Wednesday, August 17, 2011

What's Your Favourite?

So, I'm in the middle of editing one of my stories - with a few side trips into revision territory.

I've been spending the last few days slashing and burning. My first drafts tend to have a log of redundant phrases. A lot! I don't worry about them at all when I'm drafting and not too much when I'm revising - I leave them for a treat for later. Because attacking that draft with my editing sword is FUN! I love tightening - finding the redundancies. It's my favourite part of the whole revising/editing process.

I'm not sure why the slashing makes me smile, but it does. I've always liked swords ...


So, what's your favourite part of the editing process? Do you like to wield your sword as well?

74 comments:

Kathi Oram Peterson said...

What I like about editing is tightening my prose and moving text so related thoughts are together. Sometimes they become separated and belabor the point.

And, yes, I like pulling my doubled-edged editing sword from my scabbard and slicing away. :)

Kathi

Jemi Fraser said...

Kathi - it is fun, isn't it! I love watching it shrink and tighten - and just get better!

Lenny Lee said...

hi miss jemi! for me i dont use a sword. i use a machete cause i got so much jungle to chop through. ha ha. mostly cause i got a way of writing way too much i go edit my stuff after just every couple chapters. but i gotta do it again when i got my story all done. i could start out with a novel and end up with a short story. ha ha.
...hugs from lenny

Jemi Fraser said...

Lenny - I may be borrowing your machete one of these days! I've already cut about 5k on this story & I still have more to go! But I'm having fun! Hope you are too! :)

Theresa Milstein said...

Like the idea of wielding a sword. I must slay "that"!

LD Masterson said...

Slashing is fun but sometimes I like the opposite. Coming across a scene I realize I raced through and being able to layer in all those sights, sounds, smells, emotions that really bring it to life.

Old Kitty said...

Oh I detest editing! LOL!! I hate it!! LOL!! Seriously!! I slash, burn, cry and tear my hair out because I cannot believe all the idiotic and stupid things I've written! LOL!!!

GOOD LUCK with weilding your mighty shiny and powerful editing sword!!! Take care
x

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

I've been re-typing poems for my new book.....a good job I did for I found many mistakes that I haven't noticed before.

Yvonne.

Yvonne Osborne said...

You wouldn't think it would, but cutting words, sentences, entire paragraphs does feel good. And once I've cut something I've never felt the need to reinstate it. So, yes, I like the editing process: tightening words and reducing their count. I like it. I like everything about writing except the query. Which, some would say, is the most important thing of all.

Jemi Fraser said...

Theresa - 'that' is one of my favourites to slash! Fun! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Linda - I need to do those scene additions too - but I find them a whole lot harder than the slashing! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Old Kitty - Love it! It's such a bizarre feeling when we come across stuff we've written ... and it awful! But that's balanced by the stuff we find and think ... wow, that's awesome!! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Yvonne - it really is odd how we can edit something several times and still miss those little things.

Jemi Fraser said...

Yvonne O - yeah, I'm not the biggest fan of the query either - but like all else, I'm getting better at it! :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I usually have repetitive words that need slashing, but for me it's more about adding to the story. What scene needs more desscription? What scenes can be added? Which character needs a little more? Guess for me it's a sledgehammer so I can pound in more stuff.

Jemi Fraser said...

Alex - I find adding to the story more difficult - much more fun to slash! Maybe if I think about using that big ol' sledgehammer, it'll be easier! :)

A said...

Swords fascinate me :-)

Jemi Fraser said...

Agnes - me too! They're incredible :)

Laurel Garver said...

I like layering in subtext in dialogue scenes--body language, inner thought, etc. It takes the he said, she said to a whole new level. I also like swapping in stronger words to create sound patterns. Kinda like subtle poetry.

Jemi Fraser said...

Laurel - I'm going to do the stronger verb/word search next - that'll be fun too! :)

Bethany Elizabeth said...

I actually really like editing as well!! :) It does feel... empowering. :)

Anita said...

I like cutting the wases, the justs, the littles and the -ings wherever I can. I like adding layers, too. Wow. I think I really like writing.

Good luck to you!!!

Jemi Fraser said...

Bethany - empowering is such a great word for it! Perfect :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Anita - It IS fun! I love cutting those silly words that creep in without any warning - so many 'justs' in my first drafts!

Laura S. said...

I like the slashing and tightening, too! Have fun wielding your shiny, sharp sword, Jemi! You're like the Xena of revisions, LoL.

Jemi Fraser said...

Laura - ooooo, I like that! I can be Xena!! Off I go... :)

Emily R. King said...

Your pic is awesome. I think I must go watch The Lord of the Rings now.
Oh, and cutting back my word count doesn't seem quite as bad when I have a pic of Viggo Mortensen to look at. Well played, Jemi.

Jemi Fraser said...

Emily - Viggo always helps! I (obviously) adore LotR - I often play it in the background when I'm writing or editing! :)

Mari said...

I hate editing! That's why I edit as I go, so there won't be much work left when I finish the story.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

I love it when I *recognize* that something of mine is bad (I feel smug that it hasn't slipped by me!) and then come up with a better option for replacement. :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Mari - I'm not a fan of rewriting when there are plot discrepancies that I have to weave back together - but I love the other aspects of editing! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Elizabeth - oh, what a good way to describe it!! I get that smug feeling too ... 'hah, thought you could slip by ME into the final draft? Take that!' Love it :)

Terry Odell said...

I try to tighten as I go -- I print out daily output and read in hard copy so things jump out at me. But no matter what, there are always those scenes that are there because I think they're brilliant writing, and not because they offer anything to the story.

