I don’t know how, but last week’s blog post never published. Weird, right? The side effect is that you all get a two-for today! After the previous post, today we’re diving into the nitty-gritty of my process with Editing Path Part 2. Today’s section is what I just finished, so it’s fresh in my mind. I hope you enjoy.
As for regular life, we’re nearing the end of busy season in our business so we’re finally going to be able to take a breath. We’re also still working through repairs on the house. It’s such a LONG process. I look forward to it being over.
Drawing from the Well
I made a lot more progress this week on the Red Edit. I’m finally picking up some speed. I shouldn’t be surprised since I’m getting to the end of an arc, but it’s still nice to see pages flying by. I’m trying to get back into my morning habit, but life is just getting in the way of me getting a good night’s sleep. Soon, I hope. The upside is that I’m getting to dream up lots of chapter titles, which is one of my favorite things.
Page 54/274
28,130/143,759 Words
Filling the Well
This week I chewed through a few more books, again, picking up the pace. I finished Frost Like Night by Sara Raasch which was good. After that, though, I read All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders and that book was magnificent. It’s already in the running for Seven-Star Book of the Year. We’ll see how it shakes out by December. Then I read The Awakening and The Arrival by Adair Hart. These were probably the low point of the year so far. The main
#37/105 for #ProjectBookworm2023
I’m still watching The Expanse and finished Season 2. I’m stoked for Season 3. Also, the next major patch for World of Warcraft: Dragonflight launches later today. Patch 10.1 Embers of Neltharion looks great. I can’t wait to literally dive in.
Well Chat
Let’s get into the dirty details. The first edit I title the Brown Edit for, yes, the absolute obvious reason. This is the first edit after the First Draft. The First Draft is just me trying to figure the story out. It’s doo doo. It’s brown.
The important thing is what I do with that lump of misshapen clay. The first step is to get a handle on what I actually have here. By the time I get to the Brown Edit, I’ve spent so much time thinking about the plot, planning the plot, and trying to execute the plot, that I can’t see the forest for the trees anymore.
So I go for a walk.
The first step is a full read-through from front to back in whatever form the First Draft takes. In Books I and II, that was a reasonably book-shaped, chapter-shuffled manuscript. Book III is MUCH rougher, but I’m leaving it that was intentionally. Book III required a different approach in planning and drafting. Editing is no different.
As I read through the First Draft, I make notes right on the manuscript. I used to print the manuscript so I literally sat with a pencil and a red pen and wrote all over the document. Again, for Book III, I took a different approach. I have a ReMarkable tablet (which I LOVE) and decided to try to use that to reduce paper waste. The process was largely the same as I wrote my thoughts directly on the first draft. The effect was quite different, though.
After the Brown Edit comes the Red Edit where I actually get into making changes. Having my notes digitally allows me to literally have the copied manuscript (I’ll get into that next week) side by side with my notes on the same screen as I edit. Instead of looking up and down between paper and digital, I just stay focused. This has allowed me to get a lot more done when I have focused time for editing.
I’ve mentioned “my notes” a couple of times here. What I mean by that is that as I read, I jot down anything that I want to consider later. If something feels out of place, I mark it. If I think of a good chapter title, I mark it. I try to avoid spelling and grammatical errors, but the Grammar Police in me refuses to stay silent for ever so some of that slips through. Inevitably, I catch some in the Red Edit anyway because Word’s spell checker lights up.
And, yes, I use Word. I know a lot of people turn their noses up at it. It’s accessible. I’m comfortable with it. And it isn’t even the final form before printing. If you’re a Word-snob, that’s fine, just know that the best tool is the one you are best at using. There may be sharper tools out there; this one is mine. And it isn’t the only one I use. I draft in yWriter (similar to Scrivener) and use ProWritingAid and Edit Out Loud before I’m finished editing. And if you’re like me and use Word for your writing, just know, I have a published book that went through several rounds in Word. You’re not alone.
So, that’s the Brown Edit. After I finish the Brown Edit, I still consider myself on the First Draft; it’s just marked up now. Next week, we’ll get into the Red Edit, after which point, we’ll have our Second Draft. I hope your creative efforts are bearing fruit. See you next week!
The Brown Edit– First Read-Through- The Red Edit – Developmental Edit
- The Orange Edit – Fine Detail Edit
- The Blue Edit – Line Edit
- The Purple Edit – ProWritingAid Edit
- The Gold Edit – Edit Out Loud Edit
- The Green Edit – Final Read-Through and Polish
May the tide carry you to safer shores.
BSG