I’ve been whingeing about editing steadily for nearly a month now. But you know what? IT’S OVER. I AM FREE. OH GLORIOUS DAY! I really do not like edits. I know it’s hard to tell. And while edits are utterly and absolutely necessary if my writing is going to be viewed by the eyeballs of others — it doesn’t make the task any easier for me.
Why? Oh, oh, let me tell you.
REASONS I DO NOT LIKE EDITING:
- There is pressure! When writing a first draft, the aim is to get it written, not right. But editing? I MUST MAKE THIS MONSTROUS MESS PERFECT.
- It’s slow. I write a book in 7 to 10 days. I edit a book in 7 to 10 years. OKAY HA HA. I joke. I edit a book in a month. But still. That’s insanely long and my poor squishy memory struggles to retain all the facts for so long.
- It’s tedious. Every word must be analysed. HeLP i hAVe lOST mY MInD.
- Afterwards, there is no excuse not to let people read it. Which is painful and nerve-wracking because what if the universe hates my baby?!
BUT STILL! It must be done. So I thought I would show you wonderful walruses my exact editing process. Because I am kind like that. And I know everyone edits insanely differently, so it’s very intriguing to compare, right?! ALSO. If you know you need to edit and have no idea where to start: something in my process might help you too! And, if nothing else, it’ll prove to you why I’m especially wildly insane whilst in editing mode. Because I’m 100% normal the rest of the time, right? RIGHT? Oh shush.
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1. I’LL OPEN UP A NEW DOC AND PASTE THE BOOK ONTO IT AND PROCEED TO LABEL IT “DRAFT 2”.
Editing and rewriting are different things, but I (accidentally) use them interchangeably. For my draft 2s I always rewrite every word.
EVERY. SINGLE. WORD.
I keep the original “Draft 1” safe in another document (backed up, you hooligans. If you’re not backing up your writing in at least 2 different ways, then shame on thee and I hope you stop reading this post right now and GO FIX THIS) but copy it onto a new doc which I’ll label “Draft 2”. THEN I MAKE IT RED. It is a very fierce and nefarious thing which I do to motivate myself. As I retype every word, I turn it black as my heart, and therefore feel accomplished. It’s a visual representation of progress like ticking off a list, which is my favourite thing in the world and it’s crucial for me.
2. I MAKE GRAND GHOULISH GOALS.
These are breakable but, let’s be real. I’m a 98% overachiever so if I make goals, I do them or else spontaneously combust. When editing, the idea is for one chapter per day. But I was an idiot while writing Tremolo, and wrote insanely long chapters. So I edited upwards of 3,000+ words every day. Except for all the days I skipped because my brain failed and I just sat rocking in a corner like a vegetable chanting the words to the Russian polka.
My “reward” for finishing is…finishing. HA. I don’t actually reward myself whilst writing, although after finishing I do bribe myself with things like “You can rearrange your bookshelf!” or “you can sticky-tape the next book idea to your wall with string and sticky-notes!” Both are GREAT motivators.
Things I Bribe Myself With While Editing: 1 After you finish you can rearrange your bookshelf 2 Have library spree 3 Pizza 4 Conquer earth
— Cait (@PaperFury) August 3, 2015
3. I CRY A LOT AND PROCRASTINATE.
“I’m editing” I say as I clean out my wardrobe, bake cupcakes, and repaint the house. #amnotediting — Cait (@PaperFury) August 2, 2015
Remember those list of reasons why I loathe editing at the top of this post? LET ME CRY OVER THEM. Editing is intense and overwhelming and just makes me generally unhappy, so if I want to sob for a moment and tweet truths about procrastination, I will. Also I do NOT log off the internet. I get distracted. I DO. But I feel like removing myself 100% will only stress me further. Editing is about what works for you. So if I edit 1,000-words and need to tumblr for a while, I just do it.
4. I FORMAT THE BOOK AS I GO.
Accurate representation of my editing face.
I like formatting because it makes me feel professional. And one must do things to make themselves feel professional because GOODNESS KNOWS I AIN’T PROFESSIONAL, FOLKS. Anyway. What was I saying? New Times Roman font, pt. 12, double spaced paragraphs, page numbers, and each-chapter-begins-on-a-new-page. #likeaboss I usually make myself a mock-cover for “Draft 1”, but that gets deleted now (oh fare thee weeeell my prettiness). This all could also be called procrastination from doing actual restructuring of words, but shhhh.
5. I WRITE LISTS OF THINGS FOR MYSELF.
For instance, Tremolo is a musical book and my poor little main character, Beck, has to play one song pretty much THE WHOLE FREAKING TIME. But what song? I changed it 9 times in “Draft 1” because I have the memory of a deluded watermelon. Those are the kind of things I fix now and make consistent.
OTHER THINGS I WRITE NOTES FOR:
- Descriptions. My characters always change eye colour 9 billion times.
- Awesome One-Liners. I like to keep themes going, repeat things, or play off some epic phrase I used once. With a memory like mine? HA. So I write all these down.
- German! There’s a lot of German phrases in this book. I didn’t want to use too many because a) I do not speak German, and b) you probably don’t either. If you do, you’re bilingually reading this blog and therefore you are 100 x more awesome than I. So I made sure my phrases were consistent and I had translations on hand.
- Lists of Things I Am Changing. I changed a lot of massive plot points in “Draft 2” so I always wrote them down.
- Names. Because I DON’T EVEN KNOW. I can’t remember my characters names! It’s weird. I blame this on having written so many books (this is, in fact, my 18th). But I needed a list of names on hand.
