Editing 101

I let Book 5 of The Magicals Series sit for two weeks. I cleaned my house, baked molasses raison bread, and read. A lot. Funny enough, four of the books I read were the first four books in The Magicals Series.

I published A Vampire's Tale (Book 1) in 2017 so it had been a while since I read it. Honestly, during the editing process you read your book so many times you often feel like you never want to read it again. And probably a lot of authors—being busy writing the next book—don't re-read their backlist. I recently adapted the first chapter of AVT into a comic book sequence which I turned into a video to post on my YouTube channel. I am not active on YouTube, but that's a discussion for another blog post. It was a ton of work, but super fun. Am I adapting the rest of my first chapters? That would be a resounding "No." :)

I am almost ready to submit Book 5... My working title is A Magical's Gift (just so I can stop calling it Book 5... although I'm pretty proud of an almost 5-book series. I've come a long way from the girl who couldn't finish a novel.), and I'm 80% through my first self-edit. This is my break. Writing about editing. Oh, the irony.

In all seriousness, editing is such a crucial part of the writing process. A few years ago, I completed an Editing certificate from Simon Fraser University to up my writing game. It was a lot of fun! And, as hoped, it has improved my writing. An editor is still essential... two or more pairs of eyes are absolutely required to catch writing errors. 

So, I read a scene. Then I envision it unfolding in my mind. I put myself in my character's shoes. How would I feel? What would I do? And I make adjustments based on those observations. I'm more than a little biased, but this book feels right. It's difficult to explain the feeling... It's like the affirmation you feel when you've made a sound decision. It's a gut feeling. When it's right, you know.

So, back to the ol' grindstone. With five chapters to go before...

THE END

When The Ending Is Wrong

I submitted my latest book for publication this week. I started writing A Wizard's Choice (AWC) about a year ago and finished writing it during NaNoWriMo.

I ran through three rounds of self-editing before I deemed my manuscript presentable. During my last round, I struggled with a scene near the end of the book. It seemed rushed. It seemed stilted. It seemed like I was bending my characters to my will.

That never works.

My hero Kurtis has been a particularly strong character. He wants to do all sorts of things that I would never do. Like swear. A lot. I've been aghast at the language he uses. But I wrote him the way he wanted to be portrayed. When you listen to your characters, the writing is a heck of a lot easier.

In AWC, Kurtis has two potential love interests. Dee, a vampire he's been crushing on for ages. Alina, a fairy he's just met. I had to pick one so I considered the pros and cons.


Dee

Kurtis has a serious crush on Dee. He's known her forever. They have an established relationship of sorts. Dee is a hellion. She loves to tease and torment Kurtis and doesn't seem to care about him. Is the attraction one-sided?

Alina

Kurtis meets Alina during his quest to find his mother. Alina is sweet and kind. She has a crush on Kurtis. They share common interests. A relationship with Alina will help end the wizard-fairy feud. Does Kurtis feel an obligation to Alina?


I wrote the story giving Kurtis plenty of opportunities to spend time with both ladies. Although, I had planned Kurtis' love interest from the beginning, I never gave the reader hints. My original draft selected one, but Kurtis changed my mind during the third round of editing. I rewrote the ending to adhere to Kurtis' preference. Did Kurtis choose the she-devil vampire or the peaceful fairy? What do you think? Who would you choose?

Editing by Number

Remember painting by number? You follow the steps and end up with a beautiful picture. I think about editing as a similar systematic process.

Editing is as much a science as an art. In order to attain the desired result—a beautifully crafted piece of writing—you must follow the steps.

The Writing Process

I could write an entire series of blog posts on the writing process alone...so for the purposes of this post... The writing process occurs with a rough first draft as the end result.

My current project is A Wizard's Choice, the book I completed for NaNoWriMo. I created an outline using Excel and used Evernote to keep my notes organized. I ended up with a word count of 50K and a very rough first draft. Before the ink had 'dried', I had already identified several deficiencies to address. But the goal of the writing process was to write the first draft so mission accomplished.

