I have not kept up with my blog as much as I would like to, but only because I have been spending an inordinate amount of time editing my novel. As of today, I have about 55,300 words edited. What this means is that I have taken away and added paragraphs and pages, (it was heartbreaking discarding those brilliant sections that had little to do with the story), found incorrect punctuation, and sentences where I used one word when I meant to use another. However, my biggest chore during this edit is to tighten those sentences up.

What does sentence-tightening entail? It means using a whole lot less words to convey my meaning. This is not from my novel, but it is a great example:

Wordy: She went to the car, opened the door, and got into the driver’s seat.

Better: She slid into the driver’s seat.

Such a short simple sentence to convey the same meaning.

Words are important in writing, because every genre of short story of novel has a word count range. In order to increase our chances of selling our work, we must follow the publisher guidelines. We must make every single word count.

I find editing like eating healthy and exercising. If I eat the right foods and run four times a week, I get the physical results I want. Well, if I write tight and make every single word count, then I know I have turned out the best product I can. Perhaps the next step will be to catch an agent’s eye, with the grand finale being publication.

Now, it’s time to go for my run and then edit my novel. Happy writing all!

I completed editing my first draft Sunday- May 23, 2010 to be exact. I now have a 305 page manuscript adorned with green sticky notes. Entire portions of my novel contain handwritten notes and lines through words, notations to add words, and small reminders to watch for repetitive phrasing. I gained insight into my novel’s strengths and weaknesses in both character and plot. It is up to me to take this manuscript and make it the best work product possible.

Yesterday, after pondering what my next phase of creativity would look like, I decided to sketch an outline. My story spans five days and contains viewpoints of one main character and two others. When editing, I noted some of my timelines were a little skewed, to say the least. My goal is to ensure that my timeline is spot on. I need to eliminate any reader confusion.

Last night, I started the chapter/scene outline. Today, I completed my outline/synopsis up to the newly revised chapter 8 (if I had not combined chapters, I would have been to chapter 13). I have been at it about an hour and a half. I can stop for the evening and do something else.

I am proud of myself.

My goal is to complete my outline by sometime next week, though I suspect it could be sooner. After this comes the restructuring of my novel, along with the revisions and additions, as well as deletions.

Many people have been giving me support during this process, for which I am grateful and blessed. A writer must write alone, but it is important not to isolate and shut out other people.

Happy writing all!

As of today, I have edited forty-five pages.

Once I completed my draft, I did what most writers do– I put my precious novel (bestseller, of course) away for a few days and tried not to think about it. The problem was I could not stop thinking about it! I knew I had left some plot points straggling and would have to pick them up and intertwine them throughout the story. Where did I drop these important tidbits? How would I pick them up again without changing major chunks of the story?

What if I had to start the entire story over because of one straggler?

This kind of thinking exhausted me. I knew I needed to take a step back.

Monday, the day after I wrote The End on page 305, I had this insurmountable urge to look at chapter one, or maybe just the first page or first few paragraphs. But, I stopped myself, because it felt like I was too close to the story. It’s dangerous for a writer to edit when they feel like they are a part of the story rather than its creator.

Tuesday, I decided I would start editing on Wednesday. I needed more distance.

Wednesday, I decided it was still too soon to start. My final decision was that I would start editing when it felt right.

Thursday felt like the right time to start looking at my novel through critical editor eagle eyes. So many questions came to mind. Will my hook catch the reader’s eyes, keep them reading? Are spelling and grammar correct? Do I use adjectives and adverbs sparingly? Are my sentences, paragraphs and scenes clear, and do they convey what the reader needs to know? Do I have unnecessary repetition in my story? Do I write distinctive voices for my characters, which means lean dialogue tags? Am I writing tight and lean sentences? Am I too wordy in some places?

Sheesh, the list continues into oblivion!