6. BECAUSE EDITING SUCKS OUT MY SOUL, I DO THINGS THAT KEEP ME EXCITED ABOUT MY BOOK.
Mostly this is tweeting funny lines or making fun of my own book. Which is surprisingly motivating. Also I demand my sister read chapters as I edit. And if when she laughs this is great motivation. At least it helps me to know my whacky humour isn’t solely funny to me.
OH! And pinterest breaks! Writers moan about how pinterest is a black hole and once-you-get-sucked-in-there-is-no-coming-out. They are 400% right. BUT IT’S STILL INSPIRING. Plotting how my book looks visually helps me a) add in better description, and b) fantasising that I’m actually writing a movie which will someday be famous.
Click on this picture to see my grand and glorious visual storyboard.
7. AND VERY, VERY IMPORTANTLY: I BEHEAD ALL WITH MY AXE.
I am a huge advocate of cutting. CUT EVERYTHING. If it is even remotely unnecessary, I axe it. I take out scenes that could be boring. I remove tedious details. My first draft was 57,000-words. Draft 2 ended up at a nice tidy 52,000. I am a happy squid about this.
8. I RUN AWAY WILDLY AND CELEBRATE.
My version of “wildly” involves:
- Reading several books in one day.
- Not writing ANYTHING for at least 9 hours.
- Chocolate.
- Buying a small, solitary island, moving there, installing WiFi and living happily ever after.
- Perhaps, even, two pieces of chocolate.
-~-
After I’ve gotten feedback from my betas, I’ll head into Draft 3 of edits and rewrites. And then…ALL THE NERVES…I shall send it on to my agent.
And there you have it! My process in a nicely consolidated list that doesn’t sound half so bad but is yet intensely painful while I’m doing it. At least there is a huge gulp of satisfaction while editing. I look at my manuscript now and think, “HA! HA! I BESTED YOU” which makes me feel monstrously fabulous.
~-~
I have a feeling that when I FINALLY finish writing a book, I’m definitely going to use the “make everything RED” idea! I’ve just gotta write a book and I’m all set. xD OH JOY.
**pours a bucket of chocolate over your head**
*swings in chocolate like a chocolate fish*
THE RED IS WORTH IT. It’s like a visual representation of progress! JUST WRITE THE BOOK, ELLA. WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING WITH YOUR LIFE. 😉 I jooooke I joke. heheheh.
I’ve never seriously attempted writing a book before (as in, other than writing a page then saying ‘this is shit’ and moving on with my life). Your editing process seems pretty exhausting. It’s a good idea to do your second draft in red though, I think I read somewhere that you’re more critical of what you write if it’s in a font you don’t like. Good luck with your book anyway, I hope your editing process works!
It IS exhausting…and yes! YES. I think it totally makes one more critical if it’s in red/or an evil font. Plus turing it “nice” makes me feel like I’m actually GETTING somewhere. Like it’s a visual representation of progress! Erm, if I…progress. XD And don’t worry, I’ve written a billion books and still do that one-page-this-is-not-fit-for-the-human-world-since-it-is-beyond-awful thing too. xDXD
I love the red to black idea! I love to see what has been accomplished. You are lucky to have your sister to read. I can’t get Sebastian to sit down and read while I am editing. I can however get him to come out and listen to me read a part I think is hard to understand , or sounds cliche, and he will give his opinion, but he refuses to read either story I am working on until they are “finished”. I write my first drafts with pen on paper! It is bad sometimes because there are scribbles in the margins that I many times have no idea what they say, and then I fret over whether they were brilliant additions, or not, and that the story will be so much less BECAUSE I CANNOT READ MY SCRAWLINGS! Next I type each chapter onto my notepad app because… it has text to speech and I listen to the flow and how the punctuation is working. Then I type it in a word document. My son bought me the Dragon voice to text program where you can read the document into text, but I have had it over a year now and still haven’t set it up. I don’t reward my self because I haven’t finished editing either story yet, but I vote for PIZZA! Thanks, Cait, this was really informative. I am impressed with you writing the first draft in days. You are a super hero. You need a super hero name. And no, you cannot have pineapple in the name. Speaking of pineapple and pizza, have you ever had Hawaiian pizza?
And I am going to Satan’s Picture Book, I mean Pinterest, to look at your board. 😀
SATAN’S PICTURE BOOK. OMG. *dies laughing* YOU ARE THE BEST.
Oh but I have tried hawaiian pizza. It is the pizza of the heavens. AND HOW DARE YOU SAY I CANNOT HAVE “PINEAPPLE” IN MY SUPERHERO NAME. GEE, YOU’RE BREAKING MY HEART. I could’ve been the Nefarious Pineapple or something inspiring and terrifying.
Omg you do all your drafts by hand?!! YOU WIN THE AWARD FOR DEDICATION. I avoid handwriting anything like the plague. My handwriting is just awful and I can never read it and after 2 words I just get cramps and can’t go on. *collapses like a wilting cucumber* But the speech-to-text thing is awesome.
I have such a horrible time editing my own work. Others I am pretty good at; I think. But I find that it’s so hard to edit my own work. I read it like I would have liked it be written and I don’t realise that the words or punctuation isn’t there.
I haven’t edited a full manuscript as I haven’t written one yet but I have edited things here and there. And because now I am doing my course at uni; it’s a writting and editing course. I am learning more and more about editing.
In saying that I like your work ethic; you might need to shove it onto me haha.
Thanks for an awesome post.
Yessss, ME TOO. I actually quite enjoy editing other people’s work. 😉 Seeing the faults with my own isn’t THAT hard it’s getting the motivation up to fix them. -_- Ohhh how is the writing/editing course?! I’ve always kind of secretly dreamed about doing one of those.
Modivation for anything really haha.
