Tags
#AtoZChallenge, A to Z Challenge 2018, A-Z Blogging Challenge, editing, editing tips, guest post, M.L. Keller
E is for Editing.
Writers know that their work needs editing. But how much? And when to stop? To answer these questions, M.L. Keller from The Manuscript Shredder shares her insights.
*This post has moved to a new home: http://www.ronelthemythmaker.com/editing-loop/
Advertisements
I know a lot of writers hate editing, but I have to say I really enjoy it, cutting out all the nonsense you wrote first time round and really crafting something (hopefully) good!
https://iainkellywriting.com/2018/04/05/e-is-for-echternach-luxembourg/
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s great that you enjoy editing. I’m learning to enjoy editing, though it works best if I’ve left a story alone long enough to forget it’s mine 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love editing as well. I feel it the when the book is truly written!
LikeLiked by 2 people
This is wonderful, and I wish I’d had advice like this when I wrote my first novel. On the one hand, it needed a lot of editing. On the other hand, I always felt compelled to start at the first page…there must have been hundreds of revisions of those first 250 words! This is great advice! Thanks!
Melanie’s Stories
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome 🙂
LikeLike
I quite like editing, but I agree with you, I can’t do it immediately after writing something – well not more than spelling and grammar anyway. To do proper editing, I have to have a certain separation from the work, which means time away from it.
Sophie
Ghostly Inspirations – Sophies A to Z
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s defiantly good to get a little distance from a project to regain some objectivity before revising
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely.
LikeLike
You have described me, Ronel. My editing loop took 20 years (on my upcoming novel). What’s worse, my writing improved over that time so truly, the edits were necessary. I finally drew a red line and refused to cross it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
20 years! wow I’m glad you finally found a place where you could call the work finished.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, what a loop!
LikeLike
My problem is that when I start editing I carry on…an on and on and on! I have to force myself to stop, then hope I don’t get a comment suggesting I change this, that or the other! Hang on, I just need to edit this comment….!
My Friend Rosey – E is for Employment
LikeLiked by 2 people
LOL.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Another fantastically useful post. What caught my attention most was editing in the right order – great lesson right there. Many thanks
A-Zing this year at:
FictionCanBeFun
Normally found at:
DebsDespatches
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome 🙂
LikeLike
I would much rather edit than write. I wish it were the other way around, but…
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a good thing, actually. A lot of people only write and never edit. To fill pages and pages with a new story is one thing, getting it polished through editing is quite different. I’ve found when I only want to edit, I look at my older, unpublished work and see what I can fix there 😉
LikeLike
I have a terrible habit of editing while writing. By the time my work gets to a professional editor, I hope it’s not embarrassing anymore. Ha-ha!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha-ha. I found a horrible typo the other day when my work was proofread professionally — I was so embarrassed!
LikeLike
We shouldn’t be embarrassed really. Despite all those editing that I shouldn’t do, I still end up with errors. Sigh!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ronel,
The biggest concern I have with editing is to make sure my posts are tidy. I usually go over a post several times but darn if I don’t miss something nearly every time. I will certainly have to take your suggestions more seriously should I put a manuscript in the hand of a publisher.
A2Z iPad Art Sketch ‘Eyes’
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s why there are beta readers to catch what we miss 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Knowledge and Where to Find it #AtoZChallenge | Ronel the Mythmaker
Pingback: Making a Living as a Writer #AtoZChallenge | Ronel the Mythmaker
Pingback: Expectations and Realisations #AtoZReflections 2018 | Ronel the Mythmaker
Pingback: A Collection of Helpful Posts #AuthorToolboxBlogHop | Ronel the Mythmaker
Pingback: Knowledge and Where to Find it – Ronel the Mythmaker
Pingback: Making a Living as a Writer – Ronel the Mythmaker