Picking at the Editing Scab

After months of avoiding/brewing and having the first read by two fantasy fans (my brother and sister), I know how to fix my beginning so everything is tight. I know that nothing is perfect, whether it's writing, cooking, sewing or police procedure as you can account for everything, but this version feels better.

The problem? I can't bring myself to change the existing draft. Personally I think it's because I've edited and edited and edited and edited and edited...you get the idea. I've donned the editor's smock and mask and gone into the beginning with so many pairs of rubber gloves and scalpels I have a membership at the Editor's Surplus Store. I'm just tired of picking and slicing away at it. The last version has just scabbed over and now I have to scrape that off (and we all know how painful it is to peel off a scab) and fix it again.

Any tips or advice to get through it is much appreciated. Oh, and any advice relating to the term "Just bear down and do it", does not count. That has been my philosophy and right now it's gone out on vacation, it's return date read "Whenever you're done with the beginning." If I sound dramatic or obnoxious it's because I've been trying to force it back and get it done for the last week with no luck. And college just started back up, a half whoop and half "WAAAA!"

 

Sorry Phil.

meep Now I have scary images in my head.

Lots of questions, good questions, just lots. I've edited the beginning because all the others were chaotic. The very word several readers used. Too much at once. I got smoothed out the chaos, they enjoyed it more. But they felt it didn't carry as much momentum and the end of the first act was a bit strange, a questions that shouldn't have existed. One of them even said "a baby Deus Ex Machina". So this final edit fixes both problems. I'm in the last (hopefully) stage of revising/editing of my story so there's some more to come but those changes will be easy. They're mostly deleting and replacing scenes. Not face lifting entire chapters.

Thank you all for the replies and support. And I have let the story stew in the back of a dark drawer for three months. It has quite a tang and I am ready to dive in. It just hurts, I had an entire summer of next to zero writing. I'm a little rusty. And reluctant as this is a big change which could prepare it for publication, which is a HUGE step!

Thanks again everyone!

 

So really you could look at this editing as....I actually don't have an analogy for this. I have the first chapters, I have the places that need editing marked and highlighted and noted as to what goes where. The problem is making my brain reach to my fingers so I can make the changes. Like there's a kink in the Writing hose somewhere.

I have the who, what, where, when, why and how of the editing. I just have this sign hanging down from my brain that says "Can't!"