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does anyone else feel like this?
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Idav
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Jul 30, 2015 08:24AM
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Not sure. I can't read the test. It's too small. :( What does it say?
G.G. wrote: "Not sure. I can't read the test. It's too small. :( What does it say?"
sorry, I made it small because I didn't know what image sizes were acceptable for this board. It says "70% of editing is staring at your work for hours while making this face."
That's basically the face I make when I'm looking for mistakes in my work.
Nope. 70% of editing for me is wondering if all the changes I'm making actually make the book better, or whether I'm only changing things because I'm sick and tired of reading what I originally wrote again and again and again and again, and I just want to read something different for a change.
I don't stare at a darn thing. I finish it, wait for BETA feedback. Adjust it. Send it to the editor, wait for editor corrections, adjust it, send it to a final editor with fresh eyes, reread it. publish it.
That's more like 70% of writing for me. I'll have the whole story written in my head, but then I'll get hung up on a technicality that I can't put aside.
Micah wrote: "Nope. 70% of editing for me is wondering if all the changes I'm making actually make the book better, or whether I'm only changing things because I'm sick and tired of reading what I originally wro..."Hahaha. well, I'm pretty sure we've all done our fair share of that, too.
And then there's the thing where you read a word so many times that it stops looking like a word and you start wondering if you use it too much.
Idav wrote: "Micah wrote: "Nope. 70% of editing for me is wondering if all the changes I'm making actually make the book better, or whether I'm only changing things because I'm sick and tired of reading what I ..."That's the problem, you know what it is supposed to say so that is what you see.
Christina wrote: "That's more like 70% of writing for me. I'll have the whole story written in my head, but then I'll get hung up on a technicality that I can't put aside."Well, that's still smarter than what I do, where 70% of my writing is "eh, I'll have time to do it tomorrow."
Christina wrote: "That's more like 70% of writing for me. I'll have the whole story written in my head, but then I'll get hung up on a technicality that I can't put aside."LOL yeah that's me too! I write a paragraph and stare at it for 15 minutes wondering how I'll get to next part and than I give up and need a break. :P
Mod
I tend to be more busy looking for the work amid the mistakes.
I try to leave the writing on a good note. When I return I have that "feels good" feeling and the stimulation quickly surfaces again.The blank stare comes when you push yourself to the limit, your neurons are in rebellion, the rest have gone to sleep.
However, I have that blank stare when it comes to marketing.
V.M. wrote: "GG and Christina - YUP. Me too. Omg I have this great idea for the next scene but the current one requires talking. And a scene change. And a reason for their exit. And transportation logistics. An..."Haha yeah, that's why I hate outlining the plot. I didn't do that with my other books and I didn't have any problems writing either. Of course, I had a whole lot of editing to do afterwards. That's when my problems began. I realized editing was fun. Now, instead of putting my thoughts into words, I spend my time editing what I did and researching on the internet.
Dwayne wrote: "Idav wrote: "That's basically the face I make when I'm looking for mistakes in my work. "I tend to be more busy looking for the work amid the mistakes."
Good one. I hope you love editing as much as I do then. :P
Not for me. I LOVE editing. It's my favorite part of the authoring process. I think editing is where the magic happens. :)April
Mod
I hate it. It's the worst part of writing for me, especially the third pass or so.
Dwayne wrote: "G.G. wrote: "Good one. I hope you love editing as much as I do then. :P "I hate it. It's the worst part of writing for me, especially the third pass or so."
Same here. I end up saying to myself: "I have to read my book again?!"
Which seems kind of weird, now that I think of it, but I suppose when you re-read something enough, no matter how good it is, it gets tedious.
Mod
That and I'm anxious to get it out there so it can sit around and be passed by. Also, I have a thousand other stories I want to get to. But, I know I mustn't put a product out that isn't ready, just on the off chance someone decides to buy it.
Idav wrote: "Dwayne wrote: "G.G. wrote: "Good one. I hope you love editing as much as I do then. :P "I hate it. It's the worst part of writing for me, especially the third pass or so."
Same here. I end up saying to myself: "I have to read my book again?!"..."
This is why I've started to really appreciate writing shorter fiction. Takes me months to complete editing of a short story. Expand that to a novel and...well, I'm still editing a manuscript I completed the first draft of in January of 2014!
70% of editing for me is in the subsequent viewing. It is my opinion that you see things in layers. You find x amount of mistakes, publish, read again, see more, and so forth. Most of the time I don't see a mistake or mistakes until other mistakes are cleared out. It is like peeling and onion.