I love my course it’s amazing. I am getting taught by amazing writers, from authors to editors and just so many amazing people. I am learning heaps that will help me get a job from a journalist to an editor and publicist.
if you every want talk about it more don’t be afraid to ask.
That is actually a crazily good idea to turn your whole text red and then watch it slowly go black again as you make progress! I always type over my first draft as well, but it doesn’t always work because I’ll think of a word and type something else and when I send it to my writing buddy, she laughs hahaha. I DON’T SEE IT.
I am absolutely full of crazily good ideas. #humble IT’s such an epic visual representation of progress too! 😀 Or, erm, lack thereof when one is too busy screaming and throwing a tantrum on the floor instead of editing. *shrugs* THESE THINGS HAPPEN.
18 manuscripts. EIGHTEEN. I’m just going to crawl into my hole of two-and-one-third manuscripts and start writing instead of commenting.
… who am I kidding.
On a more serious note, I need to use that turn-everything-black idea for this draft. I’m on the verge of starting revisions, once I finish my readthrough hopefully tomorrow. So this was a timely post for me to steal ideas from you. And I know exactly what you mean about alllllll the pressure of revising — you can’t do things WRONG anymore, and you have no idea what things are right. I try to go for the one-month-one-round-of-edits philosophy, which means I just divide it up by 30 days. Although I’m probably gonna axe fewer things this time round, since my word count started off so low.
And it was an absolutely pleasure to read Tremolo and it’s good to know there was no serious magic involved in the process. Because I don’t have that many souls to sacrifice.
DUDE. I HAVE BEEN WRITING LIKE A FIEND FOR A LONG TIME. And only like 2 of them are properly edited. Aaaand there is one WE DON’T TALK ABOUT because it is such a shameful mess. *hisses at book and shoves it in deep dark hole*
Anyway.
Ahem.
THE RED-TO-BLACK THING IS THE BEST THING I EVER DO. Seriously it just makes such a visual representation of progress! Or…non-progress when I’m slacking off. >_> I feel like there’s so much freedom to just write rubbish in first drafts. To have FUN. And then in 2nd drafts it’s all seriousness and doing it RIGHT. Gah.
AWK. :’) I’M STILL BEAMING THAT YOU READ IT SO FAST, THOUGH. And yes, no magic. Just screaming and chocolate mostly and tweets of insanity.
I hate editing. I just kinda scream and rant and finally edit.
I let myself read and flop onto the bed. I sleep.
I can’t wait to work on my Sleeping Beauty retelling. It’s turning into something awesome.
ME TOO. I think the screaming/ranting is a crucial part of psyching oneself up for editing, amirite?
Exactamundo.
Gotta scream before anything good happens.
I… Like editing. But then I’m a trained editor, so I would, wouldn’t I? I’m a perfectionist, so for me, editing is just fun. Like, I LOVE planning (still working on the plan for my current story, by the way… at the moment I’m stuck with a vague outline for chapter one, and an even vaguer ending, and the odd bobble hat and food reference), but not so much the writing part. First drafts are ALWAYS rubbish, so my perfectionism goes insane when I draft – but for me, it’s mostly about working out the plot. And then, when that’s done, I can edit. JOYOUS MOMENT! I copy mine across into a different document too, and I also do the red-to-black trick (except I do red-to-green). And then when I’ve rewritten, I rerewrite, and go from green-to-blue. It’s a fun process.
Now I want to edit something. So thanks for that, Cait!
Beth x
Ommggg, you are a trained editor?! WHY DID I NOT KNOW THIS?? *arranges to kidnap you and make you edit all of my books*
My perfectionism used to absolutely murder me violently while I did first drafts. I actually had a huge 6 month writing-breakdown and walked away swearing never to return. I COULD NOT GET IT RIGHT. And I was the kind of perfectionist that, when I thought the plot even vaguely sucked…I’d delete EVERYTHING and start again. It was exhausting. I totally had to come to this new decision that I woudl write sucky first drafts and then go wild perfectionist on the next drafts. *collapses in a heap* It’s hard tho.
Ah! You’re the second person who uses green font! THAT IS COOL. I’ve never even thought about using green font before. XD I should. Then I’ll dub it my Christmas Tree Red & Green Manuscript.
PINTEREST, YES. WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT THAT BEAUTIFUL SITE? So there are two days before I have to turn in my newest FRAYED edits, and I’m mildly loosing my mind. My editing process usually goes something like this:
1. I CAN’T DO THIS IT’S TOO DIFFICULT.
2. Procrastination.
3. Procrastination.
4. Procrastination.
5. Okay, it’s not too bad. I can do this.
6. Procrastination.
7. “Hey, look, FOOD!”
8. “Maybe I should go for a walk.”
9. I really should get those edits done.
10. “I think I need to scrap this whole draft.”
11. *rewrites novel*
Or a variation of that anyway.
CONGRATSSSSSS so much on finishing those edits though! *throws confetti*
PINTEREST IS CRUCIAL FOR ME WHEN I’M PLOTTING. Zomg, I would be a puddle of uninspired gloop without it, I tell you.
THAT LIST THO. YES. And YES AGAIN. Particularly #7. You know that is me too.
May I just say that list looks exactly like something I would do. 😀
We edit in the exact same way, so I don’t think it’s too odd (although I suppose we could both be odd. that’s probably more likely). The real challenge for me is actually editing. Usually, I sit down at my computer and open my Draft 2 and then I remember, “Hey I forgot to [insert an unimportant verb]” aaaaannnd then I get sidetracked. Whoops.
ZOMG, WE DO?!! We are like edit twins! (Clearly we are not odd. We are the normal ones.) I get sidetracked in trying to pick the BEST word. It burns holes in my brain, but I just want to have the most unique and interesting word possible. I am a wordaholic.
