Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is going to be a short one because I am stuck in editing hell right now. Oh how I despise editing. If I didn't want to publish so badly I'd throw in the towel. Editing is the fuel that stokes the insecurity fire. Because there is no magic formula which tells you that a book is perfect and your editing is done. At some point I will have to just trust that I've done the best I can.
"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed" - Ernst Hemingway. You said it brother.
This is the part of my writing that I dread. I have yet to start because I have no idea what to do. I've even had more book ideas, but I havent started to ry to write those because I know that when I'm dont I'll have to edit, and there will be a backup from my current book. Luckily there are professional editors for when I'm completely fed up with editing, I just have to start on my own first...
ReplyDeleteI can't even imagine how hard it would be to self-edit a novel. The longest thing I've ever self-edited is a 20-page essay and that was hard enough for me. You may hate the editing bit, but at least you're still doing it--that shows just how committed you are, which is AWESOME.
ReplyDeleteYou're quite right, Lan. There comes a time when you just throw it in an envelop and send it off.
ReplyDeleteHa, great quote ;). I'm actually trying not to self-edit. This is one of my biggest problems as I'm writing a ms. I always want to go back and change things until it's "perfect." But seriously, editing can do great things for a novel. The end result can be so much better than what you start with--it's just tough to actually get to and know when you get to the finish line. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteNinja Girl
P.S. I hope that didn't sound preachy. I SO am not one of those people. Just trying to be positive :)
ReplyDeleteThat's all you can do! Just do your best.
ReplyDeleteI like how you kept this one short and sweet. Trying to make a book work is super hard! We just have to do our best. ;)
ReplyDeleteHey Lan. Sorry to hear about your editing woes. Hopefully things will turn out for the better though.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I have returned to the land of the living! Internet troubles all gone :)
That's the spirit! It is rough, and I know I'm going to constantly think I need to fix one more thing, but I want to publish badly too. Hang in there! :)
ReplyDeleteHang on in there! There's a light at the end of the tunnel for sure. =)
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I love editing. For some reason, it's easier for me. Still, I wish you all the best, Lan! I've been lurking in your past archives. (How not creeper-ish of me, right?) And it inspires me all the more! I know you can do it!
ReplyDeleteEditing can be so frustrating.
ReplyDeleteI find that its easier for me if I do different passes in different "editing caves" The big cuts I make during read-alouds, often while pacing the house ;) Then I'll use the desk, the couch, the bed, or go to a coffeeshop to do line-by-line tightening, plot reconstruction, worldbuilding additions, etc, etc.
Somehow the different locations help me feel like I'm doing something new, not the same old edit!
Hey Lan, I am so behind on blogging! All I can say is that you can tell you ms is done when the edits you make start making the ms worse. That's pretty much my guage. You're right though, there is no magic formula. Maybe we should make one!
ReplyDeleteOuch! I hope things go better for you now, that you'll know when your editing is done.
ReplyDeleteAll the best!
I can relate, editing drives me crazy, too. There's always one more thing you find could be done better. You're right, eventually you have to trust yourself this is the best you could do and let it go. I hope it goes well!
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