Still, this time of year isn't just about having fun and celebrating Christmas. There are a lot of things we try to get done in December, if only to make room for the multitude of things we needs to do in January.
That's what this post is about.
Well, sort of.
During this time of year it's common that I'll be editing. Why? Because usually I don't actually have time to write anything, but I can edit while I'm doing other things (though I don't recommend trying that if you're just starting out--it takes a lot of getting used to).
In essence, that's what this post is about.
Spot the crap, delete it, and move on
It's probably one of the most annoying and tedious things that every writer has to do. We have to edit. There's no maybes or buts about it. If you're a writer, at some point you will be editing.
But when you're just starting out, that's incredibly difficult to do.
So I've developed four simple points for you to follow (which are especially useful for those of you who just finished your first NaNoWriMo and are itching to start the process, now that you've had time to recoup):
1. Spot the crap
If you're a writer, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you're also a reader. If you're not that, then I can almost guarantee that you watch television.
This will help you.
You know those parts of books, shows, and movies, that you hate? If you spot one of those in your book, it's probably crap.
Repetitiveness, boring conversations, unneeded dialogue, unnecessarily long expositions, don't need to be there. Cut them down.
Especially for the beginnings of books and stories, we want to know more about what's going on now than the backstory. Fill us in on all of that later, in subtle clues left in the here and now.
2. Delete it
Sometimes that crap you've spotted doesn't just need to be trimmed, but fully deleted. True, this is very difficult if you absolutely love your story and don't want it to change, but here's the big secret:
Change is a good thing.
If you want your story to succeed, you'll have to get used to cutting scenes, characters, dialogues, plot points, the list goes on. I find the ctrl+F function to be quite useful when I'm going through things like this, because it helps you to find all the instances of something within a book.
(for example: look up how many times the phrase "I love you" is used in your book. If it's more than a dozen, you probably have some cutting to do)
3. Move on
This is the hardest part of editing.
Though we love our stories, though we want them to succeed and to be all that they can be, we have to be able to move on. No story is ever going to be perfect, and we have to learn to live with it.
There are typos in every major book released on the open market. There are. I've found them. Shakespeare had typos too. It's okay. We all forgive you. Many of us would even give you a hug and a pat on the back to help you on your way.
4. Remember...
It's not the end of the world if it doesn't turn out the way you wanted it to.
Stories rarely do.
Ideas mutate and change, and like I said before, it's a good thing. Stories become what they want to be, not what we want them to be.
We can't control what the story is going to be, any more than our feet can control the way our eyes are going to look.
Harsh truths, I know. I'm writing them down here to lay them on myself as well--because even stories that aren't so good, even chapters that I know are bad and need to be changed, still hold some special place in my heart.
We'll get through it together.
[love and tissue boxes]
{RD}
No comments:
Post a Comment