Sunday, June 18, 2006

Do I Really Have to Edit???

I'm in the middle of a massive rewrite. As I write
I ask myself, when I have this finished, will
I need to edit? The answer, unfortunately is
YES - Yes - yes.

So, why? After all, if I'm going through all the trouble
to rewrite the book, why do I need to go back - again
and edit. The simple truth is - I make mistakes and
I can always make it better.

The whole point of editing a book is to catch mistakes,
find better ways to express the same thought, to, in essence,
make the whole work better. Notice, I used the word work.
That's because writing is work. No matter how you slice it,
putting thoughts on paper, yours or a character's, is work.

Writing is also a very personal experience. Every writer I
know agrees with that statement. But, if you are expressing
your thoughts, or the thoughts of a character, you want them to
be as nearly perfect as possible.

That means back to the editing process. Make it perfect,
or as nearly perfect as you can.

Your character may be running from or to something. But
is he/she running, or racing, or dashing, or panting, or---?
You get the idea.

The English language has thousands of words, so why settle for
just any word. Make it precise. That means - editing.
No matter how many times you rewrite, you must edit.
It's the name of the game. Write, rewrite, edit.

Happy editing!

Allison
www.allisonknight.com
Available now from Wings Press - "Simon's Brides"
circa 1830
The story of an English Baron who has a frightening
task - find husbands for his mentor's daughters -
five of them. And horror of horrors - the oldest
is a real temptation!

2 comments:

Teresa Morgan said...

You have my sincere sympathy. I, too, am about half way through a massive rewrite. When you're done, you'll love that book all the more!

Anonymous said...

Very pretty design! Keep up the good work. Thanks.
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