compulsive editing is a fun hobby, really...

[rivendellrose]

When I told myself "okay, time to upload A Time of Grace over to the Teaspoon archive," I knew I'd want to go through and do a little tweaking of my original manuscript. Last check for typos, possibly clear up some sentence structure... the little things you pick up on a year after originally writing something.

I did not intend to find myself totally tearing out a huge chunk of the first chapter because it doesn't fit with the tone of the overall piece, or rewriting scenes as I go, trying to make the plot more coherent and the pacing more even.

As much as I love editing stuff, sometimes it really breaks my brain. I'm always afraid I'm going to go backwards, you know? Take out stuff that ought to be there, that is good. But I just can't let it sit. I just have to mess with it. That thing took too much of my time, ate too much of my brain, and still has too much hold on my heart for me not to try to get it as polished as absolutely possible. And if that means going back and rewriting scenes... I guess that's what I'm doing? o_O

It's supposed to snow Saturday and Sunday. I'm kind of excited about this.

Comments

[nolan-ash.livejournal.com]

Yeah! Cold snap outta nowhere. On Sunday in my neck of the woods it's a high of 24 and a low of 17. Yikes! Here comes snow. =D

As far as your editing, it sounds like you're taking your craft seriously enough to do what must be done. Sometimes your best writing might not fit in the piece. Yank it out, save it in a different word .doc and use it as inspiration in some future piece. If I've learned anything from books and speakers on how to get published and the editing process, you have to be willing to "kill your darlings" (as Stephen King puts it). Be willing to rework, pull out, regut. Don't tweak it for all eternity, but do be willing to make that painful overhaul that's blocking your piece from really working. Kudos! Good on you! =D

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

It's 39 here, with a low of 30 for today... better than tomorrow when they're expecting a low of 22, and 16 on Sunday. It's kind of exciting, but on the other hand... brrr! :D

It's sad - I knew in my original draft that the scene in question didn't fit, but I couldn't convince myself to get rid of it in time for the initial turn-in. So I'm fixing it now, darn it. I'm determined to be happy with this monster someday!

(I may not always appreciate Stephen King's books, but I adored his book on writing. It was brilliant!)

[alasandalack.livejournal.com]

*relates my head off*

we just entirely rewrote one chapter of Procul His, and, i expect, will redo the ending as well. not to mention chopping out descriptive bits, altering dialogue (and the GRAMMAR PROBLEMS and TYPOS, augh). i'll probably just print all 36,000 pages of Purification out and ceremoniously incinerate them.

i get the impression that writers really can't help this editing thing. this is why publishing is so friggin' painful- and why books are, sometimes extensively, revised between printings.

anyway, it's your work. make it as pretty as you want!

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

i get the impression that writers really can't help this editing thing. this is why publishing is so friggin' painful- and why books are, sometimes extensively, revised between printings.

Oh, definitely. God forbid I ever actually get a manuscript that I could start shopping to publishers... I'd probably just panic and spend all my time editing the living daylights out of it between every single publisher. :P

Printing... might not be a bad idea. I'm usually compulsive about editing entirely on the computer (to avoid wasting paper), but sometimes I miss the feeling of having a manuscript in my hand, something I can scribble all over.

[akashasheiress.livejournal.com]

You took away teh pronz!

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I did! And it hurt to do it, let me tell you. :P It's still in the standalone, though - it'd been bothering me ever since I turned in my final to tardis_bigbang that the sex just didn't fit in the full-length version. I'd originally had in mind there would be more later in the story, but... for once in my life, the plot took over, and the sex felt kind of pasted-on.

Forgive me? :)