Wading through the editing bog

Right now, I am mired in the editing bog, which is slowly giving way to a polished novel ready for publishing. Many people love the editing process, but I prefer the freedom of creating a story. However, it is a necessary step if you want to produce a decent manuscript.

Naively, when I first started writing, editing didn’t fit the image I wanted. I’m an intelligent person with a decent grasp of the English language, so I assumed my story would come out perfectly onto the page the first time. How wrong I was! Thankfully, my friend and mentor, Becky, gently encouraged me to embrace changes in my manuscript to make it even better. Now, I have no qualms about breaking out my trusty red pen.

I have several passes as I edit, some of which take more time and effort than others, but each adds something to the overall flavour of the book.

The first is a read-through on my kindle. I usually do this after leaving the book alone for a few weeks so that I am not as familiar with it. Often, I am so immersed in the words, that I no longer see mistakes, but read what I think it says, rather than what the text actually says. It also helps to study it in a different format. My preference would be to print the whole thing out, but that can get quite expensive, especially if you do it a few times.

As I read, I make notes, highlight errors and get a feel for the pace of the novel. Then I go back to my laptop and make the corrections.

My second pass is more creative, and often comes out of the initial read-through. My early drafts usually concentrate on plot and dialogue. Now, I need to fill the world with description, senses and inner thoughts, putting flesh on the bare bones of my novel. I tend to see details very clearly in my mind, but often forget to transpose them onto the written page. This part of editing is immensely gratifying, as I see my word count steadily rising closer to my 90,000 word goal.

The third pass is a timeline check. When you are changing or adding scenes, it is easy for time to become confused. In Master and Apprentice, I realised that Reez’s age was yoyoing about in the middle of the book. In The Last Mage, I had Reez celebrating harvest, only to have him do it again some months later. (I also realised I had used the wrong character’s name in one of the chapters!)

The fourth pass is a word check. Every writer has certain words that they use far too much, most of them unnecessary. I have a “that” and “just” edit. So, instead of saying “I know that people are afraid of clowns”, I can remove “that” from the sentence, and it still makes sense. Interestingly, “that” is mainly found in the original text from when I first started writing, but “just” has crept into my vocabulary only recently. “I’m just going to read a book” or “It’s just not right”, just need to go! My word counts usually takes a small hit on this pass. I found over sixty instances in my recent edit.

My fifth round is a big one. Grammar, punctuation, and spelling are the main targets, but since investing in ProWriting Aid, I am also on the lookout for ‘glue’ words. These are the small words that hold a sentence together but used too much they slow down the reading experience – as, like, to, the, at, and not are examples of sticky words. These are dwindling in my writing, as I become a better writer, but my early work is a sticky nightmare! I try and aim for around 45% or less. Unfortunately, this is where my word count can suffer hugely, but it really tightens up the novel, so I take it on the chin.

One brief last look, and I am ready to send it out to my unofficial editor to catch any lurking errors. Once she has given it the nod of approval, I am ready to publish.

Once finished, it is vital that you don’t keep fine-tuning. At some point, the book must be declared complete: you can’t work on it forever. Just like an artist with his canvas, you must put down the tools, wash your hands and turn your back on your creation. No, the book isn’t perfect. Actually, it never will be, even if you play around with it for years. Move on to the next tale.

As I always write my first draft by hand, I have a growing pile of notebooks I can refer to and compare with the finished product. Far from being (almost) perfect, these raw, wild documents rarely resemble the stories in the final draft, and I am very glad of it. Despite being a little boring, editing is vital.

“You don’t have to be the best, but you should always do your best.” ― Frank Sonnenberg,