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I am currently working on editing the first draft of my short 'A Lord's Equal'. The approach I am taking is the first pass is to eliminate all of the superfluous words and phrases while saving the "story" edits (plot and characterization) for subsequent passes, when the material is leaner. Am I doing this backwards? Should I edit for content now and do the gleaning later?
Posts: 128 | Registered: Jan 2009
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Do whatever works for you. There's no Right Way to write, nor is there a Right Way to edit.
Posts: 8826 | Registered: A Long Time Ago!
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That's very reassuring. I wonder if I am insane, the way I am doing this. It seems to be the only way I WILL, however.
Posts: 168 | Registered: Apr 2009
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I look at it this way; I need practice in every aspect of writing, and any practice I get is worthwhile. If I "waste" time fine-tuning something that I end up cutting, I still gained some good practice with the fine-tuning.
I think where it becomes a problem is when I spend all my time fine-tuning every little bit as I go, and neglect to get the story onto the page.
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The last few years, I've used the search and find programs to try to prune out a few things---"ly" adverbs, use of "have / has / had" instead of "was," and a few overused words. I don't know if this kind of persnickety detail actually works---there are lots of adverbs that don't end in "ly," for one---but I think the results read a little smoother. And it's helping me write less of 'em in first draft.
But you still have to go over it line by line and word by word.
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Denem, I do the same thing you describe. I find that in re-reading to focus on the nitty gritty little details, it gives more time for the story to just sit in my head and stew, more time for me to work out places where I want to improve, emphasize, de-emphasize, etc. I make those notes in the margin while I'm capitalizing and fixing punctuation (I do my first pass on paper with ink and everything. )
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My personal favorite on editing stories I am serious about is to use Noah Lukeman's "First Five Pages," and do one read-through with edits per chapter.
(Meaning, per chapter of his book. Each chapter gives something unique to focus on. I edit that topic each read through of my work...)
[This message has been edited by Teraen (edited August 25, 2009).]
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As I practice writing, I use three different techniques for improving a story. Which one comes in which order is a matter of assessing a story's lacks and to some extent developed writing skills.
Polishing; word level revision for style, verbosity, diction. Doesn't substantively change a story, mostly for punching up impact and cleaning up a story's stumbling points.
Revision; minor changes to syntax, rearranging sentence and paragraph order and recasting for smoothing out causation and flow, revising logical inconsistencies, insubstantial changes to a story.
Rewriting; substantive changes for improving main story attributes: plot, character, setting, discourse, theme, tone, rhetoric, and resonance.
I've been hung up on polishing and not done much but improve my basic style skills and stir the pot a little making a story into muddle or a burgoo of suet, green pea, and oatmeal stew.
Revisions haven't done much to improve a story either. But they help me to see when a story isn't fully realized.
Rewriting comes down to a blunt assessment that a story isn't fully realized. Diagnosing why and treating the cause of a story's major failings invariably leads me to a complete reexamination and rewriting.
As developmental editor, I look at a story in the above order. First pass for reading and initial impression. A good story doesn't tip me out of reader mode into critique mode. I remain immersed in a good story's circumstances. Second pass, or first pass of a story with many major stumbling points, I make style and story attribute notes. Third pass, big picture examination of theme, plot, unity, character, setting, and discourse deficiencies.
As copyeditor, I have three process tiers, light, medium, and heavy. A light copyedit is mostly style checking. Medium, some logic and plausibility and story attribute checking. Heavy, checking an entire story's circumstances. My copyediting rates range from $0.35 a page for light, light copyediting to $0.35 a word for heavy copyediting. But I'm not soliciting work.
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I try to do my big story edits first, because if there's something major I have to change then I'm going to lose all that word-smithing I did to get the phrases just right.
Posts: 715 | Registered: Nov 2007
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posted
Thanks for the feedback, guys. This is great. Kathleen, I kind of expected a response similar to yours, which isn't to say it's bad advice (it's just oh so hard).
Mrs. Brown, your perspective is refreshing and one I hadn't considered. I'm in the same boat, though. I need all the practice I can get.
Robert, I'm still learning to trust search and destroy, ah...I mean replace programs (particularly in my day job as a tech writer).
KayTi, what can I say? Great minds think alike?
Teraen, I'll have to research Lukeman's 'First Five Pages' technique as I am not familiar with him.
extrinsic, my 'blunt assessment that my story wasn't fully developed' is the prime reason I've stepped away from the actual writing part of my novel and spent more time working on a world-building matrix, trying to glean ideas from the subsequent research.
Thanks again for all the feedback, my insecurity is a bit smaller tonight.
Lukeman's book, THE FIRST FIVE PAGES, spends a chapter on each of several things you can consider when you are editing and rewriting. His approach is to start with the easy things that will get a story rejected and move to more subtle and skill-requiring things as the chapters progress. I think it's a great book.
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Kathleen is THE FIRST FIVE PAGES a fairly new release? I looked for it at my favorite used book store, and they didn't have it. Maybe I should look at Borders instead and pay the news stand price?
Posts: 1320 | Registered: May 2008
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