Overall I'm quite new to the editing process. I've certainly had rought drafts, etc. for school papers (ten pages over historical reasons for the theory of the humours... ugh), but I've rarely done such things for my fictional works. Usually I just churn out a chapter of fan fiction, fix any of those pesky squiggly red lines, and post it.
I've been a bit better on The Long and Winding Road. I've still done little editing, but I at least reread the chapter and edit for flow issues, misincorporated words, etc. I haven't read up on any "official" terms for editing techniques, but I would consider this something like fine-level editing.
So, if the raw writing is my first draft, the published fan fiction would be my second draft. After that, some major editing needs to be done in accordance with the original characters in the alternate version of the story. Once that third draft is done, another fine, readability edit is a good option so I'm not distracted by small errors, and that gives me my fourth draft.
My fifth draft, then, would be the result of larger-scale editing: seeing if individual scenes or even chapters are necessary to the storyline and such. I'm still only vaguely sure about how this whole process works, so I really can't be sure about anything past that. I'll need to make sure things are consistent with each other and with the real world (or the post-apocalyptic real world, at any rate). Extra revisions may be needed after giving that draft to a test audience, and then I guess at some point I'll come to my nth, final draft and hit Smashwords.
I'm sure my 2YN class is going to cover editing quite well, so I'm not too worried about my inexperience just yet. Still, it all seems quite daunting, especially when my previous editing experiences weren't for anything I really enjoyed.
How many levels of editing do you aim for? Any tips for me?
I'm quite proud of you for doing a lot of editing. It may not be fun, but it's necessary, especially for a published work.
ReplyDeleteAs for how many levels of editing I aim for, one of the reasons I update so infrequently is because I can't just write the chapter all in one go; I have to edit it as I'm going along, then re-read what I have and edit that, and finally re-read the whole thing and edit it before I post it. It's awfully time-consuming, now that I think of it, but I still think it's necessary.
Also:
"ten pages over historical reasons for the theory of the humours"
That seriously sounds fascinating to me. Not even kidding. Not one iota of sarcasm. I would genuinely love to do that as a school project.
If I did that every time I opened up the document, I don't think I would ever feel like continuing! It really shows in your fictions, though.
DeleteYeah, that's what I thought before I started it. At any rate, I had the harsh English teacher for my mentor on that project, so the first draft was veritably doused in red (technically purple, but whatever) ink. I had a lot more fun the next semester with the laid-back old professor and my work on "Ambrose Bierce and the Grotesque."