Writing and editing crap

Since my last post I have edited 117 pages and taken out more than 24,000 words. I'm taking my time with this second draft, wanting to make it better. I told a family member the other day that writing is all about crap. Here's the exact words I used:

Writing is all a bunch of crap because you write a first draft, which turns out to be crap. Then you edit that crap into new crap, when you reread that crap you edit more new crap until it's less crappy... on and on it goes until you no longer feel the urge to hit that delete button.

If you're a Pantser like me, then you probably fight the urge to delete everything during the first read-through. My finger gets trigger happy, but I find it helps to keep all my deleted words in another document that way if I delete something important or end up cutting out the heart I still have it and can access it with ease.

What are some of your editing tricks or advice?

Until next time, I hope you find joy in your writing!

Editing, my old friend

I edited over 20 pages today, which is the most I've edited in a while. I forced myself to sit down in front of my computer all day today. I feel like progress is finally being made. I still have over a hundred pages left to re-edit, but a little bit everyday will eventually get me there.

Once I finish this edit, I will have to reread it since I've made so many changes I am going to have to make sure everything is grammatically correct and makes sense. I'm trying to make this series into a stand alone book, just in case no one is interested in the series, but there's so much in these books that I'm having a difficult time doing that.

Then when everything is fixed I will work on my query letter again. It's nice knowing I can send my letter to Chuck Sambuchino for an edit before sending it to an agent.

What are your writing plans?

I'm back!

It’s been a great week with my mom, but now it’s time to join reality again. I haven’t written in a week because I wanted to give her my undivided attention. It was hard to give up a whole week of writing, but I’m happy to say things are back to normal. I will have a new part of the short story for you to read on Sunday.

For all of you who participated in the ROAK Blitz! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Congratulations to Becca and Angela on their Emotion Thesaurus. I am enjoying reading it. I will post a review later, so all you writers will know what I am talking about.

Now I really need to get back to writing and editing.

Creativity flows

When I wrote the first draft of my novel, somewhere along the way the ideas started flowing and the story practically wrote itself. During my past edits I didn’t have that happen. I drudged through it. Last night that changed.

The ideas started flowing once again and the novel is once again driving me in a direction I didn’t see before. I love that feeling. I missed that feeling. It’s different this time because everything has to connect to the rest of the story, so it requires more time and more thought. Like fitting pieces of a puzzle together. Cross my fingers everything will fit perfectly once I finish this major rewrite.

Have you had any great ideas come to you recently?

Writing, waiting, and reading

I haven’t written in a few days because I haven’t had anything to say. I’m still editing, which is slowly coming. But at least I am making progress. I have deleted a total of 3,000 words or more. I’m also making progress on my hooks. I have a couple I like. My querying is still on hold until I finish this edit.

In other news:

Cassandra’s Clare’s City of Lost Souls book trailer is out! I can’t wait for the book. May 8, I will be locked in my room with this book in my hands. Actually, May is going to be a busy reading month for me. With Insurgent, Destined, Endure, and Last Rite, all coming out. I may just go on a hiatus the month of May.

Are there any books you’re excited to read next month?

Playing catch up with my editing

I have finished my first full edit. I am already on my second revision with the help of my aunt. I rewrote the ending, which I think makes much more sense now. At least I know my sister is happy with it.

I will be starting my research soon into query letters and literary agents. I should have more material to blog about soon. I will be sharing some articles and tips that I come across. Also if you have any advice on the dreaded query letter and would like to share with me that would be great. I am a newbie and learning all of this as I go along. Thank you!

Thanks for the support!

I would like to make something clear. I am very grateful for all the friends and family who are supporting me on my decision to write. The last post was in no way about any of you. I love you all and I thank you for your support.

Writing for a career is in a way choosing to isolate myself. It is not always easy. In fact there are days I want to throw my computer out the window. I have doubts and fears. It’s long hours and little pay, but I love it! I have always been a writer. I always knew I wanted to write. I am a writer heart and soul. I feel like there was never any other choice for me. My family has always encouraged me to follow my dreams. Even when they don’t agree or understand; I have always had their support. They are the reason I have the strength to go for what I want. So to my friends and family I just want to say thank you for being there for me. It means the world that I have your support.

In other news:
I have four chapters to edit before I begin editing all over again. I sent my story to my aunt who has been sending me great feedback on word usage, plot, characters, etc. It has been a huge help. I feel like I finally have someone reading my story who understands the critiquing process. I still plan on sending it out by this spring and I think it should be ready by then, so I am still on track.

Editing with the help of caffeine

Thanks to a lot of caffeine in the past week, I only have seven chapters left to edit before I am finished with my first full edit. It took me a month and a half to write the first draft and it has taken me two months to get through my first edit. I am happy that I continue to make progress on this novel.

With the help of a large cup of coffee currently sitting next to me, I hope to finish two more chapters tonight. My last two posts focused on Fear and Doubt and I can happily say that for the moment both have decided to leave me in peace. After I finish my edit, I will have to go back through and edit again because I ended up changing some things half way through. It’s kind of tedious when you make a small change, like someone’s eye color and you have to go back and make sure the eyes remain the same color throughout the entire novel, but consistency is important.

