My wordcount meter hasn't been budging lately. The reason for that is that I'm trying to edit my second chapter. Trying being the operative word.
I'm following Margie Lawson's Deep Editing: The EDITS System through her lecture packet that I purchased. I've only got one word to describe how I'm feeling at the moment: overwhelmed. Cliches abound, too much introspection, not enough witty dialogue. Right about now, I'm hating everything about my chapter.
So I've decided to try and rewrite the chapter and see if it reads better than how it does at the moment. This editing biz is harder than writing. Now I now why they say 'Writing is re-writing' (though I can't remember who said this, so apologies because I don't know who to attribute this quote to).
How do you go about editing/revising/re-writing your manuscript? Have you got a systematic method or is your way random?
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1 year ago
6 comments:
OMH I only just found you!!! YAY - going to add you to my blog list now :)
I often rewrite a scene twice before I move on to the next part, especially at the beginning.
For me it's about finding the right starting point and getting to know the characters. But once I move on, I don't look back. I try not to judge my work if I read over it and I try not to panic over the amount of editing I may have to do.
I suppose if I was trying to fix all of the problems at once I would be overwhelmed too. But I tend to focus on one thing at a time, so I'd imagine I'd tackle the problems you've identified, one at a time also. For me it might mean several more rewrites.
However, I find rewriting easier to tackle and don't loathe it as much as the process of making treads with the first draft.
Good luck Angie! And Happy New Year!
Hi Rach - thanks for visiting my blog and adding me to your blog list :)
Hi Sussan - welcome back :)
Thanks for the advice. I'm going to focus on one thing at a time, like you suggested. Such a simple solution, but when you're overwhelmed it's difficult to think clearly sometimes.
Thanks for sharing your editing process, and Happy New Year to you, too!
Good luck with the rewrite.
X
Thanks, Suzanne :)
Best wishes for your own writing for the coming year!
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