A Tale of Two Edits – Editing Your Work

I recently had the pleasure of editing two very different novels back to back. The first was a space opera that I completed about a year ago. I had gone through it with the red pen earlier in the year. I found my usual issues of repetition and over-explanation were running rampant. I also found that my ending was really poor. So I reworked the ending completely and put the book aside for a month and a half. Then I went back and made the edits to the document in my computer, going over the new ending at the same time.

What was interesting about this editing adventure was that this book was written at my leisure over the summer. I didn’t have a deadline, I just wrote the story idea I had and worked my way through it. I did end up losing steam by the end of the story and that explains why I didn’t really end the story so much as let it whimper out. The editing process reenergized my excitement about the story and so I carried that over into the new ending. I think it’s a lot better than what I originally created.

I also found that certain plot resolutions I had forgotten about were actually pretty clever. I’m talking about plot points that I injected into the story as I wrote, and didn’t have a clear resolution for. Turns out I had a resolution for them, and I just needed to connect the dots and make it a lot clearer. I’m still not sold on the opening of the story. I think I take too much time introducing my main character and not enough getting the story rolling. This book Is supposed to be an adventure story that grabs the reader. In my concern to create an interesting character I spend too much time showing him in his dullness, instead of showing him in action. My wife is of the same opinion, and I’m already planning some editing at the beginning. But I’m hoping the middle and end work as well I felt they did. Hopefully this can shape up to be a fun book, exactly the goal I’m looking at.

The other edit was for my National Novel Writing Month entry for 2009. This was my supernatural thriller. I wrote the initial draft in 30 days and it ended up being a little over 50, 000 words roughly 250 pages. It’s also fragmented, choppy and lacking a real punch at the end. I think this is a direct result of the deadline and brisk pace I set for myself. I like the basic story and some elements work really well. This is actually a more character-based story than my space opera. Unfortunately my main character suffers in this choppy version, and I feel she needs some better scenes shaping her personality.

I also ran into issues where elements of her past were mentioned and never expounded upon. They are important to her character, but I’m not sure if I want to include them in flashback (something I try to avoid) or include a series of scenes at the beginning of the book spanning those moments. I don’t like that idea because the opening chapter of the book has a great punch to it, really grabbing the reader.

The speedy writing also created several issues with continuity. I didn’t have time to check of a character burned her left or right hand, and so the burn switches as you go through the book. So little things like that need to be updated too.

In short I think this book is going to require more work than the one I spent more time on. Makes sense, but the thing I liked about the short writing time from NaNo is that I didn’t lose the energy of wanting to write. I was still excited about the novel as I crossed that finish line and you can feel it in the ending. It felt explosive and fun. While the space opera felt like a slog by the end as I was writing.

So, very different experiences writing and editing. Still not sure what is the best, and if maybe I can create a happy medium. Maybe a month and a half to write the novel? I’m still keen on giving NaNoWriMo at try this year, but I’m not sure I have a new story idea yet. Can I wing it and survive? I think that’s another blog.

Have you tried different styles of writing drafts and how did that affect the editing process? Do you find editing interesting or more like a tedious part of the process? Do you have a problem keeping the energy going for a long work?

The Department of Redundancy Department – Self Editing for Fiction Writers

Ah, the two faces of the beloved first draft. For most writers its a love/hate relationship. It's love because it is your first crack at a story. You pour in all your ideas, weave your spells of characterization, detail, plot, theme, mood and swirl it into a climax that would blow away the reader. It's a passionate first kiss, one that reaches into your soul and touches you. Ahhhh, sweet bliss.

But most of us know the truth. Once all the kissing, groping and tumbling have been done, you move on from your first draft. You let it sit for a while, to mellow with age and to allow you a little perspective on your beautiful opus. You return (sometimes a month or two later - maybe only a couple weeks) and you see what you were so enamored of - and its' horrifying! This little misshapen goblin was the one you were swooning over? Why, it would be perfect to play an grotesque imp in some low budget Roger Corman film - not the beautiful epic you were hoping. The horror breaks you down, you cry, and then curl up in a sock drawer and sleep for days.

At least that's how I feel.

But then you come back to your little misshapen critter and start to work with it. You realize it's not so bad, just a little bit awkward. With some proper training and fine tuning you'll have something presentable, maybe even something that is as epic as you were hoping for. The trick is to use your editing skills to make this story work as a whole. And that is where a book liked "Self Editing for Publication" can come in so handy.

The book goes through and guides the writer down paths of looking at their work in a new light, pointing out common mistakes and issues that writers make and offering suggestions on making the most of your story. And all this advice coming from two professional editors - well it's very helpful. The issue that I'm very guilty of in all my first drafts is repeating the same basic point in a few different ways. It could be as simple as having two sentences say the same thing, with slight differences. Or it could be the fact that I'll take what I think is a clever and interesting element and slam the reader over the head with it. The end result is useless exposition that causes the reader to feel bogged down.

Here's a nice example:

Karen shifted in her seat again. The light from between the blinds was angling in, right into her eyes, causing her to blink. She couldn't see the television screen at all. The blazing light was blinding her. She slid to the other end of the couch. It didn't do any good, because now a wall of dust was filtering into the shaft of sunlight. Barry looked at her with a slight frown on his face, "Don't you like the movie?"

As you can see, there's lots of description going on here. It's nice and all, but most you probably got the point after first couple sentences. So does this new version read any better?

Karen shifted in her seat again. The light from between the blinds was angling right into her eyes. The blazing light completely blinded her view of the television. She slid to the other end of the couch. No good. Now a wall of dust was filtering into the shaft of sunlight and obscured the TV completely. Barry looked at her with a slight frown, "Don't you like the movie?"

See, it's a bit more honed and the same idea get's across with less words. Of course you could just say:

Karen couldn't see the television because of the light. Barry asked her, "Don't you like the movie?"

But now we just got into - show, don't tell. The previous two sentences just tell the reader what's going on, and my the middle paragraph shows the action and Barry's reaction to the reader. So, the middle one wins! Yay!

Not that it's perfect. I'm still working on this kind of thing all the time, but now I can recognize my issues, especially with repetition. I just have to get over all the red ink on my document. It hurts to cut, but with some skill you can take fragments of the cuts and craft something new. The important thing to keep in mind is your target audience. You don't want the reader bored to tears because you beat something to death with over- explanation. You make your point and finish.

That's what I'll do now with this blog. :-)

What are issues you face during your editing of a draft? Do you struggle with editing or do you look forward to it? As a reader, do you find long passages of exposition a real chore to read or do you get pulled in (and why does a passage of exposition work for you)? Do you think Karen should try sitting on top of Barry (evidentially he can see fine)?