Tuesday 31 July 2012

Editing blues

What a difference two weeks makes.

   I finished half the final edit of Three hoodies Two a couple of weeks ago. I was feeling good (smug?) possibly. Now after doing some other projects for that time I returned to place I left off, but decided to start all over again today. What could go wrong, I thought; I've just edited it. Wrong.

   I thought it was fine. I still think it's better than Hoodies One, and that's how it should be, but it was rubbish - or was it?

   Is familiarity breeding contempt? Possibly. I wonder just how far I'll go to get it right, or my version of right. Probably until only the title remains. Therefore I've decided to do it one more time, then persuade/bribe someone to read it for me. You all know what family are like: supportive and happy for us to be doing something, right until it comes time to help. Read your book? You must be bonkers.

   They don't actually say that of course, but you can hear their minds working. Or is that just me, or my family.

   I've decided that I've had enough of living in summer - that's virtual summer that is. So today I'd like to go here. I love the crisp snow the cold air. And there's no one nagging me since, to my knowledge, I'm the only person who actually likes being out in temperatures of minus forty degrees and lower. The coldest I've ever experienced is seventy two degrees below. Positively balmy compared to some of the cold parts of the Antarctic. A place I plan to visit before I shuffle off.

6 comments:

  1. I'll stick with my Florida sunshine.

    Good luck with your edits.

    Shelly

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. At minus twenty (provided there's no wind) you can walk about in a T shirt and be quite warm and in glorious sunshine. That's after march, when it's not permanent night any more.

      Delete
  2. This always happens to me.
    I finish the book - yay! It's a masterpiece!
    I edit it - wow, this thing sucks!
    I edit it some more - this is terrible.
    I edit it even more/beta readers send it back etc etc - oooh! this is horrible!
    I publish it - everyone will hate this piece of trash!
    I go back a year later and read it - wow! I am amazing...

    It's a sad cycle.

    My Mom and brother do beta editing for me, but the rest of the family doesn't. Hubby has never read any of my books, though I think he did manage a couple short stories once long, long ago. Same with friends I had before I started publishing. None of them except Carolyn have read any of the books either. So yeah, I think it's common.

    but if it is better than hoodies one then it must be good as I liked it :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you. I sincerely hope it is.
    Family - to the dungeons with them!
    I distinctly remember my wife saying "when you get in print I'll happily read it."
    Now my wife apparently distinctly remembers not saying that.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes - family to the dungeons! James read mine and really liked it. My husband's not so into my writing. My daughter-in-law thinks it will make her cry too much.

    As for editing - the pain of it, and it seems to get worse and worse.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Roger,
    I'm sending virtual cake your way right now - it helps with the editing.
    And I guess I'm more of a weirdo than I realize because there are family members I ask not to read my debut novel. I don't want to spend all day apologizing for "scandalous" material!

    ReplyDelete

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