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.

[justice-turtle.livejournal.com]

That's pretty much exactly what I do. I used to need about half a dozen full rewrites on every scene / section; I think I still do for long pieces.

Rudyard Kipling advocated a variant of the same method, iirc; he suggested letting a short story sit for six months or a year, then deleting everything unnecessary with india ink, then letting it sit another six months to a year and doing it again. I don't know how often he actually did that, but it certainly would help in developing a spare style.

I do sometimes use a beta - mostly when I can see that the story still needs major changes but I can't quite tell what changes to make. lolmac is the best beta in the world for that, and I'm lucky to work with her. :D

[pitry.livejournal.com]

I think I have a decidedly different writing style from yours, which also affects the editing process.

By the time I sit down to write, I already have all the important points of the fic in my head, or, depending on where I was/ what I was doing when I thought of the fic/how long the fic is, written down. Not as an outline - actual bits of the story, often with specific wording (this is why I hate when really good ideas come to me at work or worse! when I'm walking TO work. By the time I get down to write it, I usually lose some of the wording). I then write the whole thing. This is, by then, I'm already writing it semi-edited, because a lot of the processes of "this should go here that should go there, this is the best wording" has already happened in my head. I would edit still at this point if I feel I'm doing something wrong, but that depends on how hard it was to start the story. Once I finish writing it I give it a read (if it's a long chaptered fic, usually it would be in chunks, but if it's a shorter story then I probably write the whole thing in one day then re-read it), then let it stew on itself for a bit, then give it a second reading, polishing some wording etc. If I have a beta this is where I send it to her and not look at it again until I get it back with her comments - I first go over the comments specifically, then give it another full read. And that's usually it. I should probably give it more reads/edits, I guess, but in order to do that I have to let it sit again otherwise I'm bored by it and simply can't re-read it again, but I'm usually too impatient and send it on its merry way by then.

[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/

[paranoidangel]

I edit similarly. The first draft I just write all the way through and change very little, unless I change my mind as I'm writing a sentence. Then I re-write everything if it's a long fic, or just edit if it's short. And then I just keep reading through it changing things and leaving it for a while and coming back to it. I define it as done when the only things I've found are tiny, little things. And then it goes to beta. All my fics have at least one draft, one re-write/edit and one edit - so that's up to v3. I think I've got up to double figures before when it's going badly...