Editing and Re-Writing

[MauEvig]

So I'm at the stage of my novel, Sky Kingdom where I'm currently editing and working with an editor. The editor is having me go back and re-write several chapters.
But I find it's challenging to re-write certain chapters. I am learning show don't tell, the editor gave me some good tips in order to get over that challenge that I've had in the past. Sometimes I run into writer's block. Sometimes I get bored, and don't know how to go forward. There have been some scenes where I imagined them being merely a mention, but they want me to actually include the scenes instead of just making them mentioned. So I did that, but I found it challenging to come up with ideas for the scene.
But I'm persevering and trying to get through.
What are some ways to get through the editing process? This seems to be the most painful part of writing, because you have to endure criticism and are pretty much ripping up and re-organizing, cutting, adding and other things to your story to get it polished.
Then of course, I'll need to have beta readers go over it before it's finally ready for publishing.

 

[skip.knox]

You have all my sympathy. I find it difficult, too.

I don't mind the criticism. But I do get bored, overwhelmed, distracted, and just plain stumped. All the time. Damn near every day. And that's with just me doing the editing!

How do I get through it? It's a hike, not a drive. One foot in front of the other. Or, as is often the case, one foot *somewhere* and you look back at the end of the day hoping you're not still in the same place. IOW, I keep at it. The biggest help?

Knowing I've done it before. I've had all these feelings, have despaired of the story, despaired of myself, and yet there sits the book on the shelf and it's not bad at all, good enough to show to others, good enough to charge money to strangers for it. And that one got there by dint of floundering and thrashing about and cursing and still going, so on *this* one I can't possibly do any worse.

So I keep going. Get that first one done. The rest probably won't come any easier, but at least you ... or, no, there's no at least. It won't come any easier and we're all crazy for sticking with it.

 

[ThinkerX]

This is where I am at.

I published my 'Empire' series a year and a half ago. I spotted some issues with the published versions straight off, but figured they were not too serious - until the reviews started to come in, all citing grammar issues. So, last summer, I pulled the books and went back over them with MS Word. I found and fixed a bunch of stuff, then rereleased them. More reviews - MS Word missed a *lot* of stuff. So, on January 1 of this year, I downloaded the free version of Grammarly and turned it loose on the books. It found 5000+ issues. I pulled fixed those errors and pulled the books - again. I figured that took care of the grammar bugs...until I accessed a couple of the 'cleansed' books to double-check place names for a map for a related project - and not only found a typo that made it past Grammarly, but a section where I'd spelled a character's name three different ways in four paragraphs. More spot-checking revealed other issues - awkward phrases, names spelled differently, and unneeded asides. Okay...so now I am going through the whole series again, manually this time, excising these artifacts. Thus far, I have cut over 10,000 words and added about a tenth of that number.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I managed to rabbit hole for 45k words, so now I'm doing a full rewrite. I despise rewriting with the fire of a thousand suns. And yet here we are.

Everyone has to do rewrites. Everyone has to do revisions. It's just one of the facts of the discipline. The sun will shine on your monitor at the worst moment. That note you're looking for got eaten by the dog. And we all have to rewrite sometimes. What helps me? Caffeine and chocolate. Copious amounts of caffeine and chocolate. One of these days I'm making my writing partners let me dedicate a book to Hershey's and Frito Lay.

They say that great books aren't written. They're rewritten. Your work will be stronger for this. Unless your editor suggests changes that are anathema to what you're trying to say, trust their experience and judgement and at least give the changes a try. You wrote a book from start to finish. Not many people can say that. Well done!

Now, get back to work.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I don't know about cliches, but hard work will never hurt the final product, even if it tries to destroy you.

 

[MauEvig]

Y'all are definitely right, I just need to find that push to write. It really is an uphill hike, but I think at the same time it'll be worth it in the end.
I think some aspects of writing will get easier, especially when I'll learn certain techniques that help and I'll be able to fine-tune my craft.
But trying to figure out how to re-approach a chapter when it comes to re-writing and editing might still be hard. Especially if you had certain scenes in mind in certain places, and now some of them might be moved around, eliminated, expanded, and new scenes added. Same goes with characters and settings.
Thanks for the encouragement and thanks for the congratulations. I'm proud of getting a first draft done finally.
Eventually, I'll see my book on the book shelf and I'll have something to be proud of. I hope the hard work will be worth it in the end. I'm telling myself it will be.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I don't know about cliches, but hard work will never hurt the final product, even if it tries to destroy you.

Honestly, I haven't had a book yet that hasn't tried. This really is a dumb profession for anyone without a death wish, you know?

 

[MauEvig]

Honestly, I haven't had a book yet that hasn't tried. This really is a dumb profession for anyone without a death wish, you know?

Well, that explains how writing has become such a painstaking process.
It started out as a fun project.
But my brain also has a tendency to want to branch out to all these different worlds as well, instead of just focusing on this one. I have tons of ideas but centralizing them and turning them into a storybook world is a challenge.
Greater still, is the challenge to rip the whole thing apart and rebuild it.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Y'all are definitely right, I just need to find that push to write. It really is an uphill hike, but I think at the same time it'll be worth it in the end.

