Editing

I've spent the last two weeks working on an editing project for a new writer.

I am not a professional editor and there are clearly some editing and writing rules that I blatantly disregard in my own work. But, I read an awful lot, I have worked and reworked my own little babies for years, and I have seen what my editors (both soft and professional) have helped point out in my work that was helpful to me. So, I gave it the old college try.

I loved it. I found myself looking up AP Style rules on the internet. (I gave away my hard copy years ago - thinking I would never need it. Ha!) I, at first, was only going to comment on the content, but I was soon correcting spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes. I gave suggestions on scenes I wanted to see enhanced or created to help make the story smoother and gave praise when a scene or paragraph was particularly well done.

The writer was grateful and excited. But for me, I was able to get a broader perspective of the writing process which is particularly helpful for the revision process that I am currently in with my latest novel.

I often feel like I try to make a good sketch on the first pass through as I write. The revisions that follow add color and depth to my sketch, making it tangible and accessible to the reader.

Now that the editing project is complete, it is time for me to go back to my own story and revise, revise, revise. I'm excited and ready to tackle the problems, add detail to the scenes, and work it until it works.