{"id":1288,"date":"2015-10-06T10:00:46","date_gmt":"2015-10-06T15:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ellismorning.com\/blog\/?p=1288"},"modified":"2015-10-06T11:38:58","modified_gmt":"2015-10-06T16:38:58","slug":"finding-my-editing-and-revising-groove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ellismorning.com\/blog\/2015\/10\/finding-my-editing-and-revising-groove\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding My Editing And Revising Groove"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"curved_arrow\"<\/a>“OK, now I gotta go back over it from the beginning!” When you’re editing a novel, you’ll say this at least 37 times.<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/center>I was on a blogging hiatus for a while there! Sorry about that. Two major things kept me from blogging for the past while:<\/p>\n

(1) Both of my cats passing away in August, less than a week apart.<\/p>\n

(2) My final editing passes on Blood’s Force<\/a><\/em>. Which is a real book now. Holy crap. :D<\/p>\n

With (1), I\u2019m still not quite ready to go into detail. Maybe I\u2019ll have more to say about my babies later\u2014they certainly deserve a fine tribute\u2014but right now I\u2019m not up for it.<\/p>\n

The work on (2) has helped me keep my head. I found myself with 22 chapters to revise, reread, and hunt through for those insidious errors like accidental repetition, words left out, or two letters displaced (\u201ccomplaint\u201d vs. \u201ccompliant,\u201d for example. I did that in a Daily WTF article once).<\/p>\n

I accomplished this in two major passes. One was a thorough editing and revision pass, the second a \u201csanity\u201d pass for cleanup purposes.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll talk about the editing\/revision pass first (sanity pass will be another article). For the first time ever, I fell into a really good groove with this process that I’d like to repeat later. I\u2019ll lay out here what I did, and more specifically, why it worked for me. Everyone has different preferences and approaches. It\u2019s all about finding what works best for you.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the naked process\u2014or algorithm, if you will (gotta put that CompSci degree to good use now and then):<\/p>\n

(1) Started at Chapter 1 with a “blank” mind and advanced in chronological order, tackling one chapter at a time for as long as necessary.<\/p>\n

(2) I did an initial read-through of the chapter on my computer, making whatever changes I wanted. I already mostly knew what to fix based on my editor\u2019s suggestions, but I\u2019d also find typos, plot\/character inconsistencies, and other things to iron out.<\/p>\n

(3) Once the chapter was in a readable state, I printed it out double-spaced, in a different font.<\/em><\/p>\n

(4) With the printout, I waited until at least<\/em> the next day to re-read the chapter on paper. From there, I made further notes and revisions in pen. Waste of paper? Au contraire!<\/em> My eye catches different things in different media. When the font is different, it tricks my brain into thinking I\u2019ve never seen this stuff before, and makes me feel like I\u2019m critiquing someone else\u2019s work. Don\u2019t worry, tree lovers, my city has a lovely recycling program.<\/p>\n

(5) Typed in my revisions.<\/p>\n

(6) Moved on to the next chapter!<\/p>\n

The following factors made the above process work for me:<\/p>\n

Flexible deadlines.<\/strong> Every week, I\u2019d schedule day by day what tasks I hoped to complete. I aimed for 2-3 chapters edited per week. Sometimes I worked on the weekends, sometimes I didn\u2019t. The scheduling was important for providing a clear idea of what I needed to do to feel \u201cdone\u201d each day. But if I fell behind, I allowed that to happen and adjusted things accordingly. (See the point on compassion below.)<\/p>\n

A set work time every day.<\/strong> Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM – 12:00PM were my working hours. Some days there were exceptions, like for doctor\u2019s appointments or really bad surprises (emergency vet trips, sigh). No worries. The point is that as long as I devoted those hours to the book, I felt like I\u2019d done my job. The rest of the day, I could spend however I wanted without feeling guilty. Sometimes I did do extra work on the book, but not terribly often. The time away was always valuable for refreshing my brain.<\/p>\n

Compassion toward myself.<\/strong> When I fell behind my schedule or got frustrated with a bit of editing that just wouldn\u2019t edit, I didn\u2019t give myself shit for it. Since leaving the 9-5 rat race, I\u2019ve worked hard to cultivate a compassionate inner voice, a \u201cboss\u201d who doesn\u2019t fret or put me down when things don\u2019t go perfectly. This has seriously cut down on the amount of anxiety and stress I feel overall.<\/p>\n

Chronological sequence.<\/strong> Once you\u2019ve written a whole book full of crap, and have another book full of all the crap you cut<\/em> from the book, you\u2019ll reach the point where you constantly ask yourself, \u201cWait, is that [scene\/character\/etc.] still in the book?\u201d Starting fresh on page 1 and editing forward from there will let you experience what the reader is going to learn and when. If it doesn\u2019t work, this is the time to fix it.<\/p>\n

And for your sanity\u2019s sake, please please PLEASE don\u2019t edit until you\u2019re done drafting! :)
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If you have your own tried-and-true editing method, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!<\/p>\n


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