Editing my current novel is a messy thing to do, messier than any editing spiel I’ve done before, but it’s not as bad a thing as it might sound. Editing, as we all know, is where the book starts to take shape, evolve, and become the story you want your ideal readers to enjoy. First drafts are incomplete, full of mistakes and in need of trimming. As Stephen King says in On Writing, ‘only god gets it right first time.’ I thought I’d talk about the editing experience so far, where I think it’ll go, when I finish and what might happen afterwards.
Surgical Precision
I’ve always liked the surgical approach to editing. I like to run through my manuscript three times, and to me, I like to think it’s something akin to what doctors might do with patients. Let’s say the manuscript is the patient. You know there’s something wrong, probably many things wrong, so what’s first? The patient goes inside the MRI machine so the doctors can find mistakes, make notes on additions and changes, while correcting obvious mistakes such as typos and so on. Now that the problems have been found, it’s off to surgery for the second look through. Here is where I do all the major stuff. Story structuring, additions, rewrites. To me it’s like breaking and re-breaking bones to set in pieces of metal to reconstruct broken bones. With all of that done, the patient is whisked away for recovery, and that’s when I look through for a third time, the polish. Sometimes I’ll need to look a fourth time, but usually no more than that. Hopefully I explained that well enough, but you get the idea. Editing’s all about nursing a manuscript back to health so it can stand on both legs. But, you’ll have your own editing routine anyway, and no right way exists.
Stephen King says he reads through the manuscript in one go, but I can’t ever do it. When I edit I get ten chapters done, minimum. Like I said, we all have different work patterns. But it works for me. I can only work one way, and if somebody does it differently, I say bloody great. Do whatever it takes for you to get the work done. I’d hate if somebody condemned me for working in a way they suggest is wrong, and I’d never do it to them either. If it matters to you, then it matters, so work how you need to work. That’s kind of my beef with ‘how to write’ books, since they often sound like instruction manuals to me. Even On Writing sounds a little off sometimes, and Stephen King even said at the start that it’s all bullshit. Only through working will you work out your own routines. Writing books are guidelines, helpful advice. Never instruction.
Stephen King says he reads through the manuscript in one go, but I can’t ever do it. When I edit I get ten chapters done, minimum. Like I said, we all have different work patterns. But it works for me. I can only work one way, and if somebody does it differently, I say bloody great. Do whatever it takes for you to get the work done. I’d hate if somebody condemned me for working in a way they suggest is wrong, and I’d never do it to them either. If it matters to you, then it matters, so work how you need to work. That’s kind of my beef with ‘how to write’ books, since they often sound like instruction manuals to me. Even On Writing sounds a little off sometimes, and Stephen King even said at the start that it’s all bullshit. Only through working will you work out your own routines. Writing books are guidelines, helpful advice. Never instruction.
The Approaching Curve
Time is whizzing by at the moment as I edit. I’ve got a novel ready to go exploring virtual reality and artificial intelligence, and needless to say it is science fiction. I normally write contemporary fiction teamed with supernatural elements, but I freaking love sci-fi and have been eager to write a novel for ages. Now such an idea has crystalized with my fascination on virtual reality and hyper reality, I want to get started as soon as. BUT! I’m not starting until I’m done editing. On top of that, I’m editing a bunch of short stories for a competition that’s taken my interest massively, so I suspect I’ll start writing the novel in July. Maybe at the end of the month. Probably not. Then again, you never can tell with time.
Songs of the Week:
Songs of the Week:
- 'Father's Day' by Frank Turner
- 'The Next Storm' by Frank Turner
- 'Vital Signs' by Frank Turner
- 'Strong' by London Grammar
- 'Follow in Flight' by Halo 2 Anniversary Soundtrack
- 'A Spartan Rises' by Halo 2 Anniversary Soundtrack
- 'One Final Effort' by Halo 3 Soundtrack
- 'Arrival' by Halo 4 Soundtrack