Edits are a necessary...even critical part of writing. But not my favorite part.
I love the work of taking a story and making it better. I love that my editors always catch things that I miss, threads that get dropped, characters that are cardboard, etc.
But I hate the getting into them. It usually takes me a couple days after reading the letter to process all the advice, suggestions, and manifestos contained in the edit letter. Then I have to hype myself up to jump back into the story and weave the suggestions in. Sometimes it involves cutting chunks. Other times, it involves writing new chapters. Either way, the pages look like they waltzed through the Battle of Gettysburg, covered with track changes.
Then I finally hit a point where it's flowing. I remember the global suggestions and dive into the characters and story, finally remembering why I loved the story in the first place. Last night I finally hit that point with the book I'm currently editing. Good thing since I have one week left to work on it under the truncated deadline.
It'll be worth it. Really :-)
2 comments:
Oh good! Someone else who isn't crazy about their edits! I thought I was the only one. I really enjoy the rough draft part, but do have to make myself get down to business to edit. But I agree, it does make it so much better. :)
The great thing about edits is they push me to improve as a writer. And that is a very good thing.
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