Paper Edit/Screen Edit

Taking a short break from the paper edit of my seventh story, as the underused handwriting muscles in my fingers are aching after their first proper workout in ten years - about as long as I've written so much by hand. (I can't believe I used to write longhand for three hours straight when taking exams...I'd never be able to manage it now.)

I thought I'd explain my editing process properly, in case you were wondering about all this paper edit/screen edit business. When I finished my first draft I put it away for four months while I started a new job. This helped me to get some perspective and to cast a more critical eye over my writing when the edit and second draft came around.

I printed out each story (double spaced, one side of the page only) and held them together with paper fasteners. I read through the entire manuscript once, and then looked over each story again before I edited it.

I found that editing the story on my laptop didn't give me enough high-level perspective, for example how the plot flowed overall, if the characters developed smoothly over the entire story and so on. So I began to do 'paper edits' on the back of each page, where I would write notes on the plot and characters, rewrite sections and parts of dialogue that I didn't like, and generally anything that came into my head when I read through the story. I found that I could move scenes around easier that way and if I thought of something that should be covered earlier it was easy to scrawl a few directions on an earlier page.

Then when I've finished this part of the edit, I do a full rewrite onscreen using the paper version as a guide. It does stretch out the edit and rewrite time, but I'd be lost and frustrated if I didn't do the longhand work first; in fact, it took nearly a month of frantic trial and error to figure it out, and without it I'd be bald from all the pulling of hair.

What's your favourite second draft strategy? Do you do all your editing and rewriting by hand? Or do you go straight to your computer and work it all out from there?

Why I Don't Skip

Decided to break the monotony of editing by designing a new blog banner. Let me know what you think.

Will Knott suggested I should write about the slog, wondering why I don't skip. Here's why:

1. There is nothing I hate more than reaching the last page of a project and realising that it's not finished, because I've skipped parts.

2. Especially as I'll most likely skip the difficult or tricky parts, which are even harder to edit and rewrite if you have to dip back in later.

3. Working from beginning to end, story one to story ten works best for me because it's very difficult to get back into the plot, characters, tone if I’ve been skipping sections. So if it's slow going now, it'll be even slower going later.

4. Taking your time in places is often better in the long run - I've been averaging 700 words a day this week, which is lower than my preferred daily word count, but I've been working through some difficult scenes and dialogue and I'm pretty happy with the result.

The Writing Zone

Our four day weekend has started - The Ours took today off and Monday is a bank holiday - but I still rewrote 600 words this morning.

I'm really trying to write every day if I can. It seems like most published authors write every day, rain or shine - I do like having the weekends off though, and because of that distinction I tend to get more done during the week. Perhaps the solution is to do less at the weekends?

I'm still clinging to the idea that I must achieve a certain mindset before I start writing though. Today I felt a little distracted and not really in 'the zone', so my writing wasn't quite right. I know I'll have to read through what I wrote today again and tighten it up. But I also don't want to get into the habit of putting off writing because I don't 'feel' like it, because I might never get it done.

Does anyone else have this problem? Any ideas on how to get the best out of your writing sessions if you don't really feel like it?

Writer's Lobotomy

I finished my paper edit yesterday and began the rewrite today. Eventually the 1000 word limit was reached but it was a painful process.

Not so much writer's block than writer's lobotomy - I could visualise what I wanted to write but the words would not come to me.

Luckily I work alone otherwise I'd have been sent home with a doctor's note for waving my hands in the air and babbling to myself. "Material. A floral material. Bobbly, raised, hairbrushy feel. What the hell am I on about? Arrghhh..." *Clutches head dramatically*

On days like this one I long for mind-reading software. Or failing that, a large cocktail.

Third Story - Done

I was so determined to finish this story that I wrote over 2000 words this morning. It is finally done.

The feeling of relief is amazing! I knew even when I finished the first draft that the story needed a lot of work, but I had completely run out of ideas on how to improve it. Sometimes a break makes all the difference, and in my case the longer the better.

So onto story four tomorrow. As always I'll be editing on paper first, then I'll rewrite onscreen; a bit like doing two edits. Hopefully I'll be happy with the overall result.

Research

I'm back in business - amazing how much you can get done if you've been bored out of your skull for a week! My hand was a blur, scribbling down ideas, twists, motivations, descriptions...

