write, and her opinions are so helpful, even when they're painful. Editing can be a lot of fun, though! I definitely prefer it to first-drafting.
ReplyDeleteLol! I let/make my sister read all my stuff, too. And I definitely appreciate each stage of the writing journey more when I'm NOT in the middle of it... during first draft writing, I couldn't wait to edit, and now I'm like, huh! I wish I could go back to first drafting because there were NO MISTAKES AND AGH NOW THERE ARE SO MANY. But overall I think I prefer editing, too. :)
DeleteOh, Olivia, noooo! Wait at least a couple more months before starting to rewrite and edit!
ReplyDeleteI mean that in the nicest way and I know you're really eager and that you missed the story and characters, but it hasn't been long enough!
Danielle, this comment made me reevaluate EVERYTHING WOW. I think going away to Jordan/Israel made it feel like longer, since I really wasn't thinking about the book at all while I was gone (still definitely not long enough tho, you're so right lol). So far the editing seems to be working out for me, but I might wait a little bit longer before starting rewrites.
DeleteThanks for your honesty!! This has given me a chance to stop and think things through before my next steps :)
Oh gosh, I didn't mean to make you completely reconsider. I was just stating my opinion. Thank you for taking me seriously though and considering it so much.
Delete