Editing and Revisions

[sophia jane]

I am curious about other's processes of revision and editing. I hate the revision process, but I have a wonderful editor (thanks Softie!) who helps make it less painful for me. So, some questions:

Do you use an editor, whether from the volunteer program or somewhere else?

What do use your editor for- grammar and typos only or do you want to be ripped to pieces?

How many times do you usually revise a story before you submit it?

How long does the revision process usually take you, from the time you finish a first draft to the time you submit to lit (or to the time you consider it finished)?


SJ

 

[BlackShanglan]

Do you use an editor, whether from the volunteer program or somewhere else?

Yes. I have several friends and fellow writers whose opinions I trust. I like to get multiple perspectives when I can; that allows me to compare and identify the most serious issues. It also often shows me new ways to approach the material. I feel that my best work has been that for which I have had multiple editors.

What do use your editor for- grammar and typos only or do you want to be ripped to pieces?

Everything. Grammar and typos are relatively minor problems for me; mostly I'm looking for characterization, style, word choice, plot structure, and similar "bigger" elements.

How many times do you usually revise a story before you submit it?

I don't tend to do full sweeps from beginning to end all at once - more like a continual process of tinkering sections. It's difficult to count. Usually I've gone through each story at least three or four times with different goals each time. There is usually one big post-draft sweep that whacks about 15% of the length out of the story. (It's bizarre how consistent that number is.)

How long does the revision process usually take you, from the time you finish a first draft to the time you submit to lit (or to the time you consider it finished)?

Depends on the length of the story. My shortest was about three days; my longest is past a year and still going, although much of that time was spent on other projects without working on the draft. I don't really consider posted stories finished. I often go back and tinker individual lines or elements.

Fortunately, I quite enjoy revision. I like it better than drafting by a long chalk. Revision, to me, is where the writing is really done.

Shanglan

 

[sophia jane]

Fortunately, I quite enjoy revision. I like it better than drafting by a long chalk. Revision, to me, is where the writing is really done.

Shanglan

This is probably true, which may be why I dislike it so much. It's work, where the first draft isn't as much. During the revision process, I often question whether I should even be writing in the first place. I am always glad for the results when I'm done with it, though.

SJ

 

[Lauren Hynde]

My response would be exactly the same as Shanglan's, in all aspects, so I'll just say thank you.

 

[BlackShanglan]

My response would be exactly the same as Shanglan's, in all aspects, so I'll just say thank you.

Entirely my pleasure. I hope I'm not the only one laughing at the fact that my post itself was revised in editing.

 

[yui]

I don't use and editor, but I probably should.

By the time I submit something I have probably been through it twenty times or more, tweaking, changing, adding, taking away, etc.

I can catch most of my typos and grammar (I say most, because I know I don't catch them all) and my stuff is more vignettes, so continuity isn't typically a problem.

Editing is an ongoing process while I'm writing. I've read that you should sit and write and not edit until you're finished, but I can't do that. It's one of the reasons I have such a difficult time finishing anything. I write and rewrite and then re-rewrite and then re-re-rewrite and so on…

No one reads my stuff prior to posting (except for me, of course). I have never been comfortable enough to ask anyone for fear of putting them out. Plus, to be honest, it's hard for me to kill my darlings.

Luck,

Yui

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Entirely my pleasure. I hope I'm not the only one laughing at the fact that my post itself was revised in editing.

That sounds eerily familiar.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I don't use an editor. Maybe I should, but I don't like the idea of anyone messing with my stuff, I'm impatient, and it seems like such an imposition to ask someone to proofread for you. So my stuff has a lot of errors and gaffes. (I just posted a story to a pay site that had the statements: "She laid out the money: three-hundred and fifty dollars. Five new fifty-dollar bills." Oops. I'd changed one and forgotten the other.)

I revise all the time. I revise as I write. If I get stuck, sometimes I'll go back and start revising as a way of taking a flying start at the problem: revise my way up to the jam and maybe leap over. Then when I finish I go back and revise again.

I revise until I get to the point where I'm sick of the damned thing and that's when I stop. I never finish revising. I just get tired of it.

I have stuff that's years old, and if I ever open up one of these oldies and read it, I immediately start tinkering with it again.

