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 But there are a lot of works out there, published and unpublished, that have ‘fluff’ or ‘padding’ where scenes and descriptions add nothing to the story.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!