Bill
asked
David Wong:
When you're editing your own work, how do you give yourself "fresh eyes" so you know what should be cut/altered/left alone?
David Wong
Two steps: 1) I let it sit for a few weeks and 2) I print it out on paper. Seeing it printed instead of on a screen does a weird thing where it tricks my brain into thinking it's seeing a brand new thing. Then I mark that up with a red pen (previous "perfect" scenes wind up covered in red slashes) and do the next round of editing based on that. It's a shock to the system - seeing bad sentences and blatant plot holes leap out at you. I don't know if it works for anyone else, I think other people just show it to writer friends to get their impression (or post it online for feedback, if they're not worried about it getting stolen). I usually don't do that, though, my writer friends are all incredibly busy and I wouldn't do that without paying them for their time. And then that would just make it weirder.
More Answered Questions
Jack Walters
asked
David Wong:
This question contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[
I noticed in the answers to one of your other questions, you said, "...so we're talking fall of 2020, assuming we're all still alive then". Do you think we'll all still be alive then? What do you think is the likelihood of that not being the case? Do you think that it's more likely that you or the person who answered the question will die of a heart attack, or world powers will start exchanging nukes/bio-weapons/etc.?
(hide spoiler)]
Kris
asked
David Wong:
This isn't a question but I died and was revived in 2011 and spent a week in a coma afterwards. Upon reawakening a friend gave me John Dies At The End. I read it while recovering in the hospital, pondering what everything meant. That book really helped me get through a really weird, dark, confusing time in my life. It was as trippy as I wanted and and funny as I needed. I just wanted to say thanks for that book?
David Wong
5,730 followers
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