Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Editing

Also known as that thing that makes me look like this =  X_X


Now, in the past I'd heard people talk (okay seen since it was online) about editing. Some super love it while many others find it tedious and soon discover themselves missing the magical feeling of first draft writing. I haven't figured out quite yet where I stand on that spectrum. It is definitely not a simple, quick process (not in the beginning at least).

While many people focus on the big changes, character, plot, etc. I am doing a big focus on the technical issues of the novel because there are no major plot or character issues that I would change at this point. A friend of mine on Writing.Com showed me a web site that has started this attempt at editing.

The Web site is editminion.com

It points out some of the technical issues like passive voice, adverbs and such. While it doesn't catch them all and sometimes it highlights something that isn't actually a saidism, but it's a program and so understandable. But what it provides is a starting point, at least for me. I take their highlights, then add more of what I notice in the chapter. The end result is colorful but very time consuming. I also leave notes on other things that need fixing, like character names and such that a program wouldn't know.

This process is taking much longer than I first expected. To highlight one chapter takes me from 1 to 2.5 hours, depending on the chapter. I've made it up to chapter 10 and the novel has 35 chapters. X.X

Once I get done with the coloring, then the real work will start, changing it all. Okay, not it all because some of it is just notes and will be able to stay. But definitely the writing will get better as I work through making most of the changes needed. Then I might have a draft reader for a beta reader.



Anyone else editing?
What is your editing process?

6 comments:

Denise Covey said...

Hahhahah. Editing? Well,I have 3 NaNo novels in process! One of these days...

Thanks for tips, link...

Denise

Spanj said...

Bah! I hate editing, I would much rather chase the excitement of something new.

But I am being very strict on myself. Nothing new until I finish draft 2 of my NaNo novel. And it's going pretty well. Slowly, but well.

Good luck with your editing!

Loralie Hall said...

Love this post ^_^

I don't loathe editing the way I used to, but it's definitely still not my favorite thing. The biggest thing I've discovered is I have to take it in chunks. I have to force myself to stop after so many chapters. Usually when I start skimming things and saying "Oh, I might fix that next round if it still stands out as bad"

Dawn Embers said...

Denise - Ah the joys of NaNo novels. I have a few that need edited and a couple that need finished still. So many to do, but I'm trying the editing one at a time. Figuring the process out. Good luck with your novels.

Angeline - New and shiny is fun to chase. I miss the writing a little as I haven't written anything in weeks. Good to be strict though cause one can only get so far with the shiny new stories unless they edit/rewrite. That is what I'm telling myself, at least.

Loralie - *waves* Thanks! I don't think I loathe editing yet but it's a challenge. Course I had to pick a long way to do it, lol. I take breaks, found doing three chapters in one day to be daunting.

Wendy Lu said...

Your first sentence made me laugh haha. :P I am somewhat of a grammar and spelling freak so whenever I read any long paper or manuscript, the things that stick out to me most have to deal with commas and i-before-e's. :/ I'm currently working to focus more on content since that is by far the most important aspect of a book!

Good luck with the editing process!

-Wendy Lu

The Red Angel Blog

Dawn Embers said...

Red Angel - Thank you for the comment. I'm doing a more grammar type focus than overall content, with a few content notes on the side. We will see how it worked when I'm done. :-)