Munday - Editing
"I have only made this letter rather long because i have not had time to make it shorter"
This famous quote was written in 1656, and it speaks to the power of editing. Today, think about your editing process...
1. How many drafts does your writing usually go through before you consider it done? (or do you subscribe to the first thought, best thought school of non-editing?)
I try to give most longer stuff at least two rounds of tweaking. With my current series, the Forgotten Vows Verse, each chapter of each story is getting at least three drafts, so -- yeah, that adds up. With the really short stuff, like drabbles, I'll probably just read it over once and maybe make a few changes as I see fit.
2. How hard is it for you to 'cut your darlings' - phrases or scenes you are attached to, but don't fit well or are dead weight in the story?
Oh, it can be tough. I generally go ahead and cut, but I'm likely to put stuff I like in a separate place so it can "live on" in a sense. I have a couple of documents in WordPerfect that are all planning stuff for various series, and a lot of first drafts of scenes "live" in those with stuff I liked but that had to be cut or tweaked.
3. What mistakes do you often find yourself editing out? (Passive voice, excessive adverbs, etc) Have you improved in these areas the more you edited?
A lot of adverbs and overused phrases and actions. I've noticed my characters blush more than they should, and I sometimes rely a little too much on -ly words. There's also plenty of dialogue and description tweaking. I do think I'm improving, though -- I'm working on using less adverbs and emphasizing unique character quirks instead of going for the cliche. (Like Victor playing with his tie when he's embarrassed, rather than just flushing.)
4. What's the best advice you have received on editing? What's the best advice you can give your fellow writers?
I dunno about any advice specifically about editing, but I find that the advice I got about writing in the morning often works for editing too. As for giving advice -- don't be afraid to leave it for a day or two before editing. Letting it sit gives you a time to rest your brain and approach it with fresh eyes.
This famous quote was written in 1656, and it speaks to the power of editing. Today, think about your editing process...
1. How many drafts does your writing usually go through before you consider it done? (or do you subscribe to the first thought, best thought school of non-editing?)
I try to give most longer stuff at least two rounds of tweaking. With my current series, the Forgotten Vows Verse, each chapter of each story is getting at least three drafts, so -- yeah, that adds up. With the really short stuff, like drabbles, I'll probably just read it over once and maybe make a few changes as I see fit.
2. How hard is it for you to 'cut your darlings' - phrases or scenes you are attached to, but don't fit well or are dead weight in the story?
Oh, it can be tough. I generally go ahead and cut, but I'm likely to put stuff I like in a separate place so it can "live on" in a sense. I have a couple of documents in WordPerfect that are all planning stuff for various series, and a lot of first drafts of scenes "live" in those with stuff I liked but that had to be cut or tweaked.
3. What mistakes do you often find yourself editing out? (Passive voice, excessive adverbs, etc) Have you improved in these areas the more you edited?
A lot of adverbs and overused phrases and actions. I've noticed my characters blush more than they should, and I sometimes rely a little too much on -ly words. There's also plenty of dialogue and description tweaking. I do think I'm improving, though -- I'm working on using less adverbs and emphasizing unique character quirks instead of going for the cliche. (Like Victor playing with his tie when he's embarrassed, rather than just flushing.)
4. What's the best advice you have received on editing? What's the best advice you can give your fellow writers?
I dunno about any advice specifically about editing, but I find that the advice I got about writing in the morning often works for editing too. As for giving advice -- don't be afraid to leave it for a day or two before editing. Letting it sit gives you a time to rest your brain and approach it with fresh eyes.