There's this dead American artist Albert Pinkham Ryder wo was never satisfied. People who bought his pictures were amazed when he'd show up at the doors unannounced with his paints under his arm in order to touch up one his paintings they'd bought. I'd probably be like that.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

There's this dead American artist Albert Pinkham Ryder wo was never satisfied. People who bought his pictures were amazed when he'd show up at the doors unannounced with his paints under his arm in order to touch up one his paintings they'd bought. I'd probably be like that.

Yep, but I'd kick your ass out if you showed up at my door wanting to fix something I bought. Letting you know in advance.

Anyway, I agree with most of what you said (that I erased from the quote) and what everyone else said, honestly.

There's no wrong way to write and edit/revise. I don't use any editors, and don't think I ever have. I like my work to be mine, and feel that their input, while valuable, is still thiers, and takes part of the work out of my hands. I like to "own" the end result, which tends to be what happens when, like Doc, I'm tired of working on something.

My last one took 2-3 years to write, literally (because I'm lazy, not because it was all that hard) and revise. I was planing more revision when I stopped working on it for the seven-hundredth time, then didn't do much of those revisions before submitting it. Unlike Doc said, I'm done with mine. I won't open the file and revise, as much as I have been tempted to do so with past submissions. It's finished as far as Lit's concerned. Perhaps if I attempted to publish it elsewhere, a quick revise would become priority, but that remains to be seen.

Q_C

 

[Erlikkhan]

I am curious about other's processes of revision and editing. I hate the revision process, but I have a wonderful editor (thanks Softie!) who helps make it less painful for me. So, some questions:

Do you use an editor, whether from the volunteer program or somewhere else?

What do use your editor for- grammar and typos only or do you want to be ripped to pieces?

How many times do you usually revise a story before you submit it?

How long does the revision process usually take you, from the time you finish a first draft to the time you submit to lit (or to the time you consider it finished)?


SJ

Never use and editor but agree it would help. An idea pops into my head, I spend a few days writing it, wait a few days and edit it two or three times then submit. Occasionally I will read it after a couple of days and decide I'm not happy, then come back to it months later and possibly rewrite. These seldom get the good responses and I should just trash them. The best stories seem to write themselves while they are fresh in my mind.

 

[impressive]

I can echo yui on the revisions part. I usually send a story out to a couple of friends about midway through it just to make sure it's engaging enough to finish. I don't expect proofreading, just a feel for where they think it's heading and if the characters are being true to themselves.

 

[BlackShanglan]

That sounds eerily familiar.

I think it's time I admitted it, Lauren. I'm your alt.

Revision, of course, can be taken too far. J. B. Yeats's chief flaw, according to most of his friends and fellow artists, was that he could never bring himself to just sell the damned paintings and stop fiddling with them. But then, his son was a perfectionist and constant revisionist as well, and we're all the better for it. His words still seem to me the best: "it is myself that I remake."

 

[carsonshepherd]

I was like Yui. I used to write only for myself and I never, ever stopped revising - because no work was ever finished. Lit has helped me past my constant dithering, to a point. In order to submit something I have to get it to a point where I can turn it loose, in some form of "finished."

Yes, I use some editors. I love them and they are immensely helpful But with my novel I'm currently drafting, I'm doing something completely different. Instead of revising as I go, I'm posting each chapter to my Live Journal and then just making revision notes to myself. Some other people are following the work in progress and adding their suggestions. It's something new. Just to see if I can get through a first draft.

My LiveJournal

 

[rgraham666]

I am curious about other's processes of revision and editing. I hate the revision process, but I have a wonderful editor (thanks Softie!) who helps make it less painful for me. So, some questions:

Do you use an editor, whether from the volunteer program or somewhere else?

What do use your editor for- grammar and typos only or do you want to be ripped to pieces?

How many times do you usually revise a story before you submit it?

How long does the revision process usually take you, from the time you finish a first draft to the time you submit to lit (or to the time you consider it finished)?


SJ

I have someone who edits. She made good nice observations on one of my stories and I asked if she would edit my stuff before posting. She said yes and I've never regretted it.