Morris wrote: "70% of editing for me is in the subsequent viewing. It is my opinion that you see things in layers. You find x amount of mistakes, publish, read again, see more, and so forth. Most of the time I do..."
That's pretty much been my experience. Except that I don't publish while I'm still finding a lot of mistakes.
That's pretty much been my experience. Except that I don't publish while I'm still finding a lot of mistakes.
Micah wrote: "Idav wrote: "Dwayne wrote: "G.G. wrote: "Good one. I hope you love editing as much as I do then. :P "I hate it. It's the worst part of writing for me, especially the third pass or so."
Same here..."
From january... 2014? Ouch. I salute you for your perseverance.
Morris wrote: "70% of editing for me is in the subsequent viewing. It is my opinion that you see things in layers. You find x amount of mistakes, publish, read again..."
If only we could deep fry the editing process and get onion rings from it.
Idav "If only we could deep fry the editing process and get onion rings from it."
Then everyone would do it diligently because onion rings are delicious.
Then everyone would do it diligently because onion rings are delicious.
Morris wrote: "Idav "If only we could deep fry the editing process and get onion rings from it."Then everyone would do it diligently because onion rings are delicious."
Exactly. Plus, I wouldn't complain about having to edit as much because of free onion rings.
Editing is like polishing a rare stone. First you start with heavy abrasives, and as the big rough stuff is worn down, you keep moving the a finer and finer grit of abrasive.
While writing, I keep and internet connection up and fact check everything I can: dates, times, science, military protocols etc... It is real good to keep a SME (Subject Matter Expert) on hand for questions about topics you are not an expert on. I had five different ex-military advisors to bounce ideas off of. I once read and article saying someone pulled out a "30.06 double barreled shotgun." I made up my mind right then and there, I was never going to be that author. I fact check the heck out of what I'm doing. I makes timeline outline documents in Excel to keep track of multiple events happening. The old phrase, you can't tell the players without a scorecard is true in writing fiction. For fiction is just a series of lies woven into a tale. The longer you go on, the more sure you are to contradict yourself.
For an author to be his own editor, he must first be honest with him/herself. Self deception is why many authors think a piece is ready and it isn't. The phases of editing I use are: Write first and trust your word processor for the obvious stuff. Don't let your creative flow get broken by too much desire for perfection. Next read it to yourself. Edit it. Next read it out loud. Edit more. Run it through the Grammarly database. Edit more.
It is better on your own work, to edit everything you can and submit it to another pair of eyes. It is best if that pair of eyes is honest with you and not afraid to hurt your feelings. Once that is done, read it again yourself. Edit more. Read out loud. Edit more. Get a couple of beta readers. Edit more. When your eyes are bleeding from all this effort, then publish. Look at reviews. Edit more. Repeat process until you have flushed out all the plot weaknesses, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and other imperfections.
Take a break and write the next one.
While writing, I keep and internet connection up and fact check everything I can: dates, times, science, military protocols etc... It is real good to keep a SME (Subject Matter Expert) on hand for questions about topics you are not an expert on. I had five different ex-military advisors to bounce ideas off of. I once read and article saying someone pulled out a "30.06 double barreled shotgun." I made up my mind right then and there, I was never going to be that author. I fact check the heck out of what I'm doing. I makes timeline outline documents in Excel to keep track of multiple events happening. The old phrase, you can't tell the players without a scorecard is true in writing fiction. For fiction is just a series of lies woven into a tale. The longer you go on, the more sure you are to contradict yourself.
For an author to be his own editor, he must first be honest with him/herself. Self deception is why many authors think a piece is ready and it isn't. The phases of editing I use are: Write first and trust your word processor for the obvious stuff. Don't let your creative flow get broken by too much desire for perfection. Next read it to yourself. Edit it. Next read it out loud. Edit more. Run it through the Grammarly database. Edit more.
It is better on your own work, to edit everything you can and submit it to another pair of eyes. It is best if that pair of eyes is honest with you and not afraid to hurt your feelings. Once that is done, read it again yourself. Edit more. Read out loud. Edit more. Get a couple of beta readers. Edit more. When your eyes are bleeding from all this effort, then publish. Look at reviews. Edit more. Repeat process until you have flushed out all the plot weaknesses, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and other imperfections.
Take a break and write the next one.
Morris wrote: "Editing is like polishing a rare stone. First you start with heavy abrasives, and as the big rough stuff is worn down, you keep moving the a finer and finer grit of abrasive."Morris, I absolutely love what you said... That's exactly how I feel when editing. I make multiple editing passes, and each pass gets me closer and closer to the polish I want.
And I write with my browser open, too, with dictionary.com, thesaurus.com, and any other reference site I need for research.
