Current Writing Shenanigans

So, I suppose I should write about what I've been up to, writing wise.

I usually work on two projects at once: drafting one novel, and editing another.

Unfortunately, uni hasn't been giving me enough time to develop a new concept, and to draft it too (that's going to be a NaNoWriMo thing, since I'll be done with uni forever), but I've been busy doing mass edits on one of my older projects, which some of my older readers from LiveJournal might remember, my NaNo novel from 2010, titled Fool's Gold.

At the moment, I'm in the midst of a complete rewrite of the first 3 chapters, after coming to the conclusion that the first chapter literally did nothing to further the story, other than a bit of worldbuilding and info dumping. Events that have happened in chapter 3 now happen in chapter 1, and it gets complicated after that, with bits and pieces from all those chapters happening in different places.

After that, chapters 15-18 are going to need to be scrapped and rewritten from scratch, because I was young and dumb and wrote awful things that my current feminist self cringes with disgust at.

I'm glad that I've finally decided to work on this novel 4 years after having drafted it. I've grown so much as a writer, Fool's Gold having been my second completed novel. Now in mid 2014, I've already written about six novels, in various stages of completion. I've discovered books that have helped me develop a vibrant voice, that have made me reconsider plot points, character development, and world-building.

I hate it when people call their books their babies, but this novel has been on my mind for almost 5 years, and it's finally so close to being queried to an agent. It's an exhilarating feeling knowing that I've worked so hard on it, and it's been 5 years in the making.

Keep an eye out for future posts on my progress.

Editing Deadline

what edits look like.

So, I'm on holidays. Nothing to do. And I just so happen to have an unedited manuscript which I can't help but dream will become a best seller.

I've come to the conclusion that I need to discipline myself and set a deadline. Since I start classes at the beginning of March, I have one and a half months to achieve my goal of finishing this latest round of edits, and send it out to my crit partners for feedback.

I'll check back occasionally to update my progress. Expect a lot of crying, hair pulling, and rants about how much editing sucks. But I shall persevere.

Wish me luck!

I Hate Editing

Dearest Readers, I hate editing.

I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.

It is the bane of my existence, but considering I want to get published, I have to deal with it. Woe is me.

I can handle writing thousands and thousands of words of first draft, but when it comes to editing the drivel, I get lost and it's as if I'm being waterboarded.
The reason I'm feeling so much hate towards editing right now is because I'm in the middle of editing my NaNo'10 novel, a steampunk with leprechauns and thieves and bluestocking girls. And it is tough. It's kicking my ass. But, I must persevere.

I guess what I hate most about editing is that I don't know how to do it. There's no rules on how to do it. Every book or guide or piece of advice on editing is different, and a lot of the time, it's contradictory, so I have no idea what to do and where to start and how to go about perfecting my precious novel.

So far, I think I've managed pretty well. My first step was to read through my manuscript and type out an outline of everything that happens. Important plot points. Character deaths/injuries for future reference. What weapons are used (because I'm unable to keep track of what weapons my characters use, apparently. (in one scene, my male main character was stabbing people with a sword, in the next scene, the sword became a gun).
At the same time, I wrote down all the things that needed to change in comments on the document, so that I know what to do.

And... now I'm stuck. I have no idea how to go about making these changes. I have no idea what to do. All I want to do is lie in a foetal position and cry forever and hope that an agent takes pity on me.

I've been slowly--super slowly--making changes to my document. I've never realised how hard it is to actually edit a whole novel.

I feel that editing is a bit like time-travel: if you tweak a slight bit at the beginning of the novel, the end can be vastly different, much like the theory that if you accidentally killed a plant, then the future can be supremely different. Blah, there's so much responsibility.

It doesn't help that my betas are impatiently waiting for my newly revised novel to arrive in their inboxes. So much pressure! What if they don't like it? What if I suck? Argh, can you see why I prefer to write novels and not edit them? (Though, funnily enough, I have no problem with editing other people's work.)

So, how do you edit? What do you do to make editing less of a terrifying chore, and something that can be enjoyed?