I think some aspects of writing will get easier, especially when I'll learn certain techniques that help and I'll be able to fine-tune my craft.
But trying to figure out how to re-approach a chapter when it comes to re-writing and editing might still be hard. Especially if you had certain scenes in mind in certain places, and now some of them might be moved around, eliminated, expanded, and new scenes added. Same goes with characters and settings.
Thanks for the encouragement and thanks for the congratulations. I'm proud of getting a first draft done finally.
Eventually, I'll see my book on the book shelf and I'll have something to be proud of. I hope the hard work will be worth it in the end. I'm telling myself it will be.

Keep telling yourself that. Better, surround yourself with affirmations and other writers with positive things to say not just about writing but about existence. Supportive friends and family are also tremendously helpful, but don't bank on it. Not a lot of us have them.

Writing isn't just a craft or a profession. It's a vocation, a calling. I do it because I can't not. Because I can't imagine doing anything else with my life. And I try to pass positivity down to younger artists and those in the early stages of learning. And I'm not the only one, not by far.

Well, that explains how writing has become such a painstaking process.
It started out as a fun project.
But my brain also has a tendency to want to branch out to all these different worlds as well, instead of just focusing on this one. I have tons of ideas but centralizing them and turning them into a storybook world is a challenge.
Greater still, is the challenge to rip the whole thing apart and rebuild it.

You've got this. One word at a time is literally how it's done. And when next you dive in, you're going to discover more details. more secrets, and more truths about your story and your characters. It's amazing how it works.

This pic is of the little sign my wife and writing partner got me when life turned me into a plot pinata and it's what got me to the end of our third book. You can do it, too. (Yes, it's dusty. I'm a writer, And the black and white thing is a fat Border Collie.)

 

[Demesnedenoir]

At one point, editing was painful, but somewhere along the line during screenwriting, it just flowed together. I edit and write and write and edit and blah blah blah. But I don't really rewrite and haven't been asked to. I will cut and add... more add. At this point, when something is wrong with what I'm doing, I just can't write it, and I know I need to think more. So, all my rewrites are in my head, so to speak. I've become an editing freak, not what I would have expected while in my twenties and early thirties. High School me would be aghast, heh heh.

Keep at it, and you might become an editing freak, too!

 

[Prince of Spires]

I might be one of the few writers here who enjoys editing (most of the time at least).

To start with it's useful to know I have a weird brain. It's very, very good at forgetting the specifics of what I have written, even a week or two ago. I know the general stuff. Like the main plot etc, but no the detailed twists and turns. Which means that going back over my work let's me rediscover it again, a bit like re-reading a book you've read a few years ago. You know what's going to happen, but not exactly. It's also what lets me dive straight into editing after I've written "The End".

With that said, I find it helps to focus on a specific thing when doing an editing pass. Don't try to fix everything at once. Rather, first just add those missing scenes until the story is complete, then focus on spicing up the scenes that are a bit flat, then worry about having your characters have unique voices. That sort of thing.

When you're at it, try to enjoy the process, and try to see how you're improving the novel. Whenever I finish a first draft, I'm convinced the whole thing is terrible. Then when I go back, I find it's not all that bad. And as I'm editing, I'm pollishing and improving the whole time, to where I read it and I'm amazed I actually managed to create something like that.

It helps to track your progress. Know how far you've come and how much you get done in a session. Otherwise the whole process can feel endless and slow.

 

[skip.knox]

>But my brain also has a tendency to want to branch out to all these different worlds as well, instead of just focusing on this one.

Plenty of people have said something along these lines. I've become persuaded that this is because we are most of us lazy and ill-disciplined. My brain--yeah sure, I include myself--wants to branch out in other directions because those other directions aren't *writing*. They're thinking about writing.

That's fun. That's a world full of possibilities and clever thoughts and bright vistas. Set out on one of those roads and all is level ground and clear skies. The more I write, the rougher the road becomes. It becomes broken and overgrown and now writing is more like work and over there is another shiny road and contemplating that feels better than trying to push forward the current mess.

The trick is not to be led away (the literal meaning of "seduce"). For myself, I've been able to convince myself that if I finish the current mess, I'll proceed to that shiny, easy path over there with its warm sun and soft flowers. But should I abandon this path, only thorns await. And the trick there is to finish the first novel. Then finish the second. By the third or fourth, I started to believe my own metaphor. I'm to the point where I cannot abandon a story in progress. Even the one I did abandon is actually only pushed to the back of the line.

 

[pmmg]

So I'm at the stage of my novel, Sky Kingdom where I'm currently editing and working with an editor. The editor is having me go back and re-write several chapters.
But I find it's challenging to re-write certain chapters. I am learning show don't tell, the editor gave me some good tips in order to get over that challenge that I've had in the past. Sometimes I run into writer's block. Sometimes I get bored, and don't know how to go forward. There have been some scenes where I imagined them being merely a mention, but they want me to actually include the scenes instead of just making them mentioned. So I did that, but I found it challenging to come up with ideas for the scene.
But I'm persevering and trying to get through.
What are some ways to get through the editing process? This seems to be the most painful part of writing, because you have to endure criticism and are pretty much ripping up and re-organizing, cutting, adding and other things to your story to get it polished.
Then of course, I'll need to have beta readers go over it before it's finally ready for publishing.

