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I've finished the third going into fourth (because the first couple of chapters needed a second opinion) overhaul of my original story - the first original story, not my Nano story. This edit by far has been the most difficult, because it's also the edit where I received my "wake-up call." I had someone read the story through, mark what didn't make sense, what was too long that could be cut, and so on. I also had a writing group take a look at the first couple of chapters.
It's amazing the things you don't see going on in your story. For example, I have a bad habit of both repeating myself and stretching out explanations unnecessarily. I kept explaining things twice. Not only that, I kept focusing more on the explanations rather than the characters. As a result, the changes were massive - cuts, additions, complete rewrites. But once I came to realize what was going on and what I needed to watch out for, it was much easier to spot what I had completely missed in the first two edits. Which is exhausting, let me tell you. There were times when it would take two days, sometimes even three, just to get one chapter edited. It actually wore me out, literally. I sometimes had to quit because editing made me tired. It also made me hungry :/ (writing and editing - Jenny Craig's got nothin' on them ;)).
So what have I learned from my recent round of edits?
1. Get someone who is going to be honest with you to read your story. Stories are like a complicated maze: you may think you know the way out, but you don't. You need someone to show you the exit. Which I know is kind of a big "duh" for most of us, except that there's this little voice in the back of your head whispering how your story is perfect just the way it is, and that you don't need no stinkin' beta. Never listen to that voice. You need a beta. My word how you need a beta.
2. Your story is a little back-stabber. There are times when it's going to do things that, really, you don't want it to do. Little things that you don't see happening unless you're paying attention. For example, there was one scene in my story in which character B confronts character A about his trust issues. The first time I wrote that scene it made me squirm. Something was wrong that I couldn't quite put my finger on, but until I did the story wasn't going to move forward. But I eventually came to realize that I had made my character defensive and, as a result, rather whiny and unlikeable. This is not the direction I wanted my character to go, so I stepped back, re-planned, went back in and reworked the scene until I was happy with it, thus allowing me to continue on.
3. People are complicated. Emotions are complicated. Life is complicated. Life is also mostly gray, which is what makes it interesting. A story that is nothing but absolutes is boring. Writing about these complications is tricky because it's so easy to judge when we're sitting safely at our computer desk. When putting yourself in your character's shoes, you need to put yourself there not just mentally but emotionally. Mostly emotionally. You need to remember that when emotionally charged, logic gets booted right out the window. The obvious is no longer so obvious. The answers are always just out of reach. For example, there is a scene in my story where two characters get in an argument. Character A wants to flee, character B wants to stay. To flee is to live but at the price of an uncertain future. To stay means possibly dying, but should they succeed and survive then the future is secure. From a distance, character A's plan may seem the logical course to take, but to character B it's the rock, and her own decision the hard place.
I can't say for sure if I succeeded in giving the complications of life their due (one of my biggest concerns is my main character always coming off as being in the right), but definitely not for wont of trying.
These may seem like obvious lessons but it's amazing how easy they are to forget. Especially while writing, even when editing. I plan on giving my story one more read and then... well, one step at a time. Another read, then I'll go from there.
It's amazing the things you don't see going on in your story. For example, I have a bad habit of both repeating myself and stretching out explanations unnecessarily. I kept explaining things twice. Not only that, I kept focusing more on the explanations rather than the characters. As a result, the changes were massive - cuts, additions, complete rewrites. But once I came to realize what was going on and what I needed to watch out for, it was much easier to spot what I had completely missed in the first two edits. Which is exhausting, let me tell you. There were times when it would take two days, sometimes even three, just to get one chapter edited. It actually wore me out, literally. I sometimes had to quit because editing made me tired. It also made me hungry :/ (writing and editing - Jenny Craig's got nothin' on them ;)).
So what have I learned from my recent round of edits?
1. Get someone who is going to be honest with you to read your story. Stories are like a complicated maze: you may think you know the way out, but you don't. You need someone to show you the exit. Which I know is kind of a big "duh" for most of us, except that there's this little voice in the back of your head whispering how your story is perfect just the way it is, and that you don't need no stinkin' beta. Never listen to that voice. You need a beta. My word how you need a beta.
2. Your story is a little back-stabber. There are times when it's going to do things that, really, you don't want it to do. Little things that you don't see happening unless you're paying attention. For example, there was one scene in my story in which character B confronts character A about his trust issues. The first time I wrote that scene it made me squirm. Something was wrong that I couldn't quite put my finger on, but until I did the story wasn't going to move forward. But I eventually came to realize that I had made my character defensive and, as a result, rather whiny and unlikeable. This is not the direction I wanted my character to go, so I stepped back, re-planned, went back in and reworked the scene until I was happy with it, thus allowing me to continue on.
3. People are complicated. Emotions are complicated. Life is complicated. Life is also mostly gray, which is what makes it interesting. A story that is nothing but absolutes is boring. Writing about these complications is tricky because it's so easy to judge when we're sitting safely at our computer desk. When putting yourself in your character's shoes, you need to put yourself there not just mentally but emotionally. Mostly emotionally. You need to remember that when emotionally charged, logic gets booted right out the window. The obvious is no longer so obvious. The answers are always just out of reach. For example, there is a scene in my story where two characters get in an argument. Character A wants to flee, character B wants to stay. To flee is to live but at the price of an uncertain future. To stay means possibly dying, but should they succeed and survive then the future is secure. From a distance, character A's plan may seem the logical course to take, but to character B it's the rock, and her own decision the hard place.
I can't say for sure if I succeeded in giving the complications of life their due (one of my biggest concerns is my main character always coming off as being in the right), but definitely not for wont of trying.
These may seem like obvious lessons but it's amazing how easy they are to forget. Especially while writing, even when editing. I plan on giving my story one more read and then... well, one step at a time. Another read, then I'll go from there.
