Most people: April = normal month besides April Fool’s Day. May/may not include Easter
Writers: April = CAMP NANO
Me this year: CAMP NANO = editing
I’ll be honest. I have a love/hate relationship with editing. I hate the process, but I love the finished project. Mind you, I have yet to complete fully editing a novel, but the process remains the same.
Editing is hard. It’s like… I’m not sure what to describe it too, though I’ve heard people say it’s as hard as giving birth. (Never experienced that yet, so I can’t say for sure haha) Editing is painful and it requires tons of patience and brain-power, especially when you’re working with someone else.
But, why is it even important?
Everyone except beginning writers knows why, though many beginning writers know this truth as well.
Writing is an art. Just like dance, or music, or painting, etc. YOU DO NOT GET IT RIGHT ON THE FIRST TRY. Even if you are a master, the first draft will never be perfect. Trust me, I may not be a painter or anything, but the first time trying something, it never turns out perfect. The same goes for writing. The first draft is NEVER going to be perfect. Ever.
So, having established that editing is necessary, how do we do it?
Honestly, that depends on the person. Just as everyone writes differently, they edit differently. It really helps to have someone working with you, whether it’s a mentor or a beta-reader, because they can point out things you might not even see yourself.
For me, I generally do things in four stages.
Draft 1: First draft
Draft 2: Editing grammar/plot mistakes, etc.
Draft 3: Serious, heavy editing
Draft 4: Polishing drafts
So far I haven’t needed any more drafts, but we’ll see. 😉
At any rate, editing is a hard process, especially if you do it alone. And I don’t mean you just need beta-readers etc. You need a support group to motivate you to keep going because editing is hard and painful and having someone to encourage you along the way makes everything so much better.
Any questions/thoughts on editing?
Here’s a meme in the meanwhile:
Agree? XD
Song of the week is actually a piece I’ve been working on for several months now as a fan piece for my friend’s WIP Stellina. Sheet music is in the Youtube description. 🙂 May I present Stellina’s Waltz.
Until next time, folks.
~ Gwyn
The Dancing Bardess 