Well the title of this video is 'Don't Freak Out', which given the amount of red ink that I have on both the first and second chapters, is rather appropriate. When we see how much actual work there is to be done on an edit, we can freak out a bit (which I have done), and either not attempt it at all (get rid of entire thing and forget ever writing again), or pack it away and promise yourself (fingers crossed) that you will tackle it again. Try not to do either, try to stick with it, because once you have this one done, you can look for beta readers who might be willing to help you with anything you might have missed.
Also, I mentioned in the video that I had done something called an information dump. This happens when you fill a chapter full of information about something, rather than telling your story. Also on reading through that chapter, I realized that I had also confused tenses, the following chapter wasn't as bad at all, but still loads of red ink.
Well that is 'D', how are you all doing with your own editing, and your own A2Z?
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I have 4 more chapters to edit and will then stop freaking out! :-) I use a programme called Autocrit Wizard which helps with the editing as it highlights things like pacing, adverbs, filler words, and repeated words and phrases. I always groan when I see how many times I've used 'probably' or 'just' in a chapter! :-)
ReplyDeleteI must look that program up, sounds like it would be extremely useful. Thanks for dropping by.
DeleteAn information dump? Ok, that I understand ;)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your writing process.
I am sooooo loving your posts, thanks so much for dropping by.
DeleteDuring one Nanowrimo, I intentionally wrote information dumps for a couple chapters when I wasn't sure exactly how I wanted that bit to play out, or hadn't fleshed out a new character. Nanowrimo is about getting words on the page, though. During my first "edit", I knew there would be more writing than usual as I fixed those few confused chapters.
ReplyDeleteOh here I know that problem, I think that is where this dump came from, an added chapter that was in actuality a wall of information...lol. I'll fix it in the rewrite. Thanks Red for dropping by.
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