I know I haven’t posted in a moon or two, and I wish I could tell you I’ve been editing this whole time. But let’s just say slow and not-so-steady isn’t working very well.
I’ve gone through the conceptualization of Five Rings and two sequel novels, designed outlines, wrote the entire first book, and now all that’s left is the editing/re-writing.
I thought things would be easy from here. I have the weight of all those steps behind me just crushing me to get finished… but…
What I need is a way to inspire myself to commit to sitting down and editing more often. It’s harder for me to sit down and edit than it has been for me to write. I didn’t expect it to be so difficult. Maybe it’s because the changes I make feel more permanent this time around. I more or less have to get it right this time, you know? Or maybe it’s because a few of my author friends seem to have stopped writing altogether, which is a thought that has depressed me quite a bit.
It’s not that I haven’t been working on Five Rings at all, but, too regularly, I’ve been letting other things distract me. My usual method is to try and get distractions out of my system through oversaturation, but this time I’m starting to feel guilty.
I know there’s a lot of great writers sitting down right now editing. Some of which conceptualized, outlined, wrote, edited, and rewrote all in the time it took me to write my first draft. And that’s what I’ve been telling myself lately to keep my damn butt in this chair. Maybe if I can channel the energies of all these wonderfully dedicated writers and feel some sort of virtual kinship to them, it’ll encourage me to sit down and edit, too.
But any further advice is welcome.
Comment by Merrilee Faber — August 2, 2009 @ 4:32 pm
I do keep up with your blog, I visit it almost every day, I promise! And I read all your tweets, too ^__^
Goal-setting has never really worked for me. I think I’m searching for something else…
Maybe an edit marathon?
For writing, it was making promises here (and hosting contests) that worked. For editing, it looks like I need a different method.
The only thing currently getting me in the chair is when ‘inspiration strikes me’, and as all good writers know, inspiration doesn’t strike often enough to cut it.
Comment by Nick Enlowe — August 2, 2009 @ 8:21 pm
Amen to that. I’m trying to re-find my feet and approach what I have done the last few months but something is missing and for some reason, I too cannot seem to get myself to ‘click’ with my book at the moment.
Comment by RG Sanders — August 7, 2009 @ 6:55 pm
It sounds like you were psyching yourself out and making the editing work into an Everest. You really don’t have to get it right this first time around. The beauty of word and multiple saves is that nothing is ever permanent. You can always go back or update. You’ve gotten your ideas onto the paper and have the basic structure of the story. What comes next is a process of experimentation. It’s like making a good soup. You can’t just through the ingredients into a pot and expect it to come out perfect. You keep adding to it over time, layering the flavors. If you mess up, you adjust and taste-test the soup frequently along the way.
Think about this too, even after you’ve worked the manuscript to the point that you’re ready to start querying, the manuscript still hasn’t reached it’s final form. If you get a contract, there is still all the in-house revisions it will have to go through. So relax a little, try and have as much fun with the editing as you did with the writing. Your twitter updates seem indicative that you are finding your groove. Good luck with the rest!
~ L. (the letter formerly known as Darcy, hehe)
Comment by L. — August 8, 2009 @ 11:36 am
The analogy for creating a soup works so well right now for me because I just finished watching the inpiring movie ‘Julie & Julia’.
It’s about Julia Child herself, and a modern day young person who was inspired by Julia to undertake a huge and difficult experiment — Both despite what naysayers had to say.
The movie reminds us Julia wasn’t always JULIA CHILD and that she had to work so hard to find the success that she finally did, including working on writing and revising her cookbook ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ for eight years before it finally got published.
Comment by Nick Enlowe — August 9, 2009 @ 8:39 pm
I’ve just been telling myself that this’ll all be worth it, if nothing else just to feel that completed, revised formal manuscript in my hands and share it with my friends and family. And to complete something amazing, something bigger than me.
Comment by Nick Enlowe — August 9, 2009 @ 8:43 pm