Maybe it’s wrong to have this much fun. I keep waiting for the work part of editing to strike. The first fifty pages of Team Eagle Eye suggestions are in the pocket, which leaves about three hundred more to shift through, revise and cut. Or some combination of all three.
Certainly this will become more taxing over time. And that’s OK. The middle needs the most attention; I budgeted the lion’s share of June for that.
I contacted several of The Eight for another read through, though it’s more likey just the The Four. They will have less time compared with their first round of reviews. Which makes sense, since this is a much cleaner draft.
November 2005. That’s when I handed the novel off to The Eight for the first round of feedback. Jesus, where did the last six months go?
Time flies when you’re having fun… and when you’re editing. The two are not always synonymous, though.
Agreed.
Just realized that I posted the entry as Admin instead of me, so the comment required moderation before it appeared on the site. Sometimes WordPress acts in strange and unexpected fashions.
Editing’s fun, as long as you know where you’re going with it. There’s none of the angst of the blank page, and the fact that you’re improving (hopefully!) and polishing gives a real sense of achievement.
Good point, Debra.
Facing down the blank page can be scary. Especially half way into a manuscript. So I concur, there is a fundamental difference between the edits and first drafts. And it is definitely possible to get lost in the process.
But I wonder if another sort of catharsis surfaces in the edit room. When a writer focuses on a project for a long period and laughs at the mistakes — and oh how they creep up, no matter how many passes — and enjoys the good tracts, the piece might just have something that keeps their focus.
At the very least the project has an enthusiastic champion in its corner. Maybe that’s enough.