Ask An Author: "Do you ever feel like you're too close to your material to edit it properly?"

Each week, a new author will serve as your Camp Counselor, answering your writing questions. Andrea Hannah, our first counselor, lives in the Midwest, where there are plenty of dark nights and creepy cornfields to use as fodder for her next thriller. Her debut YA novel, Of Scars and Stardust, will be published in the fall.

Do you ever feel like you’re too close to your material to edit it properly? Maybe like you’ve been reading it and thinking about it too long to realize if something’s off? If so, how do you deal with that? — peetapearl

Late in 2012, I drafted the first novel in a sci-fi thriller trilogy. Then I spent every single moment of 2013 working on that book, rewriting that book, and putting that draft through the wringer after a copious amount of feedback from my critique partners and beta readers. After each draft, I was certain it was ready. I’d send it to my agent, and it was not ready. Every. Single. Time.

Here’s what I know now: Time and space are your two best friends as a writer. After I put two months time between that book and me, and started drafting and thinking about something else entirely, I went back and re-read it. And that’s when I could look at it with fresh eyes, and be honest with myself about what needed to be changed. It was only then that I could begin to fix what had been broken all along, and get some perspective from new beta readers. 

If you’re struggling with revising your draft, my very best suggestion is to walk away from it. No, run. Get as far away as you can from it. Start a love affair with a new piece during Camp NaNoWriMo, or take a break from writing all together and live; go to movies, visit friends, go bungee jumping, whatever. I promise, it’ll be waiting for you when you come back, and this time you’ll be ready. 

Next week’s Camp Counselor will be Marivi Soliven, author of literary fiction novel  The Mango Bride .

Ask her your questions here!