The End, Part 1

I finished another book. I don’t know how many this makes. I could count, but the number would be depressingly high considering how many I’ve had published (a big, fat goose egg, by the way, although considering some of my efforts, that’s probably a good thing :P).

So it’s the end, but not the end. Draft one is done, but it’s, well, not something I’d share with anyone. Ever. Not that it doesn’t have the potential to be better—far from it! I really love this story, even if I’m not sure how popular a future-fiction-action-adventure book would be with readers. It’s still great though. Or it will be once I get through with editing.

Editing is a big process, bigger than writing the book itself. Right now, MALICE is just under 100K, longer than it should be, full of subplots that went nowhere but are in because I thought they would (outlining! <shakes fist>), and words I just stuck in there because I could figure out exactly what I was trying to say (anyone else have writing moments like that?). Plus I think the book has unacceptable levels of telling instead of showing. And all the things I need to research, world building details I have to add, and, what’s it called? Descriptions.

So. I have my work cut out for me. It took something like two and a half months to write. Editing is going to take considerably longer. I need to do a read aloud, take notes of what needs to be fixed, fix said notes, about a billion other things. Then beta reads. And more notes to fix. Always more notes.

I can honestly say I don’t know when I’ll be able to write “The End” and mean it, or if that will ever be the case. All I can do is keep typing.

What do you do after you finish draft number one? What’s your editing process like? Please share, and don’t skimp on the details! : )

Continuity

I’m glad I was never arrogant enough to criticize a writer for a continuity error (well, at least not before buying it in the bookstore), because I’m starting to think they’re even more sneaky than I suspected. I can’t believe I used to think I was good at keeping continuity errors from invading my book. Yeesh. I’ll be lucky if there aren’t any continuity errors at the end of this blog post.

See, I edit in passes, looking for specific problems like word usage or plot holes or whatever. When I find an issue, I fix it, and like a butterfly flapping its wings across the world, it can bring with it disastrous consequences. For example, I redid one section where the main character’s purpose just didn’t seem logical. I was of course aware that this important plot point resonated throughout the rest of the book and made sure to fix subsequent chapters, but…did I get everything?

I think I did, but it’s easy to get versions of the book mixed up in your head. And it’s not something that can always be caught by a beta reader, either. As useful as they are, the story’s continuity is on my shoulders. That’s why I’m starting to make notes of every change I make, and any issue that might get mixed up in my head, in a list titled “REMEMBER”. Remember how she lost her bracelet, remember that he is left handed, etc. etc. etc.

Continuity errors: AKA I edited the book out of order, so sue me.

Writer question time! How do you keep details, major and minor, straight in your head? And how do you find continuity problems while editing?

January Goals

See? I said I was going to do it and here it is.

I think it’ll help me get more done if I have someone to be accountable to—namely, all of you. The potential embarrassment of not having completed my self-imposed goals will surely drive me towards completing them. Or towards a complete mental breakdown. Same difference, really.

Anyway, here’s what I want to get done this month:

Goal 1: Work on new Tumblr account.

Goal 2: I have over two hundred notes on COLLAPSE that I want to work on (word usage, phrasing, continuity, and feasibility mostly). I want to finish them all by the end of the month.

Goal 3: Finish editorial pass on GLITCH, with emphasis on word usage.

I’m not entirely sure how long it will take me to complete each of said goals, but this is the order I plan to go in. Goal 1 is actually almost taken care of (yay). You’ll see the results soon enough.

So what do you guys think of the whole posted-goal system? Do any of you do it? If yes, does it work? If no, why not?

The Secret of Writing

It’s a mantra. Say it over and over again: Good books aren’t written, they’re edited. Good books aren’t written, they’re edited. Good books aren’t written, they’re (all together now) edited.

Confession: this post is mostly for myself. I’m in the middle of writing a first draft and all I can think is: “Hm. This isn’t as good as I’d like.” I’m not saying it’s terrible—I like the story or I wouldn’t be writing it down. But my writing feels forced. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. The first step towards resolution is admitting you have a problem. As to what to do about it…

That can’t be forced, either. Answers tend to come when you’re relaxed and imaginative. And since I’m in the middle of the first draft, I can’t focus on the big picture (one of the drawbacks of being a pantser, I presume). Right now, I have to work on these scenes individually, I have to get them down.

So, writers, remember to give yourself permission to skim (or skip) scenes, to focus only on dialogue and characters or to fudge the description because you just have to finish this chapter. It’s even okay to leave bad writing alone—for now. It’s not like it’s going anywhere. If it really bugs you, highlight it to come back to later (yes, I do that). There’s a reason editing takes longer than writing the actual book—there’s a lot more of it to do then there is actual novel. I’m not really sure why that is. It seems to contradict laws of nature. Anyway, the opportunity to correct each wrong inapt improper word will come up. Everything has its moment.

Websites for Writers

I stumbled across these editing tips by Tracey Neithercott a while back and thought they were excellent. Then I reminded myself to write down the name of the blog so I could share it and not be plagiarizing anything.

This is some great advice. Editing can be such a struggle for me. Oh I’m good at recognizing problems with the plot and figuring out which words I just use too much. But there’s so much more to do to make my books readable, let alone publishable.

I really loved the bit about highlighting verbs and circling metaphors. I think there would be quite a large amount of yellow in my book : ). Also smart is the suggestion to read the book through for every—repeat, every—character. Thinking of each one as a main character (albeit one who doesn’t need every moment told) will help develop them and the story. If you can’t create someone who is a character and not a plot device, then out they go.

Any self-editing tips you want to add? What do you do in order to develop each character?