Blogging A2Z Challenge, A is for...

 

Note:

This year’s challenge is going to be on Editing your novel. I have chosen this one due to the fact that I myself am in the process of trying to edit a novel. A note here that the A to Z is not linear, but alphabetical, so you don’t just do A first, then B, then C…you can I guess if you want, but you don’t have to.

Acknowledge all that you have accomplished, this is an awesome achievement.

This is the most important thing that you can do. Once you have typed those wonder words ‘The End’ or ‘The End For Now’ if it’s a series, you need to acknowledge to yourself what you have just done. As you smile happily staring at those words on the screen, remember all the time you spent coming up with characters, places, and situations for your imagination to run riot in. All those days that you sat in front of a blank piece of paper in a notebook, in a typewriter or on a screen, trying to think of what to put down. The hours spent down rabbit holes, and clawing your way back out of a warren you got lost in while researching. Give yourself a hug, a pat on the back, close the document, save it one last time, back it up one last time, then go get yourself a cuppa of the good tea / coffee, and the best biccies, sit in the most comfortable chair in the living room and finally admit to yourself, if nothing else, you are a WRITER, you have done it, you have completed your first draft. WELL DONE.

Allow time apart from your draft

Now that you have celebrated, and relaxed, saved your finished master piece and backed it up, it is time to take a holiday, by that I mean that you and your novel need some time apart, it’s not them, it’s defo you. The novel needs time to prove, and you need time to calm your brain down. Now this can be a few days, a few weeks, a few months or a year. Do your best not to think about it, or go near it until your allocated time is up. Trust me, you’ll appreciate it.

Are you ready to edit your first draft? 

Now that you have left the Novel alone for a bit, you should feel more able to edit it, but before you do, make a copy of the novel and save it under a different name, you can create a folder with the working name of the book (this is what I do) and save your new copy to that. You can use the main working name of your book Blythe, and the draft number 2^nd Draft or Draft 2. Each and every draft of your novel can be saved to this folder, the end tag (draft number) should help you keep track, also don’t forget to back this up.

Some writers like to print off copies of their novels (some writers worry about formatting and recommend that you remove all formatting if you are considering doing this), they say they do this because it tricks the mind into thinking differently, others change the font, or color of writing on the new copy, for exactly the same reason then they make notes in a side column (sticky notes in word like programs), others still grab a notebook, and as they read, they take notes about each chapter, what is wrong and needs deleting, or fixing, character mistakes, etc., this year this will be the method I will attempt to use. I shall be reading through the copy of my first draft, with a notebook in hand, making notes chapter by chapter, paragraph by paragraph.

Adding More. 

Now isn’t the time to add more, unless you are working with the notebook, make a note about what needs to be added. One website that I’ve looked at suggests that you make your notes or at least arrange them into these sections:

·       Plot – characters not doing enough, chapter end not compelling, ending feels too rushed.

·       Setting – The arrival room needs more description, where was the hidden hill located again, so, the main council room is blank is it?

·       Characters – You have two characters with similar names, so the detectives gay partner is just a mannequin is he, what is the main characters motivation again?

·       Tone – My novel’s tone is a bit bland, I keep using a word to describe a feeling, rather than describe said feeling.

Address the time line and over all pacing:

By rights you should have worked out a timeline when writing the first draft of your novel (the one that some website authors refer to as the voimit draft), this time line works out when and where certain instances were supposed to happen, such as in my novel as to when my main character arrives on the werewolf world, when they go to their headquarters, when they arrive on the alternate dimension earth, when they meet the bond sorcerer, when they fight the half demon / witch etc.,

Also here you need to address the time of day that things happen, such as in the evening your characters have dinner, and arrive out to a bright day…nope, that needs to be still night time, with street lights etc.,

Then there is the seasonal time line, pick one and stick to it, if you are creating your own world, this also matters, if it’s spring, then it’s spring, make sure that your seasonal time runs for as many months or weeks that you have stated it does. Don’t suddenly start at spring and in the middle it’s winter without mentioning that a. you’ve been through a summer, or 2. There is no summer on this world.

Timelines also connect to pacing, make sure your romances happen or unfold as they should, not too soon, this can also go on your now to be revised timeline. Also your deaths, or meetings, friendships and battles.

Short video to follow.