April
Awesome April. I keep folders with documents I have gleaned on different subjects all neatly organized on my computer and backed up elsewhere. I also have put together my own style guide, which is basically a folder call "Punctuation Gold," which helps keep me straight on stuff like italics, underline and such things. I can sent that WinRAR file of those documents to anyone on request free. morris.graham@sbcglobal.net
Well that explains my blank stare. Editing, for me, is nothing more than fixing grammar issues and playing find the typo. I can't bang out a rough draft and say "I'll fix it in edits."
Idav wrote: "From january... 2014? Ouch. I salute you for your perseverance...."Well...I needed to put some distance between the rough draft and the editing. Then I wrote a novella, a novelette, and two short stories. I edited them and published them. Then I got into editing the novel. But by that time it was November or December of 2014. I didn't think it would take me this long. But I'm getting close................(to saying the hell with it and just letting it go!)
Come on Micah, it can't be that bad. Maybe it's time to find some beta readers?
It's not that bad; I'm just not quite happy with it yet. I've also been working on a preface for it because I felt there needed to be a bit of explanation about how it came about, along with an apology of sorts. He he.This will be my first one to be published as both eBook and paperback. So I'm also working my way through CreateSpace formatting.
I do have a pool of beta readers, though. I'm pretty sure many of them are going to dislike it. This one's not very SF-ish, at least not overtly. Not very action oriented either. Hopefully I'll finish up editing this weekend and then I think I'm going to look for some fresh readers here.
We pretty much just write. And now that we've hired an editor, it's almost all writing. But I don't break down things into steps, so there's no "outline", "rough", "1st draft" or editing passes. I write, and adjust as I go, until I have something I like. Then we go back and read it for typos. I don't bother thinking about grammar. If sounds "right" to me, I figure it's grammatical. Unless it's a sentence fragment. Which is cool. I'm all good with sentence fragments. Most of the time.
Micah wrote: "Nope. 70% of editing for me is wondering if all the changes I'm making actually make the book better, or whether I'm only changing things because I'm sick and tired of reading what I originally wro..."I do hear that. Since we write things over a period of years, we are always rereading and finding some "great line" that makes think: "Last year, we thought this a awesome. What changed?" Or we'll tweak something and look back at an older version and think, "Why did we think this needed changing?"
I think at some point, we are just stirring the verbiage for stirring sake. Then it's time to quit.
Idav wrote: "Same here. I end up saying to myself: "I have to read my book again?!"Which seems kind of weird, now that I think of it, but I suppose when you re-read something enough, no matter how good it is, it gets tedious. ..."
Yep. We do sort of embrace the "This must be ready cuz we're sick of it method."
Mod
Same here. Everyone works differently and as long as we churn out wonderful stories (and we all do, right?) how we get there is not as important as the finished product. But, I am the same way, Christina. My finished work is pretty much the way I wrote it, minus misspellings, awkward phrasing, etc.
I don't mind editing. At first it got to me, but now I oddly enjoy it. But I also think I'm getting better at it, and have a good process that I now have a handle on. When I first started, I didn't it, which made it that much more difficult.
I generally start by editing the chapter or passage I wrote the previous day. That not only gets me into the flow of the story and puts me in the mood to go further, but it generates new ideas as well.
Ken wrote: "I generally start by editing the chapter or passage I wrote the previous day. That not only gets me into the flow of the story and puts me in the mood to go further, but it generates new ideas as ..."I can't begin writing from a cold start either. I'll often go back to an earlier book and reread parts of it to get into the flow again. When my coauthor and I aren't actually working together, emailing about the story can serve a similar purpose.
I hate when I go over my writing a few times And somehow I miss an error each time lol. Its never all at once always a new mistake I notice each new time..gahhh!
Editing is the lovable villain of my life.
Editing is this for me: making that face going wtf i just write (i was effed up when i hammered out 80 doorstoppers). Then send it to betas then edit more before chucking it in a drawer for awhile (awhile may be a week to a decade) then edit again, send to gang of pro editors, ignore half what they say (too dry), edit one last time, fight computer that corrupt it, recover rewrite and revise, chuck it away for a month or three, send to editing gang one last time, then one final look over and get isbn.
E.J. wrote: "April wrote: "Not for me. I LOVE editing. It's my favorite part of the authoring process. I think editing is where the magic happens. :)April"
Me, too. In fact, I think the first draft is what's..."
Same here. I edit a lot as I go, and I get bogged down in the first draft trying to figure out how this conversation goes or how that character acts.
When I'm facing the first draft, there's nothing to work with. I like fixing things; I'm scared of making things.
