Edit. Please.

I am a huge advocate of editing and by editing, I don’t mean correcting typos here and there. I mean serious word-haulage. I believe in rewriting scenes and chapters, inserting or deleting them and agonising over the perfect word (for an appropriate amount of time, anyway) until everything is ship-shape.

But a few weeks ago, my polar opposite popped up and argued against editing for reasons that truly stumped me. This person, whom I shall call Bob, believes he doesn't have to edit because he did well in secondary and tertiary education without editing anything.

I pointed out that writing in secondary and tertiary education tends to involve essays, where students pour all their knowledge into a pre-determined structure of approximately 2,000 words. Writing a novel, where a writer encompasses elements such as plot, characterisation, themes, symbolism etc. in 80,000 words is a completely different thing.

Bob continued to say he doesn't believe in rewriting or cutting scenes because he insists if he wrote it down, then it has to be important. But there are a lot of works out there, published and unpublished, that have ‘fluff’ or ‘padding’ where scenes and descriptions add nothing to the story. For example, talking about the weather or the landscape or every itty bitty detail about a Victorian dress no-one cares about.

I've read many examples of writing where writers have obviously not given their work a second glance. These people typed whatever went into their heads and uploaded without thought. The result was pages and pages of spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, plots holes and characters who were either in desperate need of therapy or a couple of shots of tequila to come alive.

You know those characters. The protagonist who has a tortured past he cannot let go of, spends every night hating himself and hints at his history every two pages but never states what it is; and the two-dimensional sidekick who ambles around, has no personality, provides no action, is only there as a yes-man or comic-relief and mysteriously disappears halfway through the book because the author forgot about him.

A third person whom I shall call Jane said Truman Capote never edited his work, which didn't impact his sales. So if he could get away without editing, why can’t someone else?

To this, I point you to David So, who makes a fairly good point about education in this Youtube video (be warned, he swears).

I want to highlight this: many students say, “But Albert Einstein failed maths*, so I’ll be fine.” 

David So's reply is spot on: “Bitch, you ain't Einstein!”

I draw a parallel here. Unless you’re Truman Capote, you’re going to have to edit. But if you publish your manuscript and reach as many sales as Truman Capote then feel free to email me and I’ll gladly retract this post and write a new one detailing my undying envy for a writing god or goddess like you.

But as most of us are only mortal, editing is the way to go. It's been tried and tested by millions of published authors so why ignore their advice? There's a reason they're published! Nearly every author advises newbies to edit and rewrite, so don't assume you know better and accept their advice.

*Albert Einstein never failed maths—it’s a nasty rumour to let kids slack off. In this sense, can we prove Truman Capote never edited?

Guest post: how to edit your first draft

As Wren, Fall is the first novel I've ever finished in terms of first drafts, I didn't know what to do when it came to revising and editing. I looked at my 68,000 words and had no idea where to start because the magnitude of it was daunting.

To research (not procrastinate, no, of course not), I went online and pored over as many articles as I could stand reading. There were hundreds of articles and columns about editing. Some of them helped, some of them didn't and some were plain weird and only good for a fit of giggles.

After several dozen hours, I pushed my laptop aside, rubbed my gritty eyes because they feel hollow after staring too long at screens and took a drink of water. A good stretch is important every now and then, so after my mind cleared up, I planted my butt on my chair and and put theory to practice. I'm certain I've found my ideal way of editing.

I wish I looked this cute when I edited.

This article here is what I wrote as a guest blogger at Laura Thomas Communications about how I edit. Check it out! Of course, it's not everyone's way or editing and that's okay. For those who aren't sure about the best way to edit, experiment a little and you'll eventually find what works best for you.

A different style of writing

I’ve learned to write in different styles. During high school, I wrote text responses, language analyses and expository pieces. They were simple because they had a structure—an introduction, three or four body paragraphs and a conclusion.

Fiction, on the other hand, is a mess. Every writer plans, outlines, writes and edits differently. It sounds easy but think of everything a writer incorporates into their work: characters, plot, subplots, theme, genre and whether it’s flash fiction, short story, novella, novel or a series.

Writing fiction is not as easy as many people think. I’ve been writing for over ten years and I still have trouble with every step.

So if I’m struggling with fiction, why have I picked up another style of writing?

Because it’s journalism.

Okay, don’t roll your eyes. The media blows things out of proportion and gives biased views but my articles involve facts, figures and stories about people and the environment. I write about projects all over the world so people can learn about what’s going on around them.

I read documents and watch videos to conduct research. I take all the jargon and scientific terms and condense everything into a three hundred word article everyday people would be interested to read.

Journalism is a different skill and I’m ecstatic with what I’ve achieved so far.

Best of all, I’m getting my writing out there. It’s not fiction but it’s a start and writing for like-minded people about nature and the environment (which I’m passionate about) is one of the best things I can do. It’s a mix of my two favourite things!