Editor, as in, a pay for editor? or editor, as in a friend is doing the editing?

My experience with an editor did not seem like the type of effort I was hoping for given the cost. I did incorporate all/most of her comments, and in the end rewrote about 50% of the book. (So what now? Another editor?)

I dont know how to take away that its a pain, but its all aimed at the goal of getting your story to put its best foot forward. Keep focused on the goal, and all the rest takes care of itself. I am happier after the rewriting I did, like everything else, it looked like a lot of work before I started. After, all I remember, is that I like it better.

Hope you end up feeling the same.

 

[MauEvig]

Well, that's the thing. My fear is that it becomes the "editor's book" and no longer mine, as the story I created is no longer the original idea/thought process I had.
Of course Sky Kingdom I've been working on since...2012 or so? Perhaps earlier? So...it's been a long time coming and a lot of my ideas/attitudes and characters have evolved since then.
For all I know my stuff would have changed anyway because I'd get new ideas or change my mind on stuff.

 

[ThinkerX]

Well, that's the thing. My fear is that it becomes the "editor's book" and no longer mine, as the story I created is no longer the original idea/thought process I had.
Of course Sky Kingdom I've been working on since...2012 or so? Perhaps earlier? So...it's been a long time coming and a lot of my ideas/attitudes and characters have evolved since then.
For all I know my stuff would have changed anyway because I'd get new ideas or change my mind on stuff.

This gets to my concerns with Grammarly.

Correctly the typos and apostrophe issues and whatnot is fine. But past that, it starts trying to alter the Authors 'Voice,' so...no...

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Yeah, plus the "suggestions" tend to be crap. "No! I'm not replacing rapier with dagger! F-OFF you stupid machine!" I'd much prefer them working to make the thing find actual errors better and kill the AI Advice. If you think your stupid machine is good enough to rewrite my work, maybe you should make it so it finds all my stupid errors first, heh heh.

This gets to my concerns with Grammarly.

Correctly the typos and apostrophe issues and whatnot is fine. But past that, it starts trying to alter the Authors 'Voice,' so...no...

 

[Mad Swede]

Yeah, plus the "suggestions" tend to be crap. "No! I'm not replacing rapier with dagger! F-OFF you stupid machine!" I'd much prefer them working to make the thing find actual errors better and kill the AI Advice. If you think your stupid machine is good enough to rewrite my work, maybe you should make it so it finds all my stupid errors first, heh heh.

Which is why I like (and usually advise) working with the same editor over time. It means you develop a relationship in which your understanding of each other builds over time. For me that means my editor can be much more exact and constructive in her advice and suggestions, because she knows my style and my writing process.

 

[Mad Swede]

Well, that's the thing. My fear is that it becomes the "editor's book" and no longer mine, as the story I created is no longer the original idea/thought process I had.
Of course Sky Kingdom I've been working on since...2012 or so? Perhaps earlier? So...it's been a long time coming and a lot of my ideas/attitudes and characters have evolved since then.
For all I know my stuff would have changed anyway because I'd get new ideas or change my mind on stuff.

I've worked with the same editor for all my books. A good editor won't change your style, your voice or your story. What they will do is help you improve it, and that can mean moving text around, cutting bits out or adding other bits. It can be hard work, but as you gain experience the editing process changes because your wriitng improves and so what needs editing changes.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

At this point, I don't use an editor for ideas and suggestions any more than AI. Except for errors, and those times I write paragraphs/sentences that make sense to me but no one else, heh heh. Listening to the MS tends to catch the latter anyhow.

But as for it becoming the editor's book... If they're making that many suggestions, they are either A) not a good editor. or B) you need to hone your craft to the point a good editor won't want to give you that many suggestions. When I do writer coaching, I have to consciously back off to avoid getting too deep into the other writer's process and story. That's tricky for an editor; it's mighty easy to get sucked into the creative end of the pool.

 

[skip.knox]

This concern has existed ever since there were editors. My only advice here is to try not to worry about something that has not happened. Rather than fret over what an editor *might* do to my manuscript, it makes more sense to me to hire an editor (assuming I've the money for it) and see what I get back.

It's not like the editor can reach through the Internet and change my words against my will. It's still my book. I can make the recommended changes or not. The only time this doesn't happen is when a publisher has assigned an editor to my book and isn't going to publish it unless I make the changes demanded by the editor. But that's a rare subset of rare cases. First get a publisher to buy your book!

Seriously, though, just write your book. That's first. Hire an editor if you can afford one. Start shopping now because choosing an editor is a long, hand-wringing process in itself. Then your editor might well have a timeline much longer than what you would have guessed. If you wait to start shopping editors until you're done writing, you stretch out the time until Published even longer.

So, editor chosen, editor hired, manuscript completed and sent. Editor returns said manuscript. Your story is still pristine. You make only the changes you *want* to make. And the finished product is still entirely yours.

Where's your worry?