Hey everybody! Today is the first Wednesday of November so
it must be that time again! J
Since my last IWSG post, which was my first IWSG post, I’ve been getting back
into the heart of my writing bit by bit and it’s great! I’ve also been reading
a lot more writing articles as well which is kind of great, and at the same
time, not so great. I’ve found a lot of great tips and techniques, but the more
tricks I learn, the less I focus on moving my manuscript forward to stop and do
tons of edits. Editing is a good and necessary thing, but I’ve found I really
don’t make any forward progress when I switch out of my actual writing mode. I
guess if I were to boil it down to one question I could ask my fellow IWSGers,
I guess I would probably ask how do you go about your editing? Do you write out
a chapter at a time and edit what you have? Or do you write the entire
manuscript and then go back and edit?
If you're interested in joining IWSG, Alex Cavanaugh is the wonderful host and you can find his website here.
Happy writing everyone! ^^ :D
I am pretty strictly a "keep writing forward" writer. I spent years inching along, editing, writing, re-editing, editing again - I only started really making progress when I decided to just write to the end. I think too, that sometimes, if you spend time editing and tweaking stuff at the beginning of the manuscript you just find that when you reach the end - the beginning needs to be re-written to match the evolved view and story that you've finished. You gotta find what works for you - but I'd definitely try writing without retracing your steps. Just keep improving your writing as you go.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I will have to try that because this stopping and editting has really bogging me down. Thanks D.V. Sheppard! ^^ :D
DeleteHi Amanda I am helping Alex this month with this enormous task to contact everyone on the list. I write my whole novel out on paper, edit that with the old fashioned red pen, then type out my story. Then edit it two to three times before sending it out to my critique partners and when they return it, I will go through and revise and re-edit some more.
ReplyDeleteThe process seems to be endless.
Wow! That's a big task to take on! :) Thank you for your advice. I've been doing a lot more writing out by hand and it's helped immensly! Thanks C.M. Brown! ^^ :D
DeleteWhen I was greener (I'm still learning) I would go back through for editing passes more frequently--especially if I learned something new--but now (third novel), I stick pretty much with forward progress.
ReplyDeleteI'll go back and read through a few paragraphs if something about it is bugging me, like if it was sort of forced onto the page to begin with, or I'll do it to get my bearings when I start writing after being away for a spell. But I try not to get into the dreaded editing loop.
In fact, I even type *** at the point in the MS where I'm currently working so I can do a document search when I open it again and go right back there. If I scroll to it, I get sidetracked and start reading. And editing. hahaha
Once I'm done with the story, I'll go back through for a few editing passes, focusing on different things, then it's off to the beta readers. After that and any adjustments, the line-by-line critters.
To offer you some encouragement... As you become a better writer, you'll self-edit as you go more and, therefore, have less to correct on edit. ;)
Good luck! :)
Thank you! ^^ :) I will definitely have to try typing *** into my manuscript when I come back to it! I end up doing the exact same thing when I open the document back up and fall into the awful endless cycle of editing when trying to find where I left off. hehe. Thank you for all your advice Melissa! ^^ :D
DeleteI have very limited experience with the whole process but I find that if I'm writing away and moving forward, the worst thing I can do is stop and pick apart what I've accomplished- it derails me and is sort of depressing really.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes as you are getting back into the heart of your writing! :)
Lex
Thank you Lex! ^^ I couldn't agree more! Thank you and good luck to you too! :D
DeleteI save edits until the end of the first draft at this point. Those new tricks are great and you should practice, but think about practicing on short pieces. Soon all those tricks become part of your arsenal.
ReplyDeleteMy process is ... I write, then print out what I wrote. I read and edit by hand, input changes the next day. When I'm happy I move on. End of first draft, I take the feedback from my crit partners and start going through chapter by chapter. Again printing out what I write and reading as I go along. Then that polished draft goes to the editor. When it comes back, another round of me making changes. And I've learned I need at least two final read throughs instead of one.
I like how you put the changes in the next day. That way you've had a little time to think about those changes and how they will affect your manuscript! Thank you Mary! ^^ :D
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