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Editing unending

by xC0000005
Posted to Diaries, Diary on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 01:53:19 PM PST
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Posting here because Kuro5hin doesn't seem like a fit place. Any tips on breaking the cycle of relentless editing?

I'm no perfectionist. That is, until it is time to submit something to an editor. Then I find myself locked in a cycle of write and re-write. Each word, each sentence is read, re-read aloud, tweaked, again, and then reverted. Then the cycle repeats.

I have sitting on my desktop a story that's probably good enough for publishing. I've been told that by writers who get paid to write sci fi that it is. As I type this it lears at me from the other monitor. 'Good Earth, Final revision' says the file name. It's anything but.

I've stared at the words and sentences for so long I'm not certain I'm capable of seeing the needed changes. And there must be needed changes. Otherwise it would be time to submit it. So I tuck it away again safely. I'll spend some more time editing it later, I say.

Sigh. This is starting to feel like a rant, but at what point does one say "This is good?" There will always be that sentence or paragraph that doesn't quite flow. The concept that stayed in your head rather than on the paper.

I'm looking at another collection of stories and thinking that this will result just like the other things. Only twenty two times as much editing and re-editing. No, it won't. Well, maybe it won't. I hope it won't.

Back to editing.

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Editing unending | 6 comments (6 topical, 0 hidden)

some suggestions (4.00/1) (#5)
by sabeth on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 09:23:51 AM PST

The best way to see if your writing is working for anyone other than yourself (which is the point of most writing, right?) is to get another reader or two. Someone who won't just be unwaveringly supportive, but will point out what is good and not so good about what you've already got. It's not always easy to find such a person, who both "gets" it and can point out its relative strengths and weaknesses. Remember that everyone's take is subjective, and think about the suggestions you get before acting on them.

For concepts that didn't quite come out on the page the way you hoped, try talking them out with someone else, casually. Maybe the right turn of phrase will come up that way.

Most useful I think is to get some space between the creation and the revision. Most of the time after I've "finished" writing something I can almost immediately see ways it could be better or places that don't seem to work. I try to resist the urge to meddle right away, filing away that thought for later. If I come back to it and have the same reaction, then it's probably something to work on. On the other hand, maybe you'll look at it and say, "Hmmm, maybe it's not so bad after all." Some things are better left a little raw than utterly polished.

If it's a question of submission anxiety, there's no replacement for just doing it. Find contests with submission deadlines to enter. They're usually good because they a) force you to let go of your "baby", b) make you leave the story alone for the period during which it's being reviewed, and c) tend to have a set timeline for announcing results, so you're not left hanging indefinitely.

--ich sage nicht, was ich will, sondern was die Sprache will--

Starting out with a tough one, aren't you? (3.00/0) (#1)
by janra on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 03:24:57 PM PST

Here's an answer you probably didn't want to hear: the cause is in your head, so the solution is also there. :-)

Having a similar problem myself, I can only offer things that I've tried myself in the hopes that they might help you, too.

I don't think my NaNo experience will help in this case, since you have a complete draft already... that was always my big sticking point. I'd go back and edit the beginning before I ever got to the end.

Maybe you could set yourself a deadline? Or a "one more pass, straight through, then send it out" resolution? Or some sort of challenge suited to what you want to accomplish. That worked for me - I have a complete first draft now, courtesy of the NaNoWriMo challenge, which I'm fairly happy with and am working on my first editing pass to whip it into shape for submission.

One thing to remember, too, is that publishers have editors. It's their job to help you out with editing - it's your job to get their attention. And you can't get their attention (and help) if you don't send it out!

Ok, I should talk, I haven't submitted anything (aside from k5, who can be rather vicious in their rejections...). I'm working on a few things though... :-)
--
Who needs to be big and burly when you can just apply physics?

K5 is a pretty good training ground (4.00/1) (#2)
by xC0000005 on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 05:33:53 PM PST

for readers with a really, really short attention span. It's changed the tone for voice of the hive entirely. I never seem to have a problem with banging out a first draft. Stopping the revisions, that's another story entirely. The honest truth is that in some ways it really is about not having to deal with rejection (sad, ain't it?) because if it isn't edited I really can't send it out. NaNoWriMo was fun. I banged out a novel that I enjoy telling the story for. The wife bought me a copy of Writer's dream kit and now I finally get that those things don't write for you. It DID show me a lot of natural conflicts and help me understand why my villains were villainous (instead of it being "Hey, someone's got to be the bad guy."). Instead it helped me set up a virtual terrarium of sorts where I fleshed out my character's histories and could see the conflicts that drive the story form as a result of that.

[ Parent ]

: writer programs (3.00/0) (#3)
by janra on Sat Sep 09, 2006 at 05:06:43 AM PST

I just looked up the dream kit you mention. It sounds like it has some good ideas (as you mention, why are your villains villainous?) but also forces you to use their model of storytelling. That's one problem I've found with nearly all the writing programs I've looked at - they're either limiting to their model, or they're so free-form I might as well stick with Vim. (I have found a program I really like so far, but it's mac only - not sure which system you use - and still in beta.)
And I know exactly what you mean about not having to deal with rejection... as long as I haven't submitted, I can console myself with the thought that I'm a much better writer than most of the stuff that's published. :-)
--
Who needs to be big and burly when you can just apply physics?
[ Parent ]
: Perhaps... (3.00/1) (#4)
by ana on Sat Sep 09, 2006 at 02:36:58 PM PST

a self-imposed deadline would be a good thing. First of March next year, I'm sending this thing in, someplace, and moving on to the next project.
Exploring dark places since last Thursday
[ Parent ]

www (3.00/0) (#6)
by baozhier on Fri Apr 27, 2007 at 07:53:16 AM PST

Editing unending | 6 comments (6 topical, 0 hidden)