Hold up- you write a book in 7 to 10 DAYS?!?!?! *bows down to the impressive writing god before me* you go, girl! 🙂
I bestow upon you lots of celebratory chocolate. *bows*
Ditto. And I will throw in some ice cream too. 🙂
Congrats!
*eats all the chocolate* OMG. YOU ARE MY FAVOURITE.
I also do not like editing/rewriting. There’s such FREEDOM when I’m writing the first draft and then…not. Which is why I have written many first drafts, and only about three second/third/whatever drafts. BECAUSE EDITING IS HARD. But I do like the idea of changing the colour of the first draft a different colour and editing over it…because I like ticking boxes as well.
I SHALL TRY THIS WITH WANDERLAND.
Also, congrats again!! Can’t wait to dive into it 😀
YES IT’S THE FREEDOM I LOVE TO BITS. And it’s like “oh that is such a bad chapter…OH WELL. FIX IT LATER” and there’s so much less pressure for that. It makes writing fun. Whereas editing is like sticking a spork in my eyeball. -_- LISTS + TICKING BOXES = LIFE. So yes, the coloured-font-changing is just the best.
I rather enjoy editing, and I’ve done it a few times – I’m about to publish my seventh book, after all. I’m a glutton for punishment, what can I say?
First of all: I never edit the first draft. I always do a complete rewrite. The exception would be a few of my short stories, but usually I pull out a shiny new document and rewrite the book completely from scratch.
Then when I’m actually ready to edit, I send it to my kindle and leave myself as many notes as I can of “Kendra, fix this, Kendra, fix that, Kendra, what were you thinking?”
Then I go through the notes and fix them in the book, and declare it perfect. Somewhere in here, I’ll format the book, which I enjoy because it makes the book look pretty.
So I send out a call for beta readers and have them read it and tell me what they think and what’s wrong. Then I apply their edits.
Then I party by hitting publish and having a blog tour. I self-publish, I can do this.
Can I say you’re rather fabulous to be publishing your 7th book?! XD 😀 GO YOU.
I feel like I probably technically rewrite than edit for my draft 2s, buuuut…it’s also KIND OF an edit. hehe, Like I said. I use the words interchangeably sometimes. I USED TO SEND IT TO MY KINDLE TOO. I should do that again for my next read-through. I find a different platform helps me get a different perspective. *nods*
Your process is so interesting and wonderful though. 😀 I LOVE seeing people’s different editing processes. It’s exciting. I am nosey.
My editing process involves the highlighter thingy, Evernote, and tears. I despise editing with the very depths of my soul, and I can let a draft sit for up to six months before I go back and edit it.
We mutually despise editing then. We should eat bitter chocolate and mutually despise our words. *nods* I can let a draft sit up to…um…7 years….
I’m one of those evil weirdos who actually likes editing a little bit more than the initial drafting process. First drafts are technically more fun, but I get HUGE satisfaction about making the draft GOOD. I am perfectionist; hear me roar.
P.S. I decided to do NaNoWrMo this year! …And I accidentally started a little early.
*throws my book at you* OMG WELL GUESS WHO IS HIRED. haha. I’m juuust kidding. But that is so lucky and wonderful that you actually enjoy it. I shall sit here in my enviousness and envy. 😉 Perfectionism = me. I managed to get my perfectionist side on mute for draft 1s, but draft 2s? IT MUST BE PERFECT.
YAY FOR NANO!!! I’m half plotting a book, but I’m so excited for it I might just write it now and write something else in november. XD
YEAH! CONGRATULATIONS CAIT! You should be super proud of yourself! I can’t imagine what it must be like to have to constantly rewrite and revise your work (I mean, I have enough trouble rewriting some of my old reviews – haha), but I’m sure all the work pays off in the long run. And I love your editing process – it sounds very unique and entertaining. Thanks for sharing and great post! ♥
I HOPE IT PAYS OFF. TIME WILL TELL RIGHT?!! *wishes to fairy godmother for a book contract* XD
I’m still trying to finish my first WIP (ONE DAY. THIS SUMMER. OR THIS YEAR. WHICHEVER) and so no editing for me yet but I do a bit of editing along the way. The bad thing about leaving my baby for more than 2 days is that everything CHANGES. Something that I thought I wrote brilliantly looks stinking awful when I see it again after a few days and I can’t resist the urge to open up a new document, cut the old and paste it in the new and CUT, CUT, CUT and EDIT. But I save all of these drafts under one file with the names: “guh” or “argh” or “4irupioqw34ht5jwrngkj” to describe my feelings of writing them.
I know. I’m one eloquent writer.
WELL I AM HERE TO CHEER YOU ON, HILARY. *gets out pompoms and waves them* YOU CAN DO IT! YOU CAN DO IT!
That was pretty much me when I started writing though. xD I’d get halfway through and then go “THIS IS HORRIBLE AND I HATE IT” and then just delete everything and start again. 0_0 I had to learn to stop being a perfectionist…but that’s just me. I AM a perfectionist, but I try to keep it toned down until draft 2, hehe, or I go NUTS. Nuttier?
I’m still trying to figure out how to edit stuff in a good way and it is hard and so unsatisfying… But it is necessary and so I keep trying. *sigh* Still, I like seeing how other people edit because I need to think about that business, too, and get the ideas.