My fingers are now too sore to continue so I'm off to do some research. I've made up a new vocabulary for this story - it's set in a cult-like community so they'll have their own terminology for certain things - but I want it to have more resonance, so I'm going to look up some biblical and religious references.

Have a lot of paperwork and administration stuff to sort out too - so I'm keeping busy.

Training

One of the reasons I started this blog was to hopefully dispel some of the myths that surround writing. When I started my novel many people I spoke to thought I would have a publishing deal before I started the novel and that I wouldn't need to rewrite or edit my work. I wasn't surprised - I don’t know the ins and outs of most jobs that I haven't done before.

Before I started writing my novel I had some work experience as a copy writer and editor. When I lived in London I wrote and edited an internal magazine for a large pharmaceutical company. Then I ran away to Australia and wrote a series of articles geared to fellow travellers on a career break. On my return to Ireland I found work as a training writer for web-based learning, which was my career until eighteen months ago.

Now I'm not going to pretend that these jobs were hotbeds of creativity and glamour. But they did hone my writing and editing skills and teach me to approach writing like any other job or project - instead of waiting for inspiration, you can kick start any writing assignment by just getting some words on the page, even if it’s just freewriting. Thanks to my days as a lowly foot soldier I rarely have days when I cannot write.

What I do suffer from is days when I am slower than others. Like any job, some days everything falls into place, your productivity is through the roof and you swan around the office like you own the place. But other times you’re swimming against the tide regardless how many hours you've put in, and only frequent ranty tea-breaks with co-workers will get you through the day. (In my case you're my co-workers and this blog is my rant!)

Less productive days can result from the task in hand - if I'm writing a scene with a lot of tension, dialogue and emotion it just takes longer, regardless of the amount of freewriting I do to warm up. But sometimes it's just one of those things.

Regardless of how I'm feeling though, I'll always be able to get started without much ado. I might not crack my top target for the day but I will have managed a minimum word count, even if I have to chain myself to the computer all day. If I really get stuck I'll go over my previous work and check for errors, or do some research.

But I can honestly say that getting stuck is very rare, and I can thank my training for providing that shortcut. When you work to tight deadlines you just cannot wait for inspiration. You just have to find a way to make it happen, regardless of your mood.

Post-Edit Glow

Well I've gone and done it lads. The second story is finally done and dusted. Just in time too, as my head is as empty as a well in drought. I'm feeling light-headed - and very happy.

Tonight The Ours and I are going to The Doctor's apartment for dinner and a few cheeky scoops, and tomorrow we're having lunch with a friend we haven't seen in ages. I'm going to relax and enjoy every atom of this post-edit glow before I have to start all over again...

Have a great weekend.

Hairy Edits

I've hit a rough spot with the edit that I'm trying to work through at the moment - which means I'm moving a lot slower than I'd like.

Having to analyse specifics (such as metaphors, dialogue and general word use) AND big picture concerns (like overall flow, character and reader interest) at the same time can be head-wrecking. But I'm keeping the head down and trying to have faith that it will all come together at the end.

I came across this website yesterday that cheered me up - Hairy Babies, an Irish t-shirt and hoodie company. Now, who's taking the horse to France?

Brainwaves

I finished the paper edit/rewrite of my second story yesterday - changed quite a few things, but haven't cut everything thankfully.

So now to the laptop part. This takes much longer as I often just note directions on paper rather than the specific wording. Also as I work through the hard copy I'll often have a brainwave about a character or a scene that needs to come before, so I'll go back scribble a note like: "Andrew has OCD!!!" or "Eamon needs to mention something to Andrew here to stop him from telling Sophia" which often scraps what I'd already written previously.

But it's all good. I'm happy that I've eroded the plot holes at this stage (at least the ones I've spotted) and have improved the story and the flow. God bless Sol Stein. I made notes when I read Solutions for Writers and I go over them again before each edit. His advice is slowly but surely invading my fuzzy, bubble-wrapped brain.

What I Learned The Hard Way

Half-way through my paper edit and I think I've got the hang of this editing/re-writing lark. Editing the first story was a baptism of fire - this is what I've taken from it:

I immediately banish those self-critical thoughts that sometimes pop up before I sit down to work in the morning and when I go to bed at night.

And if the FEAR takes hold, I focus on something else rather than picking away at it until I'm reduced to a puddle of anxiety.

