Editing.... who loves it?

Tessa Tangent

Tessa Tangent

I've had enough of this.  You have to come down heavily on yourself all the time.  I've had to try and edit 100,000 words down to 80,000.  Sounds easy.  Not so.  It all seems important, yet, by the time it gets to the public, who the heck cares?

Isabella King

I tend to find that I take out a word on one read through and then put it right back in on the next.

Neph

I tend to take a word out on a read through and then add at least six the next time!!!

Tessa Tangent

Ah!  You see my problem, then! :O)  Thank you for at least making me smile about it...

Carol

I take out a few, rewrite the sentence and put more back but make it better, then check the total then chop a few more and on it goes.
But even I'd have problems losing that many words.
But you do it.

Daisy

I love the creative part, but not the editing.  It starts to annoy me! That's a lot of words you need to lose.

Tessa Tangent

No, I have to re-edit most of it.  However, there is an entire chapter that can go... but be replaced with a few words in the next one.  I don't know how I'll lose the other 15,000 because I keep seeing more in my characters as I go along, yet have to keep the action going.

TaffetaPunk

Sympathise.  I've been avoiding starting work on my MS after having had oodles of sound advice from Xinran.  I know it'll be a lot of work, and quite tedious, adding bits and pieces, but worth the effort, I trust Xinran and I trust myself.  Keep at it, H. x

Tessa Tangent

Thanks TP and C.  Honestly, I'm looking through it and wondering if I can keep it at around 95,000.  But, for a first novel, from complete unknown other than a bundle of short stories in the 90s, I don't feel the subject justifies the word-count.  If I were a publisher or agent hearing about my story, I'd want 80,000 and not much more.

dorothyd

I like editing, it seems to soothe something in me, this removing of lines, paragraphs, rearranging so it reads better.  I do it all the time at work, though, so perhaps it comes easier to me at home, when doing my own writing.

Anyanka

I LOVE editing. It is so easy, compared to writing!  Besides, being at the editing stage means I'm nearly there. But then I'm not the most verbose writer, never have been (my teachers used to love my essays because they didn't take up much time!). Much harder for me to fatten up a story than to pare it down.

richt

As far as I'm concerned, editing is the fun part. It means I have done the hard part (write the story) and can now polish it and find better words for those words I was uncertain about the first time through.
Mind you, I am only working in 1500 to 2000 words territory - I'm not sure how I'd cope with a novel.
And yes, editing down is far easier than editing up. In a novel I suppose you could add in additional sub-plots, for example. For a short story what you tend to be adding is padding :-(

allagentshateme

I like editing too.  I prefer to do it after putting my book away for a couple of weeks so I can look at it with "fresh eyes".

Soobdoo

I like editing.  I can write when I'm tired or fed up but I have to feel bright and alert to edit.

Tessa Tangent

Soobdoo, you may well have hit the nail on the head.  I've been tired lately, owing to new job, new hours, new demands, etc.  Have been used to luxurious life of unemployment (not) but at least it gave me the time.  Maybe the problem is not resenting the time spent on it when I'm knackered. 

I'm still so excited by the story and subject so it is going along but at a different pace.  And I find that hard to handle after spending all day at it.  Oh, stop moaning TT, and feel lucky!!!

I've had a great deal of help from Talkback lately which has been fantastic, or I'd have lost my head by now!

Jay Mandal

Soobdoo - I'm the opposite. But a lot of my editing is deciding which 'version' of my original draft to use - I often put several choices rather than waste time when I'm in the writing mood.

Stirling

I love editing.  Fresh black ink on crisp white paper with a red biro in hand.  I feel like an artist with a paint brush in hand, crafting art.

No wonder I want to be an editor!.

Verica

I love editing on the computer, as it's very  satisfying, but used to hate it before the advent of these.  I have just edited three short stories and a poem.  Now I have to decide whether to send them out and, if so, where. 
                                         

machinehurt

I too like editing.

The sooner you edit the better, and this is only doing another draft.
At least you have something to work on.

It is the FIRST time you write a chapter that is the hardest. But then trying to sort out certain paragraphs time and again can drive you nuts.

I'm forever reading and reading the chapter over and over, without making changes, just to get the feel of it - and get used to a new chapter being written.

Then when you sit down away from the computer, you get flashes of inspiritation, and its another fun re-write of some paragraphs !

I'm of the opinion, that you should always write when you are inspired. And not to sit in front of that page saying, "What can I write next ?"

You'll get writers block and nothing will get written.

But as soon as you walk away from that computer, the muse strikes . . .

Claudia

Good heavens, Machinehurt - where are you finding all these old threads?

Welcome to talkback, by the way. Why don't you start a thread in the Welcome Writers category to introduce yourself?

Lou Treleaven

The reappearance of all these old threads are confusing me!

Carol

Me too. Lou.

I don't think any of us would object to new ones being started on the subject, as we all know views can change in 7 years.

snailmale

Good heavens, Machinehurt - where are you finding all these old threads?

Welcome to talkback, by the way. Why don't you start a thread in the Welcome Writers category to introduce yourself?

Welcome Machinehurt, why do I get this strange feeling of deja-vu when I read your posts? Please introduce yourself as Claudia suggests.