I find that I can’t really reward myself for any kind of writing, though, because I am not rewards-based when it comes to getting work done. It is a problem. But hey, you don’t need rewards to have a good time. 😛
I am so so nosey…I love to see how other people edit, so I figured I should really do a post on it myself. 😉 For me, the best reward is DOING IT and seeing the finished product, so that actually motivates me enough. Although I do like to congratulate myself with, well, cake occasionally. DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING DID YOU? XD
This post was so motivating! Even though I’m not in the editing phase of my novel (in fact, I’m still in the plotting/researching phase and I’m going kinda crazy) but reading this made me feel like I needed to run to my word document and write ALL THE WORDS EVER! Your editing process sounds awesome (and I still am in awe that you write a book in that little of time. like, wow :D) and I’ll definitely be picking up some of these tips once I do start editing!
Plotting stage is fuuuuun for me. I LOVE OUTLINING. But the researching, erk, not so much. >_> STILL! I’m glad it was motivating. AFJDSKLA THAT IS GOOD NEWS. Hehe, but if any of these things do work for you then HUZZAH HUZZAH. 😀
Uuuuggghhh I hate editing! Editing is what made me realize my book sucks so much. How can an idea and words that sounded so good in my head sound so horrible when I read it again in THE SAME HEAD? I don’t get it! But I think I’m totally going to try this! I took a major break from editing, because it was making me cry, and I have 90,000 words to cry over (and the majority of them suck) but maybe it’ll help to give it another shot like this! Or maybe I should just write it from scratch. That might work, too.
I KNOW THE FEELING. Although, weirdly enough, I thought Tremolo was a LOT more horrible than it really was…once I got into editing I honestly started thinking “Oh this isn’t as horrendous as I thought”. XD Although that alternated. Like some days I loathed it and some days I felt clever. heeh. 90K IS A LOT TO EDIT THO. This is why I write short books. XD
It was supposed to be short! At first I was worried that the plot would be so small that I wouldn’t even get to 50,000 words and it couldn’t be a novel.. but then I just kept adding stuff.. different viewpoints and journal entries and backstories and now it’s just a big mess.
You write a book in seven to ten days?! HOW?! Did you sell your soul? Lend it out to the great Cake Lord? Editing is the worse. Even just for school reports or blog posts, it makes me anxious. I cannot imagine doing it for an ENTIRE NOVEL. That’s it, you MUST BE magical of some sort.
I JUST TYPE REALLY FAST. If it makes you feel better, I don’t read a book a day while I’m writing. 😉 I’M HUMAN. A MAGICAL HUMAN THO.
You finished your editing? Herzlichen Gluckwunsch! Haben ein Stuck Kuchen!
I actually like editing. I even edit as I go. I will settle for nothing less than perfection, after all.
Danke! ich liebe Kuchen! <-- My German is coming along so well. :') *hides google translate* I'm glad you like editing though!! I really wish I liked it more, because I have soooo many books and so many of them are just too awful to look at and I'm too lazy to go edit. xD I just want to read new books!
Ah, the wonderful world of editing. I don’t care if it is a novel, short story, poem, song, or even an essay, editing can be the most difficult of all. I am, however, extremely pleased with the end result and “run away wildly and celebrate” once I have finished. I think 2 pieces of chocolate is the much more reasonable choice (as opposed to one lousy piece. Ha.).
;]
BTW, reading several books in a day should be considered a superpower. Just sayin’.
This is about my hundredth time trying to comment haha. That’s what I call dedication ;]
Editing can be such a beast, but your steps seem to make it much easier. I feel like have been doing it wrong all these years haha. Love the list making idea. I’m definitely a list maker myself.
I say, go for the 2 pieces of chocolate. Always.
Also, reading multiple books in one day should definitely be considered a super power. ;]
Omg haha it posted them all! Now you get multiple comments that say just about the same thing::: you’re welcome
haha! THAT IS OKAY. SO MANY EPIC COMMENTS FROM YOU. <3
Editing is a notoriously awful beast. IT IS. I think everyone needs to find a system that works for them, tho, and tbh, I've only ever met one other person who rewrites-every-single-word like I do. SO I MIGHT BE A WEIRD EDITOR hehe
This was actually a very insightful post (not that I ever doubted you of course). I put off editing like it’s the plague, but once I get going I tend to cut everything. It makes me feel better that you’re the same way, haha.
I love the idea of putting everything in red and formatting like a pro! Great ideas!
Also, I like your little graphic for this post 🙂
AHhh! THANK YOU. I’m glad it’s interesting though, because I’m a super uber nosey person and I love to see the behind-the-scenes of everyone’s processes so I figure I should do it too. 😉
Editing sounds so daunting. And not nearly as fun as writing, though admittedly, I have not yet succeeded at that either. Also… 18 books!? EIGHTEEN!? That’s insane in the best possible way. I am so impressed. I think if I DID edit, I’d have to add. I am a bare bones kind of person generally (except with this one blog post I am writing for Monday- it has more words than I EVER got done in NaNo- that isn’t good on many levels!) and don’t like a lot of useless stuff in books, so I’d probably end up having to add.
As for how I reward myself for getting stuff done? I don’t. Maybe I should?
YES IT IS A LOT OF BOOKS, BUT I AM NOTHING IF NOT OBSESSED WITH WRITING. AND OH. Not all of them are edited. XD Like, um, maybe 3 are edited?! Seriously my first-draft-survival-ratio is not good at all. I feel like I’m getting kind of awkwardly long winded in my blog posts tho. GAH. I need to tone it down because shorter posts = fantasticness. *nods* I wrote a 2K review once…come one, THAT’S A LITTLE TOO MUCH, CAIT. XDD
I used to write and publish my stuff on fictionpress, but I’ve never finished a novel so I can’t say I was all that great at being a writer heh. Just reading this post makes me feel even less accomplished and wanting to sit in a corner and pretend I’ve achieved something as great as finishing off a FIRST draft, let alone moving on to the stage of editing. I bow down to thee Cait, this is amazeballs and I’m so impressed! Thanks for sharing your editing style, it’s so cool to be offered a glimpse behind the scenes. 😉
But any writing is still writing, right?!! (Omg, so many write/rights in that sentence. WRITE OVERLOAD.) Pfft, don’t feel unaccomplished, seriously. xD ANY WRITING IS STILL GOOD. Awk, but I’m glad you enjoyed this post! 😀
I have written a lot of full stories. Even a full series, but they aren’t full manuscripts because I knew nothing about it, they’re kind of like short stories, since they aren’t manuscript size. I tend to edit out awkward phrases, inconsistencies and add vernacular for a better flow in language, I wrote a lot of that on my last NaNo, which is handwritten.