Terry
Terry's Place
Romance with a Twist--of Mystery

Jemi Fraser said...

Terry - I've never done it that way - but it certainly makes sense. I do see differently on screen than I do on paper.

It's really hard to let go of those perfect little scenes/phrases - even when they don't add. So hard.

Helen Ginger said...

I like it when it's soooo close to being done and I'm breezing through it on the 34th read. (Or around that number, anyway.)

Jemi Fraser said...

Helen - That's about my number too! It is such a good feeling at that point! :)

Golden Eagle said...

Yes--I love slashing and cutting things out, since I usually feel much more satisfied with my writing afterwards. :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Golden Eagle - it is fun! And it creates a much better story, so that makes it more awesome! :)

Karen Strong said...

Ah, Aragorn.

Sorry...got distracted. LOL.

I'm an underwriter so no slashing for me, more of "add writing here" kinda of process.

klahanie said...

And the 'pen is mightier than the sword'. Oh really? Ever had a duel with a pen against a sword :)
Take care, eh...

Jemi Fraser said...

Karen - I know! He's very good for distractions! :)

I much prefer to slash than add - I find it so much easier!

Jemi Fraser said...

Gary - I do like my handy dandy sword! It's very helpful :)

Al said...

Hmmm cutting can hurt too. I just cut a chapter in my rewrite.

Laila Knight said...

The rewriting. I's awesome to tranform a crappy first draft into something of substance. :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Al - ooooo - a whole chapter? That does hurt!

Jemi Fraser said...

Laila - it is so exciting to see how we can transform it into a worthwhile product! :)

Anonymous said...

I actually like editing. I didn't have to slash and burn nearly as much this time around as I've gotten a bit better. This time around I've added quite a bit of stuff as I go along, trying to stay a few days ahead of my editor.

Anonymous said...

I like the paint brushing part of editing rather than the slicing swords. I can colour in vibrancy or darkness, or even blot, dropping white over black and beginning again.

Jemi Fraser said...

Stephen - that's good! I know I've been getting better as well - it's a nice feeling! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Lynn - that's the part I'm still working at. Description is not my favourite part of the process - but I'm getting better at adding those nuances! :)

Ciara said...

I love adding the layers to the story. Connecting even more with the characters.

Rosalind Adam said...

I love cutting those redundant, irrelevant, tautological phrases out too. I get hung up on the word count at the bottom of the screen. It becomes like a game, how low can I go!

Jemi Fraser said...

Ciara - I find it tough to add in those layers - it changes so many nuances throughout the rest of the story! I'm getting stronger though!

Jemi Fraser said...

Rosalind - it is fun to do all that cutting and slicing!! I don't look at the word count too often - so when I do it's always a Wow! moment :)

Talli Roland said...

I do love slashing! I like tidying up and tightening prose.

Jemi Fraser said...

Talli - me too! There's something soothing about it - makes me feel good! :)

Eric W. Trant said...

Silly girl. As with sex my favorite part of editing is FINISHING!

After that, the thing I enjoy most is when I get to insert scenes. I love diving back into the story with a new chapter or scene or POV.


- Eric

Jemi Fraser said...

Eric - I really did LOL at that one!! Yes! Finishing is a very good part as welll!!! :)

I find that creating those new scenes a bit stressful - unless I don't have to weave in threads throughout the rest of the book. But I usually do!

Anne Spollen said...

Sort of like cleaning - I don't really enjoy the process, but the end result of the sword wielding is more sparkle and less clutter. It's the same idea with writing.

Jemi Fraser said...

Anne - good analogy - it's very much the same feeling. But I'd rather pick up my sword than my mop any day!! :)

Arlee Bird said...

I'm not thrilled with the editing process, but it does mean I'm closer to the end.

Lee
Tossing It Out

Jemi Fraser said...

Lee - there are parts of the editing that are fun ... others not so much. But you're so right - it all brings us closer to the end.

DL Hammons said...

There is NO part of the editing process that I enoy! None. And what's worse... It seems to be never-ending!

Jemi Fraser said...

DL - it really IS never-ending! I have a hard time knowing when done is, well, done. :)

Precy Larkins said...

I'm not in the editing phase yet, though I edit here and there while writing (I'm neurotic). I always cringe at my redundancies. They make my skin crawl. Yikes!

Slash away, my dear. Happy editing!

Jemi Fraser said...

Cherie - I do bits and pieces of editing when I draft too - hopefully makes it easier in the long run. Those redundancies keep creeping in though! :)

Crazy Life of a Writing Mom said...

Great post. I LOVE making my manuscripts more concise. There's nothing better than beating the metal into perfection :0)

Jemi Fraser said...

Elisabeth - it IS fun, isn't it? :) Love watching it take shape!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I like seeing my lame lines come together into something sharp.

Jemi Fraser said...

Diane - It does feel really good! It's fun to watch it all develop :)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I love the hacking and slashing of the little things. I love to tighten the story and see it start to shine.

Jemi Fraser said...

Lynda - exactly! I love it too - it's such fun to watch it grow ... while it's shrinking :)

Wendy said...

I love getting rid of the extra words and tightening things up. Also, there are a few expressions and words that I frequently use and I love going through with the "find" function and thinking of creative ways freshen up my language that I fall into by habit. Fun, fun stuff.

I wandered by from the BBQ. Nice to meet you!

Jemi Fraser said...

Wendy - so nice to meet you!! :)

I love that find tool as well - it is such a big help. I don't always 'see' the individual words when I'm reading it as a whole.