Revise. Edit. Repeat.

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revise edit corrections red pen mistakes

This week’s post is going to be a short one because (as the title suggests) I have been busy with a simple mantra: revise, edit, repeat. Like a boss.

Once I finish a draft, I like to set it aside for a while to put some distance between me and my story baby. This is good because it lets me look at the story with somewhat fresh eyes. But it also can play tricks on the brain.

I went into my second draft revisions full of confidence. This is my second draft. It must be pretty readable by now. Right? Maybe not.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, this story is all over the place. Some scenes and chapters have already been through the edit and revise stage several times, whereas some parts are still in second draft form. This puts me on a rollercoaster of emotions as I re-read it.

This part really flows well… oh dear, what was I thinking here.?… nice dialogue… too much telling and not enough showing… this is the best story ever… this needs to be burnt in a fire pit as soon as possible…

Now, these ups and downs are completely normal when writing. And editing is all about ironing out the kinks in a story. But boy is it a kick to the ‘nads when you come across a scene that needs a complete rewrite. Or you re-read a chapter you thought was pretty solid, only to find out you actually hate it.

I really want to get through this round of revisions by April. That means I can start getting beta readers in to give me some feedback. But keeping that little critic quiet in the back of my head is proving to be a little bit of struggle. After all, until someone other than me reads the story, I won’t know if it’s worth continuing. And until it’s at a reasonable level of readability, it’s not fair to send it out to beta readers.

What a pickle!

Follow Amelia Baumhart:

An aspiring writer with more ideas than time to write them.

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