Life after Nanowrimo

It's been almost a month since NaNoWriMo ended and I've been revising my manuscript with fury because there are only a few more months until I have to go back to university-- time is limited and very, very precious.

Time seems to run away especially since revising takes a lot more work than banging out a first draft. After a stretch of three weeks, I've only gone over 20,000 words. I have to retype everything because I decided halfway to change the point of view and tense. This doesn't bode well for my self-imposed deadline.

Right now, I'm fixing major problems such as plot holes and dangling threads. There are a lot more of those than I originally thought. However, things are coming together and when I think of the potential the end product will have, I get the urge to rub my hands together and give a maniacal laugh because I know it'll be read-worthy.

Once the big picture is done, I'll work on the smaller points such as characterisation and then I'll focus on getting the words right.

November was an exciting journey and I'm glad this journey's going all the way. I don't believe I mentioned one of the prizes you get as a NaNoWriMo winner-- the self-publishing company CreateSpace will print five copies of your novel for free excluding shipping. How good is that!

Hence, my frantic attempts at revision-- the offer has an expiry date but I'm determined to finish my novel long before then. I will get Wren, Fall in book format even if it kills me!

Done but not finished

I reached 50,000 words for my NaNoWriMo novel six days ago and I validated it two days ago. I am a NaNoWriMo winner!

I am mentally exhausted. I spent almost an entire month smashing away at the keyboard and pulling out the ends of my hair because I wanted so desperately to reach the goal as soon as possible. And I did it.

Me!

The best part is, I continued writing after that and my novel is now at 68,000 words and it's not even close to being finished. I think it'll reach 80,000 if I flesh out the dialogue, make awkward movements less awkward, tie together dangling threads and fill in the gaping plot holes.

I am so excited! Once I've finished the first draft, done about a dozen revisions (probably closer to fifty, knowing me) and edited the life out of my novel, I'm going to try and find a literary agent. I know it's a big step but I'm determined to take this all the way. My novel has the goods and I want to get it out there, hopefully before my next birthday.

We shall see!

Fingers doubly crossed

I became aware of a student-run magazine in my area and decided I should submit a piece. My writing mentor has been urging me for years to get my work out there (without success) and my friends have been hinting (not so subtly) at submitting as well, so I thought: Why not? Might as well give it a shot.

I wrote a short story a few months ago about an encounter I had with a schoolboy on the train and for the past few days, I've been re-working it. I sent it to a few friends for their opinions and criticisms (I type so fast I make typos and rarely catch them) and when I revised and edited as much as I could bear, I sat back and exhaled.

I just worked up the guts to send it to the magazine this morning. Fingers crossed and doubly crossed it'll be published early next year. If it is, it'll be my first published piece!

NaNoWriMo

I have never finished a piece of my writing. Never. Ever. Ever.

Once an idea pops into my head, no matter how big or small it is, I will write it down because I can't bear the thought of losing those precious gems that could one day become the next best-selling novel. And as soon as those ideas are down, they begin fleshing themselves out. The characters find their names, their agendas and powers, if any. This leads to the start of the plot, so I dive straight into it without planning or outlining.

At first, it's great. Words flow from my pen. Jubilation bubbles in my stomach, make me giggly and full of pride because I'm convinced I'm writing the next bestseller. But tragedy always strikes. My brain falls flat and my pen stops moving. I don't how how to move the plot forward in a believable way and the characters, which seemed so life-like at first, appear stale and two dimensional. I'm crushed because I invested so much time on it.

Then I get another seed of an idea, abandon all previous engagements and the cycle starts again.

So if I'm dreadful at finishing novels, why am I doing NaNoWriMo this year?

Because I'm on a deadline and there's a monumental goal to reach: 50,000 words by the end of the month. I assure you I've never written on this scale so I'm trying my hardest to stay on top of the word goal and I'm wasting away, what with being deprived of sunlight and familial warmth.

On the bright side, I didn't dive into NaNoWriMo without preparation. In October, I wrote paragraphs of what I thought should happen in my novel. Ideas formed, collided and propagated. Paragraphs turned into scenes and scenes turned into an outline of 16,000 words. I know where my story goes and I know how to get there. I've been keeping up with my schedule and I've never felt happier.

I know I have the potential to write a novel and I'm doing NaNoWriMo to prove to myself that I can finish a novel. Right now, it's looking good :)

Procrastination

That’s how this blog was born.

I was procrastinating from my studies and, surprisingly, my writing. There comes a time when sitting in front of your laptop and a pad of paper for five hours straight just becomes too much.

So instead of doing what normal people do and going outside for a walk, I sat at my desk for an even longer period of time and messed around on the Internet. My sister, who was also procrastinating, urged me to start writing a blog to prepare for the BIG day I receive an acceptance letter from a publisher.

This blog will be a record of my journey from an aspiring author to a big-time novelist.

Fingers crossed!