Saturday Morning Editing

Today is going to be a day for editing and writing. I lost last weekend and part of the week because I went down to Nashville to view the full eclipse. After all, what kind of science fiction/fantasy writer would I be if I didn't stop to take the time to enjoy the wonders this world holds? Answer - not a very good one.

While I loved seeing the eclipse and highly recommend anyone who hasn't seen one find a way to view it at least once in your life, it does mean I need to buckle down and get this book to the next stage. The next few days will be very work heavy. The good news is I'm pretty sure there is only one last scene I need to add/adjust then it's off to smoothing the rough spots in the story.

I decided I needed some inspiration this morning to help me focus. A trip to our local farmers market seems to have done the trick. A peaches and cream pastry from my favorite bread vendor, flowers to add a touch of whimsy and color, and coffee to keep me alert and focused for what's coming. Goodness knows I'm going to need that last one.

The Editing Process

I'm neck deep in the editing process and as any writer can tell you, it's a love/hate relationship. Love, because the hard part is over - writing. Hate, because now I have to take a good, long look at what I've created and decide what needs to stay, what needs to be cut and what needs to be reconfigured to make the story better. In some ways it's actually harder than the writing part.

The first round of editing is always kind of difficult for me because of how critical I have to be. When I write the first draft, I make a huge effort not to let my inner critic keep me from putting stuff on paper, otherwise I'd never get anything written. This part of the process requires me to give that inner critic free reign, to let her out and flex her muscles. She's a bit of a diva and tends to blow everything out of proportion, going off on tangents about how this scene doesn't make sense so I need to rewrite the whole book, or OMG this is terrible. Was I high when I wrote it?

Given how mentally and emotionally draining this part is, it's no wonder that I've been dreading the first round of edits. I've even paid bills to get out of having to edit and I hate paying bills. Sigh. Wish me luck. I'm off to tackle a few chapters before the end of the day.