An ending. A middle. A beginning. In reverse order, and requiring some serious head-hopping as I changed my various hats and tacks.
The writing process does not begin and end with the writing. If you're hoping that you can write your beautiful words and then let an editor 'sort the rest', it's probably time to pick up the nearest grammar book.
Writers write. They edit, pruning their sentences, killing their darlings, trying to remember whether that character had green eyes on page 53 or blue. They proofread their own work.... very, very carefully, knowing how distracting it is as a reader to find a typo in a published book.
There are, of course, specialists in all these areas to help along the way, but the book goes out with your name on it. If you're like me, you want to be proud of every word, sentence and, gasp, semi-colon.
When I write, I don't edit. I just bash it out, throwing xxxxx in where I can't think of the words. When I edit, I try to keep track of every stream and string within the story, knowing that if I pull a frayed thread out in chapter three, I'm going to need to see it through in chapter 14 - and every mention along the way.
When I proofread, I look at every word. Every. Single. Word. When I learnt to do this, back in my days as a cadet journalist, I was given a printed version and told to read it from the bottom up, backwards. That way you see the actual words, not the words that you think are there. And I always, always check the large type extra carefully after my Molloy incident.
Three manuscripts. Three approaches.
As Mondays go, it was a pretty good one.
Are you in the process of writing, editing or proofing? How's it going for you?
[Image: Hilda Grahnat]
I had one of those days last week. Did my head in actually - need to put my big girl panties on!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, should have mentioned that in there. Essential wear for writers.
DeleteI remember learning the 'read it backwards' technique in a Year 12 Writing and Literature class. Simply, it works!
ReplyDeleteAt the moment I'm editing an old piece and brainstorming a new idea. Torn between the two, wanting to be done with the old and rip into the new.
I even asked myself last night at 12:14am (or should I say this morning?) Why do I do this? To which I quickly replied, because I love it.
LOL. I ask myself that all the time. I will give you the same advice that I am often given when distracted by a new, shiny idea - finish the old one. The new one will still be there, but you may never get back to finish the old one.
DeleteNow that's multitasking. A few months ago I wrote a short story that has morphed into the basis for my first attempt at a full novel. Ever since I posted the short story on my blog I have been researching for the novel and am about to start writing again. Wish me luck, I am sure I am going to need all I can get. :D
ReplyDeleteGood luck Nita!
DeleteReally, it is so nice of you to proofread for another author! Is this a service you're now offering for all Allisons (she asks, hopefully...)?
ReplyDeleteEr, no. Sorry. Only special Allisons. Not that you're not special but...
DeleteI am in the process of writing and it's hard. I need to learn to not edit as I go.
ReplyDeleteLook forward, only forward. You can go back at the end and be pleasantly surprised by how good it all is!
DeleteYikes, you're a busy woman Allison :)
ReplyDeleteI am writing a children's fiction, and I need to stop re-reading so much, and trying to edit as I go. I need to just nut it out & then come back later to 'fix'.
Thanks for your every-helpful advice.
x
Definitely stop going back. You can 'fix' it later when you have the complete picture. Get to The End. It's SO satisfying!
DeleteI am writing in my corporate job, annual reporty stuff that dulls the soul, and trying to break writer's block in the novel I'm been beavering away at. Would appreciate any tips!
ReplyDeleteHmmm. Gardening always helps me, or walking - any kind of active meditation where I can shove the problem to the back of my mind and come back inside with a solution. Another thing that might help is to write a different scene in the book. I often get stuck on a scene and will sit with it for ages trying to break the deadlock. It took me a long time to work out that you don't need to write a novel in a linear fashion. Choose a different scene and write that - you might find it unlocks the block in your current bit. Good luck!
DeleteI would have all three of those books completely mixed up in my mind and not make sense of the resulting extra long story at all.
ReplyDeleteI have just struggled to kill enough darlings to reduce a feature from 2000 words to 1500. In the end the mental gymnastics of deciding what to cull, what to keep, what to paraphrase felt IMPOSSIBLE. Sorry for the capitals but truly that is how it felt. In the end I submitted 1800 and now I nervously await the editor's response. Sigh. I can't imagine not writing but somedays I do find it hard and on the days I find it hard that leads to self doubt I guess that is part all part of the process.
ReplyDeleteI've spent the last 3 weeks editing a manuscript I've written about the story behind Picnic at Hanging Rock. It's so complex (the story, and the manuscript), that I go to bed every night with my mind reeling. Some books make you want to give up writing altogether! I do fear this might be my last.
ReplyDeleteI love your gardening tactic. I do that too. Going for a run or walk also helps see things differently.
II can't bear proofing my own stuff, I'm so rubbish at it Reading backwards is definitely helpful, so is a meticulous friend. Am looking forward to writing a blog post tomorrow, and still dealing with the domstic chaos caused by a recent wee writing project!
ReplyDeleteHold on, I had corrected that II!! Is that ironic or what??
ReplyDelete