I’m almost two-thirds of the way finished with the first
edit of book three! So barring any unforeseen difficulties, I’ll be finished
with the first edit before my husband and I go the Paris for our 25 wedding
anniversary. (If you missed that story, click here.) While I’m on vacation,
beta reader number one will read the novel.
Editing is not my first love. I love writing the first
drafts—seeing where my characters will take me. And I don’t mind second round
editing—polishing the prose. But first round editing is a bit more like grunt
work—notes I left myself in the text with all the stuff that I didn’t deal with
in the first draft like “Where the heck is Character X?”, “How Character Y get
a weapon?”, and “This dialogue sucks.”. But first round editing does have its
amazing moments. If don’t know if other writers experience this, but in the
time between writing my first draft and editing it, I forget things.
So I’ll be reading a chapter and a character will say or do
something that takes me aback, and I’ll think, “What’s going on?” Sometimes I
pick up a red pen and begin scratching things out. But I’ve learned better.
Frequently, it’s a small plot twist that I forgot about. That makes it so fun
for me.
