oh my god! how does anybody do editing? its the most difficult thing in the world. i mean, writing the damn thing was hard enough, but then realizing that what you wrote is flawed and having to think of a different way to do it... its really stressful. i'm supposed to be taking it easy. but this editing malarkey and learning to drive has me totally on edge and unable to sleep. i'm totally all over the place and i can't pull myself together enough to focus on the changes i have to make to my story. ahhhh.
and so i procrastinate by writing to my journal and checking my friends page - this has to be the 4th time today. not good. i guess it dosn't help that i've been left alone all day. i think i'll stop now, though and pl...
whey - mammy and daddy just came home! woo. and what's better is that seeing them gave me the motivation to write a whole new paragraph that explains Kej's point of view nicely. now just to find a different word for unreal.
wooo!
Calm down. Really, just take a deep breath.
ReplyDeleteWhen I edit I do it two ways. One is I read the entire thing all the way through. Then I go back and fix anything I thought didn't sound right (read it out loud...it really does help). Also, listen to 'theme music' or something that gives you a feel of the kind of emotions that should be in each paragraph/sentence/chapter.
Second part of it is to go backwards. That's right. Start at the end and read each sentence back to the beginning. This is a wonderful method when trying to fix grammar mistakes. And say everything out loud while you edit. It really does work! ^_^
Did those tips help?
Now you understand what horrible pain I've been going through for the last month!
ReplyDeleteI thought I'd finished my editing a couple of days back, but now I've got to start all over again.
Maybe you can understand why I've put off reading Zan / Kej too.
I hate editing! I'm doing a massive over haul of my Nano from last year right now, and everytime I open then danged thing I just want to cry - cutting out my favorite passages, watching some of my most hated characters come out in a differnet light, and worst of it all is reminded as to my life when I wrote it. A lot happens in a year and I feel sucked back into those old feelings everytime I re-read anything in it.
ReplyDeleteooh - i like the reading it backwards idea + reading out loud is good too: gives you an idea for the rythm of the thing.
ReplyDeletethanks!
yep - i guess so. i've never really edited anything in my life before, so yea - now i do understand. though, i still think you have the ah-ick-help-me-editing bug worse than i do.
ReplyDeletei find cutting paragraphs not too much pain - i usually paste them into a scrap file + it makes me feel better about the whole thing!
ReplyDeleteEditing is a hard and sometimes terrible process, that much is clear. However, if one truly loves to write, its a process you have to go through willingly. Without editing, the written work you've slaved over for so long is meaningless and no one will ever take it seriously.
ReplyDeleteI feel bad about all the things I pointed out now! :(
ReplyDeleteno no - feel good. these are really good things to know about. while its difficult, it is totally worthwhile. don't stop being a good critique - they are so hard to find :)
ReplyDeleteA 'Good Critic' is possibly an Oxymoron.
ReplyDeleteno - critics are something different: a critique is someone who is constrictive - critics are destructive.
ReplyDeletetherefore (i wanted a 3 dot triangle sign) a good critique is not an oxymoron! yes.
are you confused yet? i am!
Well confused is 'Situation Normal' for me. ;)
ReplyDelete