Blogging, there are three rounds of editing involved. First, spelling. Second, grammar and punctuation. Third, awkward phrasing, improper context of vernacular, flow of words, making sure I make sense and can be understood if not easily.
Oh Cait! That sounds so difficult, but also interesting and productive. *hugs* *feeds you cake after long day of editing* I hope whatever betas you choose/have chosen give you the feedback you need!
omg, you HAND WRITE?!! Okay. I am just going to bow to you and admire you forever. XD I hate handwriting! It was my worst subject at school and if I can avoid it now, I absolutely do. hehe.
*eats all the cake*
I bow down to you and your awesome writing abilities. Writing does not appeal to me at all and this is one of the reasons. I could maybe to a short story. But the actual writing of a novel. And then editing it. And what have you. It’s all such a chore to me! I tried writing once. I had a story idea up to a certain point. But it was taking too long to get to that point, and I only wanted to know what was going to happen next. It really wound me up and I wasn’t having any fun at all. So I stopped. I really don’t like it. But I LOVE other kinds of writing. Like for my blog and my personal blog, and I love letters. I make so much more sense in writing than I do verbally. Creative writing just isn’t for me.
So yes, I bow down to you and the wonderful thing you and all other authors do so we get to read. I do hope to read your published novels one day 🙂 I WILL REVIEW! I can do that 😉
Whenever I get to editing I totally question my life choices. XDXD But I know some people actually truly love it?! But me? GAH. I would just write first drafts for ever and always if I could. Blogging is sooo different to novelling and I LOVE IT. It’s like insta-feed-back on your ideas and we can be so much more informal and jokey. I love that. It kills me to have zero exclamation marks in books. XD >_< AFJDKLSAFD IT WOULD BE MY DREAM TO HAVE SOMETHING PUBLISHED. IT WOULD. *crosses fingers and toes and eyes*
I stinkin’ love this post because for so long I haven’t found anyone with an editing process so much like mine. I back up my first draft, then highlight my entire book in green (for some reason green helps me think), then I rewrite the entire shebang word for word. I find I can’t edit any other way. And I fix all the things I possibly can in my second draft. I make sure all the paragraphs sound good and that I’m using the right words. I deal with grammar and pacing and plot holes and character development. And when I’m done my overhaul, my book is ready for beta readers and usually I only have to tweak small things and rewrite select scenes, but I’ve already done most of the grunt work. I could never just pick away at one problem at a time–if I can’t deal with it all at once, my brain gets bored and wanders off to unexplored lands.
The main difference in our processes is that I LOVE editing. Like, it’s not always easy or fun or anything, but I actually enjoy the challenge and the pressure. I set strict deadlines and spend most of my free time editing (or procrastinating, because that’s fun too). It’s like an enormous brain game to me–I start going senile when I’m not editing.
Anyway, I just thought it was cool that we both rewrite word for word. 🙂
OMGGG. LIZ. WE ARE LIKE IDENTICAL!!! I’ve never heard of anyone editing this way either but omg WE ARE BASICALLY EDIT TWINS. :DDD I have to rewrite every single word too! Maybe I might keep a sentence the same here or there, but it’s like 90% totally reworded. And yesss, draft 2s are for grunt work for me too. Like this time especially, I feel like I’ve got all the plot holes under control and everything and now I just need tightening and making sure I’m not contradicting myself or anything. HA. I do that so much it’s embarrassing. >_< I don't understand the people who do one sweep for plotholes, one sweep for character voice, one sweep for...etch. THAT'D DRIVE ME NUTS. ALL OR NOTHING. hehe, I'm glad you like it though. 😉
Why do you rewrite every word? I don’t think I’ve ever had an MS that I’ve changed every single word in, not in a single draft in any case.
Then again, it takes me about a month to write something, and two or three months (if I’m lucky and undisturbed by other work) to edit. Then, likely, as not, I will put that away for half a year or so, and go through it again later.
Formatting! *hugs* I like having critique partners because then I have no excuse to format each chapter as I edit to send it to them.
I JUST DO. I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHY I ALWAYS HAVE. Sometimes I’ll keep a sentence or so, but mostly everything gets reworded.
I LOVE the idea of turning the font red. It would drive me crazy to have different colors, ESPECIALLY red, so it would motivate me to write faster! Definitely stealing that for my next rewrite 😀
YESSSS. IT IS SUCH A GOOD MOTIVATOR. And once the whole doc is black text it just feels…omg, I don’t even know. It feels like closure and completion. :’)
Lists! Lists are wonderful things to use while editing!
My editing process….well, it’s far messier than yours. It involves a lot of banging my head against the wall so maybe I won’t be so gosh darn critical over every little thing. My current WIP has been in the editing stage for about two years, now, simply because I wrote the first draft so quickly that the plot and characters (not to mention the writing) was an ABSOLUTE MESS.
*sighs* I’m working on it…trying out lots of different organizational and outlining methods….
