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Editing a Novel - any tips???
So the novel editing is again getting a bit overwhelming. Yes it's moving slowly forward but I do find myself wondering if it will ever end or if I'm just going round in circles.
Any tips for managing a novel-sized edit? How do you keep going without getting overwhelmed?
(Unfortunately I do have a tendency for getting unnecessarily overwhelmed by these things everything, so this is perhaps more of a 'me' problem than a 'writer' problem)
Comments
On another occasion, I might type in a word such as 'Suddenly', for example, to make sure I haven't overused it. Or just -ly to find all the adverbs. Then I will try to remove most and substitute a more powerful verb instead.
Then there are things like time clauses - e.g. 'a week later'. I'll look for those and check for a comma.
If you've changed a character's name, type in each version and find those.
For spacing, I use the back to front 'P' which shows spaces as individual dots. It makes it easier to find places where you might have inadvertently double spaced.
For continuity, or clues which you want to pepper throughout, I will use red text or highlight passages and until I'm happy that I have covered everything to do with that plot point, I will leave the colours in place. I also write notes in red if I feel something needs to be returned to or explained.
I also re-read a lot! Reading aloud is quite important to hear the flow, and, also, you might pick up a word which you have used more than once in a paragraph.
So, basically, break it all down into individual elements and work at one at a time. I find it's a really thorough approach.
I also have a notebook where I sum up each chapter with just a line or two for quick reference.
Hope that helps!
Check character voices for consistency. In my experience, they always change as the novel grows. Read through the novel but only the dialogue or thoughts of a given character to ensure that they seem the same (or change gradually) throughout. Pay attention to the major movements of their arc and flesh out or delete where necessary.
If you have a thematic arc, take note of where and how your theme develops. Reinforce or prune it accordingly. One of the themes in my my current work is "waiting" so I'll be revisiting each passage where I deal with that to make sure it develops into something interesting.
There are a few words I thought I might be overusing as I wrote the book, so I made a note of them as I was going. I'll check later if there are too many and replace them with something synonymous.
For me, the most important aspect is that the book will withstand a publisher's copy edit without major change. That means the story, pace and narrative development are all solid and that the ending is fitting with what precedes it. I know a professional proofreader will find the things I've missed.
Standard practice is to print the work out and look at it again after a while.
One of the ways you can cut down on editing somewhat is to correct as you go along in the first draft, rather than thinking "That's not right but I'll deal with it later". I find I do five or six edits, including that, although the last one is usually minor tweaking.
I believe it's possible to over-edit, though, destroying the life of the novel. This could be done with too much concern for what the publisher or agent will like.
1. When a draft is finished - leave it for at least a week, don't read it don't add to it - leave it alone do something else. When you come back to it, it will be fresh, then before you do anything else -
2. Print it out (yes i know it's not environmentally friendly but it looks totally different on the page that it does on the screen and you have the advantage of being able to make notes in the margins etc.
At the moment I'm compiling a scene list (which I should have done already) and that will give me a much better overview as to where I need an additional scene or there are inconsistencies
TinyNell - love your tips for finding overused words etc!
GeraldQ - your points about character voice consistency are also really helpful
I am hoping your first draft is written better than mine, which just reads like a massive outline with dialogue!