Hello, internet and blogfriends! I've returned from the dark, hot recesses of June. It's July and summer's into her stretch, but we've had a blessed respite from the usual hellish temperatures here in Greenville. The 4th was sunny and mid-80's... perfection. I enjoyed the last week of my vacation. Except for the fact that my computer got a virus... not sure if it's fixed, I'll need to reload it soon. Sigh.But I'm not letting that keep me from plunging back into work this month! I printed out the first twenty pages of my novel today to start editing. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be. I'm second-guessing how I laid things out in the first run through. I think it's ok, but I wonder if it would be punchier if I did something differently with the material I have... like putting chapters in different orders, and so on.
I'm also striking a LOT of extraneous prose. I don't know if I just need to talk a lot in the beginning to get into the stride of the story, but my lord, this first chapter is super wordy. Some of it's good stuff, but it's pretty description just for the sake of pretty description. So I'm hacking it up and distributing the parts I really like into the surrounding paragraphs. Make sense? Hope so. I'm sorta like Indiana Jones... just making this up as I go along, heh.
I expect y'all will be seeing more of me this month than last month. I'm looking forward to talking about the editing process with you as well as hearing how your projects are coming along. What's up in your corner of blogland? Any advice for my fledgling editing processes?
9 comments:
Glad you enjoyed your vacation, sorry about your pc having a virus hard to get rid off once those start appearing,
Yvonne,
I'm glad you're all relaxed and getting back in the mix. I know what you mean about the editing process. I usually spent at least twice the amount of time editing a project as writing one.
I also sometimes experience something similar to you. I start writing a story, and by the time it is finished, I usually have to cut the first one to three chapters of backstory and re-write the opening.
I've got just two chapters (about eight scenes) to finish on my current major project, and then it's on to big time re-writing.
Best of luck to you during the editing and re-writing process. We'll all be looking out for you so you don't disappear into the abyss of editing Hell.
Anyway, best wishes to you as you begin this process. I'm available for unprofessional and completely unwarranted advice and help whenever you need it - and like Betty Crocker - sometimes, even when you don't.
It's fun to get into the editing. Slashing and hacking is all fun - every time I do a major revision I save in a new file. I've never gone back to any of the stuff I've slashed, but it makes me feel better to save it - just in case :)
yay for July!
but that also means august is on its way...
so. hot.
Hopefully this will reach you with blogger being so crummy (comments aren't showing)--I think first chapters are that way... as WRITER you have to really visualize it all, but the reader won't need so much of it, so it gets chopped apart--be sure and save the first draft though, as SOME of it, you may crave later and wish was still there!
The first draft revision is my arch nemesis. *shudders* I have no words of wisdom for you except to plow through it!
Good luck and have fun, too! (If you can, haha.)
Welcome back! :-) As far as what's going on, I have a contest going on over at my blog.
I edited out a lot of unnecesary text in mine as well. Guess some of us like to talk.
Most of my projects are still getting interfered with by blogging, but I'm still enjoying it. I have started some necessary cleaning in my office. But I must get back to my real writing.
I have a difficult time editing my own writing. I fall in love with what I've written and hate to change it. But I can feel some editing coming soon in my life.
Lee
Tossing It Out
Post a Comment