I started researching literary agents and their companies. I have also read a lot of articles about the dreaded query letter, which I will discuss in more detail in another post. I can’t help wondering how do you know when you are ready to start querying. This could probably be another post in itself and I might turn it into one, but as I go through my edits, I know I have to reread at least two more times before it will be ready. After that I think I might just go for it and start querying. If nothing else, maybe I will get some feedback on the novel. I am happy to say that I feel like I am still on target for my new year’s resolution and my personal writing goals. How do you decide if your writing is ready to query?

Getting stronger every day

I think I figured out why I am having such a hard time editing. When I write I listen to music, which keeps me in my own zone. Music actually helps my ideas flow better for whatever reason. When I edit I need my full concentration because I am not just writing words down on a page. I am making sure everything makes sense, checking grammar, and everything in between.

I need the silence, but at the same time the silence is deafening. I have been fighting the urge to constantly play some music while I am editing. I know I just need to push through it. I was able to edit three more chapters today, so it is still coming along. I feel my descriptions are getting stronger with every chapter, which is also a good thing for me.

I have sent my edited chapters to some friends to get second and third opinions. I am still afraid to show people my work, but I am no longer letting the fear hold me back. It never hurts to see what others will say about my work, as long as it’s constructive criticism and not just negative feedback. My roadblocks are slowly becoming stepping stones leading me in the right direction.

Editing = Progress

I have officially edited five chapters. The best part is I have yet to destroy an entire chapter in anger. I really feel like this is the best version yet. In the past I would have reread everything and wanted to start over, so this is a step in the right direction.

I feel like everything is making sense. It is much easier to go back through and add descriptions once I know what I want to be revealed and what I plan on saving for later. I also have a better sense of my characters through their dialogue and actions. A lot of people seem to story board, which makes it easier to add foreshadowing. My best ideas come in the middle of me writing a chapter, so I’m not sure if story boarding will help me. I suppose it doesn’t really matter as long as I know what I am doing and I am able to keep everything in line.

I keep a notebook next to my bed, so whenever an idea pops into my head I can just write it down. It is very hard not immediately working on the second part of the story, but I know if I want to see it published I need to finish polishing the first part and put all of my effort into that. Once I have sent it out to someone I will have plenty of time to write more waiting on an answer. Anyone have any advice to give about the editing process?

Good Distractions

I edited my third chapter yesterday. This editing has taken a lot longer than I thought it would. It’s taking longer to edit the chapters than it did to write them in the first place. I can’t exactly say I’m blameless for the process taking so long. I keep getting distracted by books.

First Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer, the third and final book in the Nightshade trilogy came out, so of course I couldn’t do anything else until I read the entire book. I have to say I loved it. If you haven’t read it yet I recommend you do so immediately. It’s definitely a book that pulls on your heartstrings.

I have also gotten into the dystopian genre recently. I must say I was a little iffy on these books at first, but now I can’t stop reading them. I read Delirium by Lauren Oliver. It’s about a society that believes love is a disease. Everyone gets the “cure” for the disease when they turn 18. Each person is evaluated, which then determines her entire life. This includes career path, marriage partner, and how many kids. If you don’t get the “cure” or fight against it you will be marked as an “empathizer” which guarantees you a life of solitary confinement or a public execution. Delirium starts with a girl who can’t wait to be “cured” when she meets a boy who shows her there is nothing wrong with love in fact the idea that it needs to be cured is the problem with society. One of my favorite quotes in the book says, “Hate is not the worst thing indifference is.” The second installment in the series, Pandemonium comes out later this year. I can’t wait to read it.

I am still in the process of reading the Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I just finished the first book and I can’t put the second one down. I was excited to see the movie before and after reading the books I can’t wait! Katniss is a badass and I wish I had her archery skills. Not to mention her ability to survive in the wild. I couldn’t imagine growing up in a world where the government can take your kids and place them in a fight-for-the-death competition for its entertainment.

So as you can see I have been very busy reading. I really need to get back on track and edit my own stuff if I ever want to see it published. What books have you been distracted by recently?

Editing and outlining

It’s been a few days since my last entry. I have been working a lot and then I had to get ready for my flight to see my family. I am back home now for the holidays, which is where I wanted to be. Even though I’ve taken a break from writing these posts I didn’t take a break from my writing.

I have been editing chapters one and two of my now completed novel, sorry I had to throw that in there, because I’m still really exciting about having a full version to edit now. It has taken longer to edit these two chapters than it did to write them in the first place. Is that normal?

Also, I have found it much easier to go back and add description where it’s needed now that I know where the story is going. I know what I can give away and what comes later, which makes it easier. I suppose I could have outlined first, but I seem to do better when I just start writing. As I write the ideas come to me, so outlining, although would have probably been very helpful since I try to foreshadow and not give too much away at once, would have also hindered me. Perhaps I will try to outline for the next part of the series and see how it goes.