Halp me? AKA Editing.

So I have put off revising (for the most part - it's out with beta readers at the moment so we'll see) An Absence of Light at the moment and focused on Once Eternal (well, I call it Eternity, but seeing as how there are 500 books with that same name, that might be an issue). I'm currently at 50K roughly, and I am plotting about 85-90K. I'm not a fan of massive books or small books, I like just right books, and 90K for me is just right. I've outlined and plotted and am stampeding towards the end. But I am going to take a break from the regularly scheduled programming of gifs and rambling to talk about my number one villain, editing.

Yes, editing, that dreaded word that most authors fear. I am no exception. Having to butcher apart things I love is hard. Imagine if you had to kill your dog and reanimate it as Super Fido. Well, that's a weird idea, but it's not entirely too far off I think.

My process:

1.) Reread. If I immediately see something egregious, such as typos or grammar, I correct it. This is always my first sweep.

2.) Do I overuse words? Okay, time to cut and pull out the trusty thesaurus. On edit two, I also look at my prose, my metaphors, similes - do they make sense? Are they worth the space they're taking up? If not, out they go.

3.) Read other stuff. I need a break. Also, I use this time to apply for jobs and cry over my student loan debt. But this only serves to be a good catalyst to go onto...

4.) Does this even make sense? When in doubt, ask your beta readers. In fact, I'm kind of looking for some at the moment. A critique partner would be LOVERLY. And not one that also shares the BFF role in my life.

5.) Breathe. We're not there yet. This step is critical to any success. If you do not breathe, you will die, and then who will finish this?

6.) Edit some more! Editing is only done when you look at your baby and see Super Fido. If you see dead Fido, then you might need some help. Call Dr. Frankenstein immediately and have a word. This is a good chance to ask your beta readers again for advice.

And finally...

7.) Query time. Hopefully I will get my act together and actually press submit soon on Light. It's almost ready to go. I just need to get some feedback and then I'll send it off into the world.

Okay, I'm probably not the person to ask when it comes to editing. I've been known to whine and moan to my friends on AIM or stay up until 4 AM procrastinating on Tumblr. But please, share with me your secrets to success! I want to know!

Writer's Block

So today I received word that with my final grade posted (a B in research project) I have officially been granted my Master of Arts in Diplomacy and International Relations. Yay! But since I got back home Friday from my nice, looong drive from NJ to NC, I have written exactly zilch. Zip. Nada. Zero. Zed.

I had been starting on a new project (the souls one I mentioned) but I kind of want to go back and either edit some more on the first of the trilogy or work on book two of the trilogy or even work on my freebie novel (since I have several chapters missing and lots of editing to do on that). Even reading-wise, I've gotten like 10 pages further in Embassytown.

But yeah, I really need my initial reader comments to come in ASAP so I can start on edits (of the first 50 pages at least) so I can send off some letters to agents. I am aiming to find an agent by the end of the year. But I know some of you have the manuscript and I'm hoping you'll be able to give me comments. Nice, juicy comments that will help me get published, kk?

Okay, I smell like bug spray and grass so time for my shower. And if you want to read the first few chapters book, it's on Authonomy. Go read and review.

Still Editing...

So yeah, you read it right, I'm still editing. It didn't help that I didn't have internet for 19 hours, or the fact I still have something due for an internship I completed last week (it's something like an exit writeup, but the moment I get time to write it, the internet goes out and I lose access to the do's and don'ts for it). So I thought, well now is as good of a time as any to edit my novel. Instead, I edit like one page and start reading Embassytown by China Mieville, watched two movies (Due Date and Morning Glory), an episode of the West Wing, and two episodes of The IT Crowd. And now I am thinking about going back to bed for a few hours since my head is throbbing.

And now I'm awake and it's actually six hours later because I just sat around doing nothing and listening to Marry The Night for awhile. So I'm reading China Mieville's new book and so far it's good other than the confusingness that comes with any of his books. I'm 18% in on my Kindle and he has a tendency to introduce concepts and not explain what they are for a chapter or two. And 18% in and I still don't really know what the big bad is going to be except for what I read on the description of the book. Oh, and luckily I have a Kindle with a dictionary because even I have to look up words from time to time. That's just the nature of Mieville, though!

So editing... Yeah, that's not going well. I have an urge to start work on another project but instead I'm slogging away at editing and I'm still not getting much feedback (where are you guys?!). Since I wrote this four years ago, I like to think that I've at least matured a little with practice. I have another unfinished novel (well, three of them...) that I've been able to practice on, something with vampires and werewolves as they were en vogue back in 2009 when this was written. I also have something else that's rather sci-fi with vampires and demons. Can you see that I have a tendency to stick to one area and not leave it? I rather like demons. I just have a tendency to 1.) overuse them in my stories and 2.) make them the good guys more often than not.

I've been trying to fix dialogue still and note points in the plot that seem off. It's difficult critiquing yourself subjectively because I like how my novel is, crappy or not (well, I've been told it's not crappy and that's it is actually good). I'll keep at it, but I am going back to NC on Friday and, save for one or two trips up here to get the rest of my stuff, won't be back to my beloved NYC unless I get a job up here. I'm hoping that happens, or at least a job in Washington, but let's keep our fingers crossed!

Editing...my other novel

So many of you (well, all two of you right now - kisses!) know that I have an older novel making the rounds for free reading - the unedited version that has more holes than Swiss cheese. As a present for one of my Twitter followers, and because I actually like rereading this one, I decided to fix it up, make it spiffy and redo the HORRIBLE first chapter, and make it a little more presentable. My goal is to eventually put this one on Kindle for FREE as a self promotional tool to get my name out there to publishers with my trilogy kept in my bag of tricks. Especially since the trilogy steals a number of elements from the old novel except in a different plot and universe.

I wrote this novel for NaNoWriMo 2007, so yeah, it's a little dusty. And after I kept writing to it after NaNo, it's now over 160,000 words while missing chapters. It's an epic to say the least. It originally ended after about 80,000 words and then I decided to keep going. But in editing, I've noticed just how far I have come as a writer. My writing even 3.5 years ago wasn't as good as it is now, which is why I don't foresee ever getting this one - no matter how much I love it - published outside of a freebie. Besides the horrible first chapter, I've redone dialogue, entered new scenes, planned out new elements, redone characters, and tried to work with what I have. So far I've skipped ahead to the 44% mark and I'm going at a progress of about 10 pages a day of fixing things, and it will need several more edits.

I HATE EDITING MY OWN WORK! I'll be frank and say it. I'd rather write, but at the same time, I'm my biggest fan of this work because I love the plot and the characters... I even love talking about it, but it's a pain in the ass to have to go back and change stuff. Then again, in editing I find my errors. Plot holes, lack of characterization, out of character reactions, baaaaad dialogue. It's just hard to edit your own work, and it's hard for someone like me who dropped her English major in exchange for the world of political science (note - I do not regret this in the least) and doesn't know that many people with expert editing skills and the time to take pity.

So, for now, I'll keep at it, but maybe soon I can find an editor, eh?