Entering the Editing Phase

Printing off my first draft was a whirlwind experience. From walking into FedEx to being handed a shoe size cardboard box with 300 pages, I am still in disbelief.

I have always been good at writing. Am I a pro? Absolutely not. However, I have always had an eye for grammar and the ability to look at sentences to see what doesn’t fit.

Although, now that I am through 42 pages of edits, I am amazed on how any skill can go out the window when it is your own writing.. ha!

Okay, it’s not that bad. It’s clear though that this is why authors do drafts. I had a goal of word-vomiting 100,000 words onto a paper by April. Although my draft sits at 80,000, the word vomit is still the same. I am working through issues where the plot structure makes sense, but characters moving from within a single scene is choppy.

Another writer issue I am working through? Making sure to show, not tell. When we write, we want to make sure the reader is feeling what we are trying to portray. When we do this, we force ourselves to write the emotion on a page versus making the authentic feelings develop on their own.

In my draft, I am red-lining scenarios where both situations happen, and will move into editing/removing them after entering the first round of edits. Hoping after reading through the text with fresh eyes, these mishaps will begin to dwindle.