But I wanted to say (sorry, I had a bit of a rant) that I love your method of turning the text in your next draft a different color, and then typing all of the new (add-ins and rewrites) in black as a way to measure your progress. It’s such a simple thing, but it sounds genius. I might have to try it sometime.
Congrats on finishing your edits, dear!
AGH. I HEAR YA WITH THE ABSOLUTE MESSES. My life. *hangs head in shame* I really don’t take much care in first drafts so I have a lot of aching plot holes and characters who appear out of nowhere…or disappear. >_> 2 years is a long time to be in edits tho. LET ME GIVE YOU ENCOURAGING CHOCOLATE.
Yesss!! I really do love the changing-text-colour. It’s so motivating, it truly is.
OH MY GOSH I LOVE ENCOURAGING CHOCOLATE, THANK YOU SO MUCH <3
Yeah, it's a long time. Granted there's been school and things interfering, too, but those are just weak excuses; I honestly got a bit afraid of my novel at a point…it wasn't pretty O_O
And I'm totally going to try the text-color thing the next time I'm truly editing. Thanks so much for the idea!
Oooh we’re the complete opposite! I hate writing the first draft but I LOVE editing. Well, in terms of my college essays haha. I like editing because all I have to do is edit grammar and spelling then if my essay is too short or too long, I just add more stuff or delete a chunk of paragraph.
For me it’s hard to write the first draft because the blank page on Word Document is so scary and intimidating. Also…DISTRACTIONS.
OH OH I do get that. The blank page is intimidating. XD I have a lot of trouble with that first sentence…but I do find it’s really freeing at the same time??? Like I can do WHATEVER I WANT and even if it’s sucky, I can always rewrite. x)
Who you can write a book in a week!? That’s insane. The fastest I finished a book was 27 days (during Nano). My editing process involves a lot of phases, it depends on how much work/changes the first draft needs. It goes like this:
1. Write first draft
2. (before editing) list down the things I want to change in the draft so that I don’t forget it.
3. Edit the 2nd draft.
4. Sometimes, even after the second edit there are still details that bother me so I go on and edit it again. I do it until I’m satisfied with it. This stage may or may not involve rewriting.
5. Send to beta readers.
6. Make some changes based on betas’ feedback.
Or sometimes I just skip number 5.
I don’t really have rewards for myself when I finish. Knowing that I’ve finished writing a book is an enough reward for me 🙂
In the rewards area, WE ARE THE SAME. I get such a huge thrill from just knowing I did it and finished it and ajdfksal chocolate is just a bonus. xD
Also: I LOVE YOUR LIST. Before I start an edit, I usually make a list of things I want to change. Like I adore it when my first sentence and last sentence are either variations of the same, or tie in together OR SOMETHING. So that’s one thing I definitely make a note of to fix. XD Sending to betas is super scary buuuut rewarding and helpful. :’)
WHAT A GREAT POST! Ugh but Cait I DON’T EVEN KNOW. I finished my first novel precisely nine days ago. I have imposed a six-week period for letting it settle/fester. (I miss it so much though. Unlike your sickening “seven to ten days” it took me two years, one month. Not writing it is horrible. Kind of nice. But mostly horrible.) AND THEN I SHALL BEGIN THE EDIT! But here is my problem: it’s handwritten. I am typing it (I’ve not finished yet), but should I rewrite onscreen? Can I even do that? I don’t think so! So basically I’m a trembling nervous wreck with no clue what she’s going to do.
SIX WEEK PERIODS OF RESTFULNESS ARE GREAT. I love them. Mine sometimes stretch to 6-month, but pfft, minor details, right? HAH. OMG. But my books are very very small though?! And I type really fast?! AND I HAVE A LOT OF TIME. So yes. *hides* Ohhh, handwriting though. I would probably be 90 by the time I finished handwriting a book. 0_0 I JUST WRITE SO SLOW AND AWKWARDLY.
Thanks for sharing! I always like hearing about someone else’s process!
I hate editing, so I I often just don’t do it (smart decision that). Since I write basically never, I always have to reread what I already wrote, so I sometimes just rewrite and fix stuff that sucks. I used to get massive writer’s block, because I always wanted everything to be PERFECTION from the start, which, you know… no. Now I TRY not to edit while I’m writing, and I think I’ve gotten a bit better about it.
My second draft is a mix of editing and rewriting as well haha. Though now also translating, since I decided to write in English instead of Dutch last month. Totally agree with you on Pinterest! Such a great website for writers 😀
Haha you do indeed have a unique editing process! XD I actually enjoy editing. I do it for a website and some freelance editing. The only downside about it is that it’s time consuming lol. For novel editing, I edit in three stages (unless the book calls for more): macroedit (where I sort out the big stuff like plot holes then I usually rewrite), microediting (where I fix sentences), and then going over beta feedback (where I get outside opinion and choose to implicate or not implicate their suggestions. XD). I’m currently at stage three in a book right now! Whoo hoo! Except a publisher asked for the book to be longer when pitching at a conference this past weekend. Nooooooooooooooo. More work. XD But I kinda wanted the book longer anyway.
I LOVE THIS POST. I’M GOING TO SAVE IT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE/HELP. <3
Edits. Meh. I don't even know. Like NaNo, I basically have no clear memories of my editing process after the fact. I just… kind of mess around and flail and try to fix things. It's a problem, and yes, it's terrifying. I have at times printed my whole manuscript and marked it up, which can be useful… I LIKE YOUR IDEAS AND MAY TRY SOME OF THEM.
