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Hey guys! I am currently editing my first novel to be published sometime in summer of ’17. However, the initial excitement I had has somewhat worn off, making it a HUGE task looming over my head. Got any ideas on how to become excited about it again?
Jackson E. Graham
http://jacksonegraham.wixsite.com/jackson-e-grahamOooh boy I am really not the person to be giving advice on editing. 😛 But let me see what I can do… hm… *thinkthinkthink* How did I overcome this problem?
*makes wry face* Did I even have this problem?
Well yes… in some small measure anyway. Okayyyyy… I’ll give this a shot. It’s easy to view editing as simply a drudgery— boring because you’re going over the same old material again and again and you just can’t WAIT to start a new project. But that’s not really what editing is. It should be called ‘growing’— guys, I’m going to go grow my novel. 😛 Besides the satisfaction of refining and polishing and making more excellent, there’s also the excitement of deepening your story (proceeding drafts are ALWAYS deeper) and streamlining all the plot-points to make the most sense and be the most gripping. It may be time consuming, but what you’re really doing is working to make your ideal shine brighter through your story so the readers can see it clearer. You’re growing your first attempt into the masterpiece you see in your mind’s eye.
Plus you get to interact more with characters you love and know, which makes it a ton easier to deal with subtext than working with strangers… and since you already know how the story ends you can do a lot of foreshadowing that wasn’t there in the first draft… and just general awesomeness of growth.
I hope that was helpful.
If it wasn’t, ignore me. 😛
@Daeus this poor fella needs your expertise here.Sure. I might be able to help. At least, I’ve been non-stop editing for, umm, maybe six months or so and haven’t gotten tired of it.
I’d guess they’re three possible options for what’s holding you back: Depression with book in general, lack of discipline (aka, you can’t stay concentrated), or you’re too excited about your next book.
Depression: My first piece of advice is to completely step back. I mean completely. Look at your life as a whole. What is your number one goal you want to achieve in your life? What are some big personal goals of yours and how are you planning to achieve them? Now, surrender everything. You can’t be an author for Christ unless you’re willing to not be an author for Christ. Now that God’s got everything under control, the worry’s off you and you just need to give it your best effort. Depression is a result of worry. Depression kills your joy and the joy of the Lord is your strength. When you aren’t worrying, you’re stronger and nothing seems impossible. Now maybe you think you’re books too much to handle, but it’s not really about you or your book, so maybe you really aren’t supposed to write (though, personally, I doubt that), or maybe you need to re-strategize (reschedule, change goals, look for outside help or opportunities, etc), or maybe you just need to be faithful to this project and give it your very best effort and in that case it will be enough. Guessing that re-strategizing is going to be your route, I really recommend brainstorming your options with your parents as they’ll probably have some good insight. Write down what factors you have to account for so you can be certain you’ll be able to meet your goals.
Discipline problems: First, get some accountability with somebody who will hold you to what you’re doing. The writer’s corner is a good option. You may also want to use the carrot and stick trick and put something at stake if you don’t reach set goals, and reward yourself if you do. Focus on living disciplined in other areas too. Discipline is a lifestyle you can’t keep to one area. If you can’t sit still for too long, do a lot of short writing sessions.
You’re too excited about your next project: First of all, be realistic. If you want to be a successful author, the best way to do that is by editing yourself into skill. Just writing more helps, but you’ll get there way faster if you focus hard on editing. Another reason you may be too anxious to move on to your next book is that you are depressed with this one. If that is the case, I’ve already covered that. Another very possible option is that you know there is something wrong with your novel, but you don’t know what. In this case, try to identify a few places where you feel that the strongest, then do your best to see if you can figure out what it is that’s wrong, but if you can’t, ask for outside input.
The joy of editing: Editing is a different creature from writing a first draft, but I think it is just as enjoyable. In writing, the joy is mainly in the experience. In editing, the joy is mainly in the learning. When I edit (or when I read for that matter) I am never satisfied with simply correcting issues. My goal is to learn more about my craft, about myself, about the world, and about God. I don’t just want to correct from instinct, I want to figure out why I have that instinct. Writing is limitlessly deep, so if you like philosophy, it holds limitless enjoyment.
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Wow, man. That was some great advice! Thanks a lot! I think my problem is that 1) I have a sort of lack of discipline (I am easily sidetracked by other awesome ideas..) and 2) I’m excited to move on to another project (most likely another one of my ideas…).
I can get impatient when it comes to writing. :}Jackson E. Graham
http://jacksonegraham.wixsite.com/jackson-e-grahamI’m sorry, I know this isn’t my conversation, but I have to say thank you so much for writing this, ‘Depression is a result of worry. Depression kills your joy and the joy of the Lord is your strength. When you aren’t worrying, you’re stronger and nothing seems impossible.’, @Daeus. I so needed that. Seeing other people say this kind of thing rather than only thinking it myself makes it so much stronger.
@emma-flournoy Well, I’m glad. It’s been a huge blessing to me too, having just finally got it inside my thick skull. I learned it at a farming conference of all things. The hardest part is how easy it is to slip from just being faithful to God and letting him do things through you to trying to do great things for God. The second one sounds all spiritual, but it will leave you fretting to death.
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*nods vigorously*
Yes.@Daeus, where is the “that’s perfect” button? Very well said.
@warrioroftherealm, where are you in the editing process? I.e. are you making large story edits or copy editing? Also, what do you hope will be different about the edited book from the current draft?@MichaelStanton
I am going through my novel and editing around 450 words at a time. Then I am going to add in certain scenes (and edit them) to make it to 70,000 words +
I hope that the edited book will have a deeper message than the current draft, and the plot, characters, and world will be rounded better.
Okay, sounds like a bit of both. It might be helpful for you to take a step back and examine the plot points from a bird’s eye view. What I mean is, if you are getting stuck while doing the 450 words at a time, it might be that you need to see how everything is weaving together. Some people do this by writing the overall action of each scene on a note card or sticky note (main character learns about her past, friend is reviled to not be who she says she is, etc), and then lay them all out in the order they currently appear in the book.
This can sometimes help you spot holes that you otherwise would miss when you are down in the trenches. It gives you a bird’s eye view of the story. It can also help you see that a plot point really needs to be moved elsewhere in the story, which can give the story new life (and give you more editing work, unfortunately).
In regards to the deeper message, write out what you want that message to be (if you have not already done so). Try to make it as short as possible (one sentence is best). That message is your theme. Take that theme to all of your plot point cards. Are any of the plot points not adding anything to that theme? If they aren’t adding to your theme, either change them so they do, or cut them. Sometimes more ends up cut at the end of an edit than is added, so try to be okay with that fact.
Finally, do you have any fellow writer friends who you know will be honest with you? Try to get them to read your draft and make notes. Personally, I find this to be the most helpful thing. Getting another pair of eyes on your work is invaluable. Be sure they know your theme and are making their notes according to how well everything is fitting that theme. When I do this for my writing partners, I actually record myself reading the draft aloud and I’ll just stop whenever I have a thought (good or bad). My friend then listens to my recording and jots down his own notes. Even just hearing your book read aloud can be a huge help as it triggers something different in your brain and can make you think of new ideas.
I hope some of that helps! The key is to just keep working and find help when you need it.
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