Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Some Editing Things I've Learned Lately

Hello, lovely writer friends! I think I mentioned in my last post that I was going to regale you with editing knowledge I've gained through this whole Pitch Wars thing. I was incredibly lucky to be picked by my mentor of choice for Pitch Wars, and receive a critique of my entire manuscript! I've never had anyone do that except for family, so it was pretty epic. Here are the main things I worked on for Everdream:

  • More of everything for my characters. Main character needed more inner motivations. Evil Queen needed more evilness. Funny side characters needed to show their uniqueness more. Pirates needed to be more pirate-y.
  • I needed to get my characters into more trouble. I was letting them off the hook too easily. I massively changed the endings of several scenes to make sure that they had to fight their way out of something, and in some cases had lingering consequences. This sets them up to be stronger at the end in order to face the final challenge, whatever that may be.
  • I need to trust my own editing instincts more. Both of the things above I had noted when I worked on earlier edits of Everdream (I just finished the 7th round of edits). But I let myself off the hook too soon. Things were still nagging at me, but I didn't address them as fully as I should have, until I felt fully satisfied. I think the book is so much stronger now that I've handled them. I no longer feel the inner editor nagging at me :)
Of course, I'm not totally done editing yet! Until they print this baby, it's still fluid :) And right now, Heidi and I are working on a 50-or-less word pitch. Queries are challenging enough, but fitting your whole book into an enticing 50 word bite? Good gracious.

Anyways, are you editing these days? Drafting? How's everything coming along in 2013? I hope it's awesome!

16 comments:

  1. Pitches are challenging because you have so few words to sell your story. I never feel like I do my book justice! I love your title - and, and, and PIRATES! I can't wait until it's printed so I can read it.

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  2. Sounds like you're doing brilliantly :) I think I'd also be guilty of letting my characters off the hook too much - more peril is needed. MORE!

    Jamie

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  3. Such great advice! I need to do the same for my WiP. Good luck with the 50 word pitch!

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  4. Wow, sounds like you learned a lot of good stuff and were able to apply it. Awesome! That's kind of how I'm feeling right now. I just finished reading The Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass and I couldn't wait to finish it so that I could have at my story and apply his advice. It's fun to get those original words down, but I have even more fun revising.

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  5. I've been up to my armpits in other stuff, so I haven't been paying enough... err, any... attention to my writing lately. I really need to get off my buns and get to work. And reading about your hard work might just be the kick I need. Thanks for sharing this, Alexia. =o)

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  6. I feel like I've had to make these same revisions at some point too--more interiority from the MC, higher stakes, more setting! The best critique my CP ever gave me: "This feels like a throwaway scene." Ouch, but so on the money. Scene was duly cut :)

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  7. I have lots of editing on the horizon! Hopefully I can conquer it. Much luck with yours!

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  8. Always go with your gut instinct. Glad it's coming together!

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  9. That's awesome! I'm writing a first draft. Trying to keep up with my deadlines even though my boy isn't napping.

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  10. I'm poised to begin editing very soon. I'm happy to see that your own is going well! :)

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  11. Hello and Happy New Year, Alexia. Ugh! I just did an editing job over the holidays. I don't even want to see the word "edit" for a few months. *laughs* I am now working on draft two of my next WIP. It'll be more paranormal romance than the horror stuff I've been doing. I'm looking forward to playing with that this year.
    Wishing you the best with your...you know. ;)

    -Jimmy

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  12. So happy to be done with editing:-) But I guess that's just the first book in a trilogy, so I guess I'll have plenty more to do *cringes and hides in corner* I had a hard time at first giving my characters trouble--I just love them so much:-) But a happy story does not = great fiction. We have to give our readers a reason to give a crap!

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  13. That's brilliant, so it looks like the whole pitch wars thing really paid off. There's nothing like a good quality critique from someone you trust to help make things clear.

    Jai

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  14. Looks like the whole pitch wars things has helped you edit brilliantly. Good quality critiques are priceless.

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  15. "More of everything" -- including trouble -- for your characters. I like that. I have a feeling my current query pitch is too wordy for Westward, Tally Ho!, but the whole letter still fits on a page, so I'll worry about that later. Maybe tomorrow...

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  16. Our instincts are often dead on, but it's hard to really know that. Good luck with the rest of your revisions and your pitch!

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