I feel as if I've been passing through a long, dark tunnel and have finally emerged to the light.
Where have I been? Deep in the editing process. It’s been intensive and at times exhaustive, but I can finally say that I've gotten through it. Since the second half of November, I’ve been editing. I’ve read through the entire manuscript six times and Part I seven, each time focusing on different aspects. The last three rounds of edits I did in the mountains, where I found peaceful places to focus. I stopped all other writing and it was like being underwater. Adrift in an editing ocean. At times, the vastness felt daunting, but stroke by stroke and sentence by sentence, I got through it.
Dive deep and dig through the sandbed, for you may find treasures.
Now I’m back on the flat, blooming earth, spring has unfurled and I'd like to share some insights from the editing process.
It is said that writing uses the right brain and editing uses the left brain, so changing from one to the other requires switching sides of the brain. As I neared the end of the first draft, I got more and more into a great flow of writing, so switching to editing felt slow at first till I found a rhythm. For the most part, I wrote the three POVs separately, so it was fun to braid them together once the first draft was done and move chapters around till they slid into place. I really like how it turned out as a result.
Until you've got the whole draft done, there are some aspects of the story you can't see. Once you have a complete whole, you can fill in potholes, adjust and add subplots.
Art by Jeremy Miranda
Editing is creative too, and for the most part I enjoyed it. Each round went a bit faster than the next till there was less to edit and more to read.
So here are some tips for editing your work:
Don't try tackle it all at once. On each round of edits you will see something different
Someone else might see the work in a totally different way to you, so an outside perspective is helpful. Exchanging with beta readers will help you see how others respond to your work.
You will need to read your book again and again but it's worth that extra read to catch a thorny typo that was camouflaged in a sentence you've gone over a dozen times.
Read with alertness. Feel the text as you go. Do you glide through it smoothly? As soon as your attention snags on something, that's usually something to fix--an unclear passage or a gawky sentence, a patch too thick with adjectives or too thin on descriptions.
You will already have a clear view of your character in your mind, but how will the reader see them from the very beginning? Start with a strong image from the first time your character steps onstage.
And when the process seems slow or tedious--keep going! You will reach the other side, but first: make this book the best you can possibly make it.
If you're currently in the editing process or planning to start, I'd like to share with you a checklist of things to pay attention to, an editor’s worst enemy and a few helpful grammar points that even published authors get wrong. I will publish this separately in a Substack post for subscribers, so if you're up for joining, you will get access.
My intention is to return to monthly posts along with regular posts for subscribers.
Book Recommendations:
I was searching for a book with great worldbuilding and I've certainly found one. The Day Of Fallen Night is a sweeping epic set in a vast and richly imagined world. Each chapter starts with a cardinal direction as it alternates between the narratives of three strong women in one man in such disparate locations they are unlikely to meet, unless they travel far beyond home. An ocean called the Abyss divides east and west, too dangerous for ships to cross. Until the dragons are woken… More on this book later.
I’m currently reading Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett and enjoying Emily’s jaunts through the Norwegian wilderness, searching for the Hidden Ones and often landing in trouble.
What books have you enjoyed lately? Let me know by replying!
My short story, A Monster’s Consolation, was published this April in Epic Echoes, and I’ve just signed the contract for an exciting new anthology that will be announced soon. Now I’m excited to dive back into write Book II!
How is your experience with editing?
May a dive into the editing ocean bring untold treasures to light.
Here’s to smooth waters ahead!
Malina Douglas
Iridescent Words
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