I sit down at the same time every day and set a target. If I'm feeling positive the target is ambitious - if I'm nervous about the part I'm editing the target is more modest.

I set a timer to 120 minutes and won't take a break until it beeps...

...but I avoid getting hung up about how many hours I'm working. As long as I hit my target I've had a good day, regardless of how I got there.

I aim to work at least one day of the weekend, but make sure to socialise and relax too.

Finished

I've finally finished editing my first story. Took me six days in total. I took Sunday off because we had friends over for a roast dinner and ended up drinking too much wine - so on Monday I was good for nothing.

I discovered a few tricks to get me started every morning and a few to keep me going throughout the afternoon. One of them involves setting a timer for two hours. I won't take a break until it beeps.

My books also arrived from Amazon so I now have a TBR pile that threatens to keel over and suffocate me. (Dramatic, moi?) I've started on Underground by Haruki Murakami and so far it's an interesting read.

So onto the next story! I feel like I've learned an awful lot already. It was painful, but I now think it's proof that I'm taking it very seriously - I'm being very strict about what I leave in, and am not afraid to rewrite the story if I feel that it works better from another angle or in a different sequence. I know I will be thankful for my thoroughness and nitpicking later!

Old Skool

I think I'm done with editing for today as my hand is going to drop off. How did I manage at school? The top of my ring finger is as flat as a board and throbbing with aubergine blood.

My philosophy teacher at school made us write our essays by hand, because he'd relied solely on his typewriter at college and consequently developed a scrawl that a doctor would be proud of. We went along with his request but privately dismissed it as another teacher eccentricity. Paper schmaper, I thought, banging away at my college keyboard, smug in the knowledge that technology would save me.

Dear Mr. Atkinson - I'm sorry about all the moaning because you were right after all.

Turns out I can only tackle all aspects of an edit 'old skool' - using pen and paper - because I take more in. I also give myself more time to mull over details such as characteristics and style than if I was editing onscreen.

I will be returning to my laptop soon as the smaller details are best wrestled with there - hopefully by Saturday, as I've covered half of my story on paper so far - but I managed to come up with some good ideas for colour and pacing today. I'm chuffed.

Sorted

I got all riled up for my first Scribblers' Corner only to discover that it's now held on Mondays, not Wednesdays.

But I did finish rewriting my first story today - 1400 words/9087 words in total - and a neat stack of black and white pages is now sat on my desk. I'm going to read over my Sol Stein notes today and then I'll edit the hell out of it. (I'm giving myself a week.)

Thank you for your comments yesterday to my post on hours versus word count - it was good to hear your ways and means. I'm now aiming to do some work in the afternoon, whether it is writing or editing. Even if I just twiddle my thumbs for an hour...as a wise person once said, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I've also decided to work at the weekends too, even just for a few hours. We have another long weekend coming up and I can't spare any more time.

And if you're anything like me, try this: How To Stop Procrastinating. And if you succeed, treat yourself to this.

A Start

I started my rewrite today, managed exactly 1008 carefully chosen words before I started producing nonsense. Not a bad beginning...

I'm going to aim for 1000 well-crafted words a day for the time being and see how that goes. As I'm only keeping 10% of the original first draft for this story I'm determined to get it right this time, so that the next edit will be words changed here and there rather than a complete slash and burn!

As I only got five hours sleep last night I'm going for a nap. Good night.

Methodical

Started editing my first story today - a little nerve-wracking but surprisingly manageable.

I'm starting with structure edits. I've decided to drop a character from the first story and rearrange the overall sequence of events, so I've plotted a step-by-step guide for myself to follow. I'm also making notes on plot and characters so that I have something to reference when I start my rewrite. The time for free-writing is over, this stage is more methodical.

Better get back to it...

Towel Monkey

Today I've scrawled over half of my novel AND hoovered the flat.

No tantrums so far thank goodness. The stories I read were definitely salvagable with some tweaks, polish and rearranging. Part of the reason I'm having an easier time is because the novel is now by someone that I cannot stand. And they have to clean up the mess that I've left behind.

The parts I've scrawled 'good' beside are all the sweeter now.

When my fingers ached from overuse of the red pen, I pushed the hoover around. My mind cycled through the notes and ideas in day dreams that also include Las Vegas and my new shocking pink suitcase.

After I clean the bathroom I'll attempt this.

