Editing 101

As the title suggests, I finished my first draft (at just under 88,000 words) and am in the process of editing.

After three days, I can honestly say this is my least favorite part of writing so far.

The process is necessary for several reason, a few of which I'll touch upon in a moment. The biggest surprise, however, is the difference in the caliber of writing. Now, if you think about it, it only makes sense that your writing changes the more you do it, hopefully for the better. But I didn't realize just how much I'd tidied things up by Chapter 31 until I started editing Chapters 2 and 3 (I rewrote the first chapter). I know you have to start at the beginning, but it's knocked my confidence down a few notches.

At this point I think I'm going to rewrite Chapters 2 and 3, because if I don't, I think I may go crazy. Sometimes editing just isn't enough and you have to scratch it.

Off and on, over the last year, I've been reading books about writing. They always preach about the importance of editing, and I can now say I wholeheartedly agree, but you have to be careful. It's fine to edit a little as you go along, but the most important step is to FINISH the damn thing and then rip out the flaws. Finishing a draft gives you insight into structure, pacing and a number of other things. I've been writing on and off since junior high school, but this has been the best experience by far.

The reasons for editing? Well, believe it or not, the way characters act in the beginning aren't always the way they act at the end. Inconsistencies, especially with six viewpionts, is bound to happen. Now is the time for me to clear them up.

Useless information also shows up. You can't be afraid to snip, because when you get down to it, content is more important that word count. Have you ever read a two page description of something that could've been done in two paragraphs? Yeah, me too and it's something I hope to avoid.

I know my story is worth it, but I can't help but complain a little bit along the way.