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/
Ronel the Mythmaker 
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/
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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 🙂
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I love editing as well. I feel it the when the book is truly written!
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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
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You’re welcome 🙂
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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
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It’s defiantly good to get a little distance from a project to regain some objectivity before revising
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Absolutely.
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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.
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20 years! wow I’m glad you finally found a place where you could call the work finished.
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Wow, what a loop!
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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
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LOL.
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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
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You’re welcome 🙂
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I would much rather edit than write. I wish it were the other way around, but…
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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 😉
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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!
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Ha-ha. I found a horrible typo the other day when my work was proofread professionally — I was so embarrassed!
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We shouldn’t be embarrassed really. Despite all those editing that I shouldn’t do, I still end up with errors. Sigh!
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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’
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That’s why there are beta readers to catch what we miss 🙂
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