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

[thisbluespirit]

I... feel like a dinosaur. I write everything down longhand first. On paper. With a pen. Or pencil. Unless it's something very short and contained (or occasional crack!fic). So I start on paper. Sometimes it's more scenes and notes, but by and large, it's everything.

So my first bit of editing is choosing whether or not to type up what I've written when I've finished it (and of course, whether I finish it), and come back to look at it. Then I type it up, which is an editing process in itself (although I may well have made notes in the margin, or crossed things out, arrows to move things, or just made mental notes). Of course, it also has the problem that sometimes I can't decipher my handwriting, which is frustrating. (What if that was a sentence of genius and I can't read it? :lol: Luckily, this is never the case.)

If it's short, I'll just re-read and spell-check it then, and then come back to it again after a break and tweak it again. And repeat until I actually post it somewhere. If it's for a challenge, or I'm not certain of it, I'll get someone to beta it. (Usually persiflage_1 - and I know I can rely on her to point out any errors she sees, even if I foolishly don't send it to her!)

But i can't imagine that way of writing, going back over each sentence - for me, it starts with just getting the story down before it's gone. As Pitry and Beth say, there's a flow - you just jump on and write and write while you've got it. It won't last. If it's long, of course, that may start with lots of random notes, and short key scenes, and then move on to writing the full version (in longhand still).

I can't live without pens and paper. And I like a nice notebook for small fics. And for longer things, I need a fine black biro (a particular type) from Smiths, and narrow-lined A4 paper, not wide-lined. :loL: (Stationery obsessive, yes.) ;-)

Anyway, I am very pleased to hear that fic from you may be imminent! \o/

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

Hooray for pen and paper! I am old enough to appreciate the advantages of that method. The typing-it-up phase is indeed an editing phase, yes, absolutely. :D Also, you've made me realize a strange fact -- when I'm editing my work-related writing, I always have to print it out and edit it with a pen. But for some reason, I edit my fic on the computer. I'd never noticed that inconsistency before. Hmm.

there's a flow - you just jump on and write and write while you've got it. It won't last.

Yes, and this is my biggest issue as a writer, I think. It's something I ought to try to work on. It's weird, though, because I'm also afraid of working on it -- if I end up shutting up my internal editor in order to generate flow, what if that disrupts my writing process? Because as frustrating as that editor is, it's often right, and sometimes it leads me in great directions that I never would've otherwise found. I'll be sitting there trying to fix a problem, and suddenly a solution will come to me that turns the whole thing around and "jells" the fic. Of course, other times it stops me from writing anything at all. ; ) I suppose there's a happy medium there somewhere.

[thisbluespirit]

Well, everybody writes in different ways, and that's part of why it's fascinating to discuss. The one thing I've learned from taking authors round to schools is that none of them write in the same way. The only thing that is consistent about being a successful writer, it seems, is: that you want to write, you write words down, you finish things, and you're prepared to rewrite, edit and take criticism, and rewrite again. And there are probably one or two random geniuses in the world who don't need to rewrite, or something.

(I think, like Pitry, I can have quite a (seemingly!) complete idea in my head at times, although I do more of the working out in notes - and it's just a sort of rushing to try and capture that? Because it goes away really fast sometimes.)

Which is why I'm wary of all those 'How To Be A Writer' books. Or anybody who stands up saying that it has to be done in their way, really. Clearly, your inner Editor knows what she's done, even if she's irritating at times.

Yes, I have to print things out to edit them properly, too - or at least, I do if they're longer. I find I pick up errors far more easily once I've got it printed out. Except for very short things. When I think of how much I do edit - which is more than I realised - it's depressing how many stupid things & errors remain, especially in longer things!

[pitry.livejournal.com]

Oh, dear, how I hate the "how to be a writer" books. It's like, there are some basics you can teach, of course, some things that are universal, but for something like writing, what's the point in everyone writing the same? Not to mention that after a certain point when you are proficient enough in writing, you discover all those rules are there to be broken - it's always a question of knowing how to break them and why you break them, I think.

/tirade against "how to write" books.