When editing, I need to be willing to kill off some of my darlings that do not belong in the story (actually, we don’t really kill them off, we just past them to a documents titled Little Darlings for Future Use). If a scene, character, or minor plot point does not work within the larger picture, I must let them go.

After editing– which I am doing by hand, and then rewriting in my word processing program– my goal is to start looking for an agent. I don’t want to circulate substandard work. I want my manuscript to be as close to perfect as I can get it. I want to leave as little work for an agent, editor or publisher as I can. It’s the writers’ job to know how to write.

Time to get back to editing. Happy writing all!

The end of writing a novel, that is. I cannot begin to describe the exhilaration I felt when I typed those precious two words. Thirty-one chapters and approximately 60,000 words.

The End.

I will soon start editing. Some writers let their novel sit for a week or two, maybe three, and proceed to other writing projects—a few short stories, an article or two. Some might even start working on another novel. Other writers let the manuscript simmer for no more than a day before they start the editing process.

I didn’t touch my novel today. I didn’t start any other stories. Instead, I watched an episode of Ghost Whisperer, followed by Medium. Some great stories in those television shows. Perhaps tomorrow I will start editing, or I might decide to take the week off. I’m not sure when I will start editing, but it will be soon.

I know editing requires that I take a step back and read my novel as a reader, not as a writer. I must be willing to sacrifice sentences, scenes, perhaps pages, that do not advance my story, even if the aforementioned will knock the socks off of any agent, publisher or reader. I must make sure my writing is tight, utilize correct grammar and spelling, weed out useless adverbs, watch for repetition of words—the list goes on. My most important task, I believe, is to make sure my story engages the reader through the gift of showing. Show don’t tell.

I care about my characters and their lives. They are as real to me as my family, friends, next door neighbors (okay, I’m exaggerating a bit here, but just let me make my point). I must give breath, body and personality to my characters in order for my readers to see them as whole human beings. The last thing I want to do is create cardboard characters.

Now that I’ve written this, I have decided I will start the editing process in a few days. Most likely on Wednesday, for no other reason than it is the day after tomorrow.

The end (for now).

Fifty-thousand words, that is. Last night, when I hit that 50,000 word mark in my unfinished novel, I had those same feelings as when I finished in my first Bay to Breakers race around fifteen years ago- surprise, exhilaration and complete satisfaction! Just like I knew I would finish the race, I know that I will finish this novel.

Anybody who believes that writing is easy is wrong. Just ask the writers who make a living with the artistry of their words, who have deadlines to meet, agents, editors and publishers to satisfy, and long hours trying to weave their words into saleable material. Just ask those of us who write long hours after our jobs to try and create a story that will grab readers and make them want to keep reading. I have not reached the “author” stage yet, but I know many who have. Just like novelists-in-progress, they produce a lot of sweat to put out an excellent product.

Currently, I am working on my second draft, which is quite different from my first. Why? Because the first time around, I was writing just to get the basic story down. This second draft, my story has been developing more meat around the plot, depth to my characters and the knowledge that if I have come this far, I can reach that finish line.

In fact, I guesstimate that I am about five or six chapters from the end. I don’t know how many words I will need to accomplish this. My goal is to complete this draft by the end of April, but I will not beat myself up too much if this does not happen. The first rule of thumb is to be kind to yourself no matter what.

One thing a writer must remember is that words are not just words. While a certain word count is necessary to comply with publisher guidelines, a writer cannot just write words for the sake of word count. When I was eighteen, my mother bought me one of the most valuable books in my library, Make Every Word Count, by Gary Provost. Now, thirty years later, the highlighting in this section has faded out, but the words are like music to me:

Remember this: the reader is always aware of the words you use and of the fact that you chose to use them. He takes your mistakes seriously. It doesn’t occur to him that a word slipped by you or that it jumped onto the page when you weren’t looking… (pg. 67)

Remember, word count is important, but make sure they are the right words. As for me, I must see what my characters are up to now. Happy writing!