still editing . . .

[dbskyler]

Well, I definitely have a fic coming, but I don't know yet when it'll be ready to post. It could be as soon as tomorrow, or it could be quite awhile off still. Which brings me to a hopefully interesting question -- how do you know when a story is ready to be posted?

Let me tell you how I do it. First off, I edit as I write. I type a sentence, then edit it immediately if I decide I don't like it. Sometimes this leads me to go back and edit the entire paragraph. Sometimes I will then end up getting rid of the entire paragraph (a little trend I like to call "writing in reverse" -- sometimes the more I write, the fewer words I have in the document!)

Once I get to the point where I have a finished draft, I start doing read-throughs. The trick here is that I have to let the story "rest" in between so I can come at it from a reasonably fresh standpoint. (Not entirely fresh, of course, but fresher.) I read it through and edit it, then I let it rest again. Then I read it through again. If I find myself editing it some more, it's not ready yet -- I have to rest it again, and do another pass. The story is ready to post when I do a read-through and don't find anything else to change.

I don't remember how many times I've read through this latest fic, but it's been at least four passes I think. I thought it might be ready to post tonight, but instead I made some pretty major changes to it again. It's possible that I'll read it tomorrow and love every word, or it's possible that I'll go "what was I thinking?" and hack at it some more.

Anyone else edit like this? If not, what do you do instead?

Comments

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

I write a chunk (depends on how the words are flowing and what time I have available as to how big a chunk). Then the next time I come back to it to write, I re-read what I've already written so far, and edit as necessary. And so on until the entire fic's complete. Then it goes to my beta - and I ignore it until they send it back - then I'll re-read it, edit if necessary, and post.

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

Then the next time I come back to it to write, I re-read what I've already written so far, and edit as necessary.

I do that too. Sometimes I never get past the editing, and the writing session doesn't end up with any actual "writing" at all.

When I use beta readers, I send it to them after I'm through with my own editing. But I confess that I don't use them that often. I know they can be really helpful, though!

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

I find beta-readers invaluable for encouragement, and for pointing out if I've got a plot hole/inconsistency: the last fic I posted - last week - had a plot inconsistency in it and my beta pointed it out to me. I'd missed it because I was writing while tired and in pain so not at full concentration.