August’s Question is: What are your pet peeves when reading/writing/editing?
This post is super late I know! Thanks to post Camp Nanowrimo madness I seem to have lost the ability to think about anything else writing related.
This topic is probably a little too close to my heart. I'm one of those people who gets ticked off really easily by small things and because of my obsessive personality, those small things can then turn me off of something completely.
When reading, stuff like love triangles and stupid characters are a death sentence for a book in my eyes.
Writing is such a lonely pursuit sometimes that I think about giving it up for all the stress it causes me but that's not really a pet peeve. It's life.
So then there's editing. If you know me at all or have read any of my past IWSG posts, you'll know that I despise editing with a fiery passion. I just write 175k words in July for Camp Nanowrimo. The thought of editing any of those words is almost physically painful. It doesn't feel productive to me (which is known is crazy). It feels like grinding the same axe all over again and that's tedious. In the time I'm editing I could be writing so many more words.
Then today something occurred to me: I write so quickly that I sometimes conjure up worlds, fall I love with characters and then before I have a chance to enjoy them, the story is over. Editing is my chance to slow down and remember why I loved the writing in the first place. It's a chance to revisit old friends I didn't know I was missing. I don't know if I'll feel the same way after re-reading my novels dozens of time before I press edit but anything is better than the no editing limbo I've been in for the last 5 years!
There you go - slow down and enjoy your own story. Spend some time with those characters.
ReplyDeleteEditing is my favorite part of writing. That's when the real story gets told.
ReplyDeleteWOW 175,000 words! Good for you!
Editing is my least favorite part too. But I do like the final polished product. Just have to push onward. Awesome word count!
ReplyDeleteThis is very true. I hope you can manage to edit because I really liked a certain story of yours (Esper) and would love to see you publish it.
ReplyDeleteAt least you're seeing the bright side to editing/revising. If you really liked a story you wrote, you should want to read it again, right? Fix whatever stands out to you as errors, because you'll see them if you're just reading what you wrote, even for fun. That's how I approach editing and I love it.
ReplyDeleteI always envy you. That you can sit down and write. I've come to the conclusion that I might as well give up.
ReplyDeleteHaven't talked to you in FOREVER. Hope everything is going good for you.
Have you ever set aside your wip, sent it off to beta readers, and kicked off a new story? Sometimes those fresh eyes can help you appreciate what needs revision and what simply is already solid storytelling. I'm not sure I can separate writing from editing because new words that deepen the scene often pop up when I'm editing. Hope you find a way back into your writing.
ReplyDeletehttp://bethandwriting.blogspot.com