Editing – Say hello to my new friend

I am about a third of the way through draft one of my second novel. As with any first draft there are moments of celebrations and moments of utter failure. As mentioned in an earlier post, it’s a non-Stop roller coaster ride.

On the plus side I’m on par with my first novel. Consistency is good. Right? Right!?

 

I didn’t see it coming

I’m taking chances, trying new things and realizing that half of what I do probably won’t work. But on the bright side, I’m okay with all that.

But there is one thing that stands out that didn’t when I wrote my first novel: I’m actually looking forward to editing.

For a lot of writers, editing is not at the top of their happy list. Either by themselves or with an editor they must make the dreaded decision of what stays and what goes. 

That decision alone can cause a boatload of anxiety. Trust me. The first time I did my own edits the self-doubt that I consumed almost killed me. I was positive I was ruining the story by removing the wonderful backstories that I created.

 

My how things have changed

But this time around things are different and it’s nice. I’m seeing editing in a completely different way. Instead of closing a door or blowing it up I see it as a way of creating new scenes, of expanding the character or adding another layer to the story.

No longer is it doom or gloom. Editing has become a positive expansion of creating the adventure. In fact I’ve caught myself a few times wanting to stop and fix things or add new ideas. But I won’t allow it until draft one is complete.

When I first started writing I was afraid what editing would be like. I feared it would be depressing or worse – A chore. First there’s vacuuming, now there’s editing. Imagine the hell if that were true.

For those of you starting out try to think of editing as an expansion of your work. It doesn’t have to be a pain at all. Think of editing as a partnership and a wonderful one at that.   

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