Time

After my wailings about my first draft yesterday I got half way through the fourth story and had to put it down. The black cloud that had started to form when the printer wouldn't work and the hole puncher chewed up half the pages had turned positively torrential by then. I just hated EVERYTHING I had written, which a part of me knew wasn't right - it was one of my better stories and the characters were interesting - but the weak part of me kept thinking about how much WORK there was to do and that this was going to be so HARD, and perhaps I should just go to bed and when I wake up forget that I had ever thought I could be a writer.

So instead I did the following things:

• joined a book club at my local library (if you live in Dublin the list of libraries' book clubs is here);
• read a bit of JPod by Douglas Coupland in the bath;
• watched my boyfriend install our first big screen tv and subsequently stared at it awhile; and
• slept in this morning.

Part of my problem is not only wanting to be perfect at everything and never to make mistakes, but also that I want everything RIGHT AWAY PLEASE. I can hardly sit through a two hour film, lose it with inanimate objects that do not respond within nanoseconds and am (hang my head in shame) rude to customer service agents who don't know what I'm talking about immediately. So when I'm faced with something that's too difficult and will take too much time to surpass my first instinct is to just walk away and find something easier.

I'm not going to do that though - I've put too much work into my first draft. I'd never forgive myself.

Instead I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that this is going to take a long time, that I can't put a timetable on it (at the moment anyway) and that I will face days where I'm going to be worrying over just ONE PARAGRAPH because it is bothering me but I can't think of the words to make it better (the thought of this frightens me the most) but that I can do it.

Like someone who learns to play an instrument they can quickly pick up the basics, but must practice for many years before they are proficient. And writing is no different.

So here I am at 11 o'clock and I've still not read any more of my first draft. But I will. I just need to keep reminding myself that it might take longer than I first expected, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just means I am taking my time.

Whinge

Thanks to your recommendations yesterday I now have a decent shopping list for my local book shop Chapters. The sprawling second floor is stocked with second hand books so I'll try there first.

I started reading my first draft early this morning, and apart from being interrupted by the tv delivery company and the postman I've ploughed through three stories. I'd love to say that it is easier than I expected.

The first story was an eye opener. The margin notes include "SHOW don't tell!!!" on every page, liberally peppered with "What were you f***ing thinking?", "Dialogue! Dialogue!", "YUK!!!" and "Where the hell did this come from?"

Luckily the second story needed less work as the dialogue actually sounded like different people were speaking and the descriptions actually worked in parts. But it's still mainly rubble though.

The third story faired better under my red pen and I relaxed a little. But I had to fight against skipping. Not the best sign if you can't wait to finish one of your own stories!

I've ran the heavy lidded melancholy, tight fisted frustration and weary acceptance gauntlet several times and it's only one o'clock. And now my lunch in a local bistro, the escape I've been focusing on all morning, has been cancelled.

I know I'm winging and whining while I should really be looking on the bright side at the moment, and hopefully I will be soon. But feeling let down and disappointed by your work must happen to every writer and I don't want to pull any punches. No use in people just seeing the good side of writing all the time don't you think? But more importantly I just need to MOAN. A LOT. *Sigh*

At least we have a new big screen tv.

P.S. I'm letting things get to me a lot more than usual because I'm still knackered after being very sick last week. I'm going to have a bath and hopefully a sleep afterwards. Fingers crossed that I will feel better!

Your Favourite Books

After spitting out the dummy and throwing the toys from the pram after it yesterday my prep has been going well and the fear has dwindled. My Sol Stein notetaking should be finished today - I'm planning to read over the notes before I tackle each story as a refresher - which means I'll be reading through my first draft tomorrow.

And with this comes Phase Two of my (hopefully) cunning plan - reading. And not just cereal packets and billboards either. Novels that I cannot only learn and find inspiration from, but also enjoy. A tall order these days for some reason.

So I'm hoping you can help by commenting or emailing your favourite:

1. Book of all time; and/or
2. Book published recently, perhaps in the last five years.

I came up with point 2 because I reckon some of you have a classic as a favourite novel like me, therefore missing out any more modern works that you also enjoyed.

A disclaimer: I'm primarily looking for books that you love and enjoyed reading, not books that are technically well-written. In other words I'd like some recommendations from friends. Recommendations from critics are a different kettle of fish altogether.

Your imput can really help me kick start my love of reading again - so please don't be shy!