I want her to rip my stuff to pieces. She never actually re-writes my stuff, but she criticizes it rigourously. My works had improved a lot because of her.

I usually spend more time revising than actually writing. Laying out the structure is easy and simple. Hand polishing to a fine shine is difficult.

I spend a t least as much time revising as writing, so it can take several weeks.

 

[cloudy]

I edit while I write, unfortunately. I know "they" (whoever they are) say that you shouldn't do that, that you should write and then edit, but I can't quiet my inner critic enough to just blast through it like that. I wish I could.

So, it takes me forever to finish a story, and then I usually send it to someone for a general opinion, go over it one last time and try to catch the typos (I'm not always successful), then it gets submitted. I don't have a formal editor, just several friends here in the AH that are generous with their time and their help.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

I edit while I write, unfortunately. I know "they" (whoever they are) say that you shouldn't do that, that you should write and then edit, but I can't quiet my inner critic enough to just blast through it like that. I wish I could.

I do the same thing as often as not. SOmetimes, and in my experience, often, you have to go back and make changes just to move forward. The past has to balance with the future; it has to make sense that so-and-so was here, and now they're headed there, and it's a natural course.

Might be another prattle,

Q_C

 

[Guest]

At first glance, I thought this said editing and revulsion.

* shudder *

 

[Lauren Hynde]

I think it's time I admitted it, Lauren. I'm your alt.

Revision, of course, can be taken too far. J. B. Yeats's chief flaw, according to most of his friends and fellow artists, was that he could never bring himself to just sell the damned paintings and stop fiddling with them. But then, his son was a perfectionist and constant revisionist as well, and we're all the better for it. His words still seem to me the best: "it is myself that I remake."

If there is one thing I have learned studying architecture is that a project is never finished. We simply reach the deadline.

 

[BlackShanglan]

If there is one thing I have learned studying architecture is that a project is never finished. We simply reach the deadline.

Amen. And I want a bite of whatever your AV is eating.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Amen. And I want a bite of whatever your AV is eating.

Orange.

 

[Softouch911]

If there is one thing I have learned studying architecture is that a project is never finished. We simply reach the deadline.

And if you write for publication, truer words were never spoken.


Creative writing, I get tired of and just end the pain. Writing for cash, the deadline says when it's done. Always before you want it to be, for pride's sake.




Softouch

 

[SeaCat]

The method I use is to write the story, then start going over it. Sometimes, like with my latest story, I send it to someone I respect so they can read it and let me know what they think. (I don't want them to edit the story, just read it and let me know what they think of it.) I then start revising the story several times. Sometimes it only takes once, sometimes it takes dozens of revisions

I had an editor look at the first story I posted here, and the results were great. Unfortunately I am the type who doesn't like to bother other people with my stories until I think they're done. I'm sure if I let someone edit my stories they would be of a much higher quality than they are.

Cat

 

[Lauren Hynde]

And if you write for publication, truer words were never spoken.

Creative writing, I get tired of and just end the pain. Writing for cash, the deadline says when it's done. Always before you want it to be, for pride's sake.

The other thing I learned is that it doesn't matter if they give you two weeks, two months, or two years to complete a project. You will always have a stroke of genius two days before the deadline and think of something you just have to change - thus ensuring the mandatory 48 hours of consecutive work with no time to eat or sleep.

 

[scheherazade_79]

I tend to revise what I've written as I'm writing it, which means that by the time I get to the end I can't bear the thought of reading through everything one last time to check for typos or inconsistencies. I send my stories to one person from the AH before posting. She's always very honest about anything that doesn't quite work, but for some reaon I can accept it from her whereas with other people I'd probably boil over.

So thank you, Auntie Mat

 

[Softouch911]

The other thing I learned is that it doesn't matter if they give you two weeks, two months, or two years to complete a project. You will always have a stroke of genius two days before the deadline and think of something you just have to change - thus ensuring the mandatory 48 hours of consecutive work with no time to eat or sleep.

Or, with the sort of stuff I write, there's the inevitable information that surfaces, or interview, that requires substantial content revision. I've never gotten used to that. It's like being on an elevator and hearing: "Oh, the first floor isn't there anymore."



Softouch