The Period of In-between

Before I commence self-editing, I let my story sit. It's more effective to read your work with a fresh pair of eyes. After a week or a month, you can objectively critique your own work.

I started self-editing A Wizard's Choice this Monday, about six weeks after I completed the first draft.

The Editing Process

I'm no stranger to editing. I've edited work, my own and that of writer-friends, on many occasions. Last year, I completed an Editing Certificate from Simon Fraser University. To get the ball rolling, I read some articles on approaches to editing and reviewed some of my class notes. Then I exchanged my 'writing' hat for an 'editing' one.

1. Structural Editing - assessment of the big picture - deciding if any reorganization is required
Using an outline helps a great deal when it comes to structural editing. If you didn't use an outline or an outline isn't provided, then creating one as you do your first read-through can be beneficial.

2. Stylistic Editing - improving the work to make it easier to read and understand
This is the point where specific replaces abstract, and active voice replaces passive voice. Look at word choice (employ appropriate and necessary) and construction of sentences and paragraphs. You can use a quick search in Word to identify the telling and overused words.

3. Copy editing - fixing grammar, spelling, and punctuation - adhering to a style guide (house style or a recognized guide like The Chicago Manual of Style)
Use a style sheet to note unusual spellings or personal choices regarding numbers and capitalization. If you aren't provided a style sheet, then creating one during the first read-through will save time later.

4. Proofreading - one last chance to polish your piece and catch any errors - at the publishing stage, proofreading also ensures final design and typeset is consistent and error-free


This is a very simplified overview of the editing process. Refer to a resource like editors.ca for a detailed listing of the professional editing standards or a professional editor for more specifics.

In doing a self-edit, in addition to the general areas to review, you may see a pattern of your common errors. My first drafts are usually riddled with passive voice and more telling than showing. Writing your story is only the first step in a lengthy process. Your first draft doesn't have to be perfect. That's what editing is for.

After the First Draft

Excitedly, I typed "THE END" just after midnight on December 1. The first draft of the book I had started writing in December 2017 was complete.

I love writing. It's the way I communicate best. Ask my husband. I don't talk about my feelings. I cry at books, TV shows, and movies, but I rarely express my emotions about real life. It's like I'm part Vulcan and have disciplined myself to follow logic rather than emotion. I want to say how I feel out loud, but I run into an impassable barrier each time. My mouth opens, but no words come out.

Writing is different for me. I still hold myself to a rather formal tone—except when my characters are screaming at me to write them differently—which highlights my logical mind, but I get IT out there. Outside of my own mind where I can analyze my words and figure out what is what.

In that regard, my writing is deeply personal. If I've told you I've written a book, I've overcome the compulsion to hide away which is nothing short of a miracle. Talk about your book promotion conundrum. But this post is not about book promotion. I wanted to write—after two blog-less weeks—about writing A Wizard's Choice.

I introduced my character Kuris Warde to my readers in A Vampire's Tale and realized he had a story that I needed to tell. His entire life was about duty and responsibility and—ironically—the only choice he was given—whether or not to become a wizard—was no choice at all. Rejecting the brethren of wizards would disappoint his grandfather Waldor Warde, the man who raised him. Accepting them would sentence him to a life of unhappiness. As I delved deeper into Kurtis' story, other characters spoke to me. I saw how their history impacted Kurtis, and I began to write side stories about Kurtis' family members. Waldor's words "You must understand where we came from to know where we are going." ran especially true for Kurtis who never knew his parents. He needed to know his history before making a choice about his future.

Participating in National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo) was an experience. I wrote more this November than I ever have before. It was hard, and I got sick (and sometimes sicker), and there were several days that I couldn't write anything at all, but I finished my first draft. It was exhausting, truly emotionally draining, hence the radio silence during the first week in December. Next steps? Really fleshing out my plot, developing my characters, and making this my best book yet!