Much Ado About Editing – The Climb #210

Saturday 19^th August 2017

Today could be summed up in just one word: editing.
Editing, editing, editing, editing, editing.
In total, I edited for the best part of 15 hours, and the only reason I didn’t carry on for a few hours more was the fact that I was worried I was getting a bit sloppy. I’ll know tomorrow when I go back over the last chapter.
I think it’s possible that I speed up towards the end of writing a novel and so don’t drag things out quite so much in terms of emotions. Of course, everything is coming to a conclusion, so there’s less indecision in my protagonist. And the end is pretty action packed so there’s less emotion to be edited down.
But I’m also aware that subconsciously, I want this done. I feel I’ve taken too long over it and there must be black marks against my name. But this could be the last edit before going to a publisher, so I want to get it right.
In the end I edited some 4 and a half chapters. I’m pleased with my progress. It puts me on target for getting the edit done by tomorrow night. Part of my plan is to send it to betas on Monday so that while I have a busy work week, they give it a quick check over. But I also need to read it aloud and that’s going to take a good 3 or 4 days.
I suspect that I’ll spend the whole of next weekend’s bank holiday reading it aloud to myself. I want to avoid that if I can, but with so many minor points changed, I worry that I’ve introduced a raft of minor continuity errors.
I did take one major break today and that was to go to Morrison’s. I came back with chocolate milk. This is how exciting my day was. I’ve pretty much decided that I’m taking the entire of September off. I’ll probably get bored and start writing something.
But despite what has felt like one of the most boring days of my life today, there has been plenty of enjoyment.
I love the end of this novel. Forget that it was written by me for a second. It’s everything I would want in the climax of a book and I often forget that I wrote it. Now, it’s possible that I’ll be the book’s only fan, and God knows there have been parts of this novel I’ve almost torn hair out in frustration at. But the end… the end of this book is masterful. The tone is perfect, the tension builds, the action is jaw-dropping. I’ve read it more times than I care to remember and yet I still punch the air at certain scenes.
Whereas you will often find me shouting at my computer screen that a scene is shit or has some major element wrong, when it comes to the end of this novel, I’m screaming “yes!”
There’s still plenty to edit. I’m still making a load of changes – taking out clunky sentences, removing needless words. But they’re the exception and I’m excited how these great scenes are being made better.
I’m almost positive that no-one else will love them as much as I do. This book was written by me for me. And most certainly in the climax of this book it delivers that.
It’s that love for those scenes that keeps me plodding on, keeps me focused, and keeps me editing.
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