*goes to stalk loverly pinterest board*
Wait, wait, wait. Do you HAVE to use Times New Roman, or is Arial okay? And double-spaced??? (I mean from a professional stand-point, not a personal preference one.) You can probably tell that I aren’t ready to send ANYTHING off yet…
I’m terrible at cutting things and my editing process involved way too much rewriting last time. I’ve started editing as I go (Yes! I write WRONG!!!! …I’m sorry…) which tends to make things less messy. If you don’t mind me asking, how do you decide what to cut?
I love your posts. Your humor is amazing! Heh 🙂
I have a similar editing process, somewhat. I usually write a first draft in about a month’s time. My record is like two days but the usual is one month (that’s for YA books, not kids books). And then I put it away for three months and hide in a cave until my publisher comes searching for me armed with a flashlight and tries to get me to start editing.
I also make a new document proudly titled draft2 and copy/paste everything. Then first I format. It makes me feel professional (like you said) and makes the draft feel so much cleaner than it actually is. And then I edit. I used to have HUGE chapters (3-5k) and then I struggled and cried to just finish one chapter a day. Now I keep my chapters shorter (about 1,5 to 2k) and gone are the tears. I edit up to 5 chapters a day on a good day. My latest book was 69k words and 43 chapters if you want to do the math (I don’t, I hate math).
Awww, THANKS, MAJANKA. THAT IS THE NICEST THING TO HEAR OF EVER. :’)
Omg 2 days?!! THAT IS INCREDIBLE. My record is 7 days for 65,000-words, but I’m more like 10 days for 50K kind of person. *nods* And 5 chapters per day? DUDE YOU JUST AMAZE ME.
Um, yeah, considering I’VE STILL NEVER FINISHED A WHOLE NOVEL, I’ve never edited anything either. *feels like a useless human.*
I have some questions for you though Cait:
HOW DO YOU EVER EVER RE-WRITE EVERYTHING?! How are you not attaches to certain things? How DO YOU DO IT ALL SO QUICKLY.
My problem is (and the reason why I’ve never ever completed a full novel) is that (aside from the fact that my imagination when it comes to plots is nonexistent so my plot never lasts very long….oops) I am a huge perfectionist. Which means things you do, like formatting, in a second draft, I do in a first draft (it motivates me, because then I feel professional ahaha).
I am awful at cutting because I never manage to hit my word count (which is why i’ve never finish a book) and cutting would mean LESS WORDS ON MY DOCUMENT.
THE LIST THING IS A GOOD IDEA THOUGH, I’m going to start that, because right now, I can’t remember whether the main two characters in my WIP are just siblings, or twins. Um yeah. *feels ashamed*.
We are quite different in our writing process too though because I remember you saying that plot comes easily to you, but characters less so (am I right? although you are the queen of everything so ;)) but for me, I LOVE CREATING CHARACTERS, where people have story ideas, i have character ideas and then need a story to go with it, and my ability to create a viable plot is NON-EXISTANT and i hate it. :'(
I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW I DO IT. I JUST DO IT, YOU KNOW??? I’m kinda lucky though, and work from home, so I can take time to squish into focusing on whatever I’m obsessed with. ^-^ Like if it’s written a lot or writing fast…I do have the time to rearrange my schedule to focus on anything. I AM LUCKY I KNOW.
But dude, clearly I need kidnap your characters and you need sneak my plots and then we’ll be the perfect writers in the universe. *nods* I used to be a MAJOR perfectionist in writing though. I did. It was quite…terrible actually, because it really smothered my inspiration. D: I should write a post on why I changed my writing process actually, hehe. Although everyone’s processes are different tho, right?! WHICH IS GOOD.
BAH. Don’t feel ashamed. I couldn’t even remember my CHARACTERS DARN NAMES. ZOMG. WHAT IS THIS??? *sentences terrible memory to the corner*
It is kind of amazing to get an insight into how differently people work. Even just with their way of blogging, but for me particularly with writing and editing- my process is quite different to yours, but it was so interesting to see how we do things differently.
I personally love editing. It gets me pumped and I set myself goals (yes, always the goals with us, huh?) and I just love making my book better than it was and ensuring I have a story that is just what it’s supposed to be. You know, I enjoyed this so much that I’ve decided I’m going to post my own version of this, Cait. SHARING ALL THE PROCESSES. x
Yesss, I LOVE sneaking peeks at everyone’s processes too! 😀 There’s no “one” way to do it, right?! And I adore that. I’m glad you like edting though. *throws all my messy books at you* THERE YOU GO. YOU CAN FIX THEM FOR ME AND I CAN RUN OFF INTO THE SUNSET EATING CAKE AND CACKLING. Ahem.
This is brilliant!! Changing things to red and then black is an amazing tip. This also inspires me to write so I will be saving it a re reading it on probably a daily basis when the inspiration runs out. I celebrate finishing something by watching an episode of Sherlock and baking some flapjack. Oh, and a good blog reading sesh (which is what I’m doing right now and I’m feeling kinda guilty cos I haven’t finished anything).
http://www.lipglossandpaperbacks.blogspot.co.uk
OMG I’M GLAD YOU FOUND IT HELPFUL AND INTERESTING. 😀 My job here is done. heeh. But oh! I think rewarding oneself with a good blog reading session is equally wonderful. xD WE deserve it right?!? Writing is hard stuff!
I’m obsessed with magic systems, so whenever I sit down and try to write I inevitably spend the next month trying to perfect my newest version of my magic system and then I hate it and never look at it again, This makes writing rather difficult and it makes me jealous of authors when I reread series/books like The Inheritance Cycle or The Legends Of Ethsar or Mageborn
Eeep, I totally understand being jealous of amazing published authors. I DO THAT tOO, DON’T WORRY. 😂 But I think the trick is to just keep going?! And keep editing and adding to it, right?! I haven’t ever come up with a magic system yet…but I’m sure it’d be super hard.🙈🙊