#editing notes

Editing the next part of heroic betrayal for the updated version and oh my god…🫡🫡🫡

My tenses are all over the place, my word choice is so poor, like there are stronger ways to say what I want and more impactful ways to say it too, it’s actually crazy how much editing improves your writing

Like changing:

“She was staring”

To

“She stared” makes so much difference and flows so much better!!!!

Morning lovelies!

Today I wanted to make a somewhat detailed post about how I am editing my first draft!

I just want to preface that this is by no means the correct way to edit, or the only way to edit! There could 100% be more efficient ways but as a first time writer, this is the route I have taken!

(Before I begin!) Please, please, please be critical of your work! Don’t think it’s a Shakespeare masterpiece right off the bat! That will greatly halt your judgement, development and understanding of your writing!

Always question your writing! Of course if it’s a lighthearted book, perhaps not much information is needed for the reader to understand but if you’re building a world and you are scared of plot holes (Like me...) QUESTION EVERYTHING!

i.e That cat sat on the mat. ~ Well, why did the cat sit on the mat? Who is the cat? Is the mat magical? Does it have meaning? Ask yourself every possible question even if its irrelevant or is not going to be added to the story! It’s very useful to have in depth information on your story. You don’t want to be reading along and suddenly think, “What? What is this? What does this mean again? Why did I put this here...

Now, onto my editing process!

So Firstly; Note Taking 

I would have printed my whole manuscript however I have no ink so I opted for a note book! In the beginning, I was jotting down every minuscule detail;

The man jumped... no no no, the man LEAPT!

and that was just too taxing, too irrelevant. Those kind of ‘edits’ I knew I would spot more than once and so I used my notebook for plot points, i.e, plot holes, scenes changes, scene additions, adding WHOLE ASS CHAPTERS, making small notes such as; pacing is off, more dialogue, change dialogue, etc.

Of course, being more specific in my notes but I mostly used the notebook for important information I knew I would not remember and that I knew would need to be expanded on!

Secondly; Summary & Expansion

I had finished jotting down everything from every chapter and it was time to read through my notes and summarize my ideas. 

What was prominent throughout the whole book? (tense changes, repetitive words, quick scenes)

What new things are being added?

what needs to be changed/ removed?

I contemplated things like this while going through my notes. And once it was all rewritten it was time to work on expanding those ideas. I didn’t want to jump straight into adding my edits to the story when there is so much to still be developed.

That’s when I brainstormed. plotted out my ideas, where they would fit within the story, perhaps a new chapter needs to be added, what scenes need to be rewritten. I focused on all that and more until I was satisfied.

Thirdly; Adding the Edits

I simply went chapter by chapter, glancing over my summarized notes and chapter notes as well as reading with a critical eye. I had only taken notes for the plot, not the writing itself and so I took my time. I analysed every single word, the sentence structure, the grammar (Of course it’s not necessary for a first draft to be so in depth but that’s just me!)

These few factors help greatly;

Read aloud. Announce your words with a clear, crisp voice. Don’t mumble or read in your head. You may sound silly but reading each word as a singular instead of as a sentence allowed me to grasp what was strong and weak in my writing.

Read with emotion. It’s easy to just read without caring, we know our story off by heart but try to read as if you were narrating. Whats the emotion of the scene? By doing this it helped me pick out the weak words or sentences that just did not fit the scenes emotion.

"It seems so anticlimactic," protested Essiar.

Torisen turned in the saddle to regard the Edirr twins. They were wearing identical armor, riding twin stallions, and had both managed to get wounded on the left forearm. If he hadn't expected it of them, he would have thought he was seeing double.

"Haven't you two had enough excitement for one night?"

"Oh, never," they said simultaneously.

Behind the Scenes- editing notes from February 21 and July 1 for Chapter 35 Gala

Writing for this chapter was truly shared and flows so seamlessly.  It was the first time I had written Tom on my own, but it’s the reference to Professor Kent that makes me laugh out loud still.