Editing.

By obsidian_cicatrix · Jun 14, 2016 · 581 · 7
  1. I'm amazed that I'm about to say this: My editing is going really well. What usually happens is that I get frustrated and end up doing a lot of hacking and slashing (which can create problems with transition and flow) but, on this occasion, I seem to be more in control of myself and my thought processes. It helps that I've already trimmed the fat. A lower word count than usual for a short of mine, it's starting to read quite well, if I'm any judge.

    But... and this is where I always start second-guessing myself; I like it. Will anyone else?

    In the past, my main bones of contention have been flow, pacing and a narrator who just couldn't stop making commentary on the unfolding events. When these points came up in critique, some I understood well enough, and some (like my narration) completely escaped me. I couldn't see at the time what the big deal was, but I've always been a bit slow on the uptake. Suffice to say that now I see my failings all too clearly and my competition piece is an attempt to turn them around and make positives from negatives.

    For example: My narrator can opine as much as he likes. I've written the piece in First Person. His thoughts and feelings on the unfolding subject matter make up the crux of my story. The story itself can be summed up in a sentence. There's nothing clever or remarkable about it, it's just day-in-the life fare, so I'm hoping the telling will be amusing enough to keep eyes on the text.

    When all is said and done, I'm giving it my best shot, and that's all any of us can hope to do.
    jannert likes this.

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  1. Lifeline
    I feel for you, for what it's worth my take on these contentious issues:

    - Flow: easily fixed in editing. Just make sure that every sentence latches on to the one before. No unrelated thoughts intruding, no hair-brained comparisons.
    - Pacing: equally easily fixed. In fast paced scenes just cut sentences in half ;)
    - Opinions of the narrator: Is a bit more difficult and for me it required close attention to my style. In a nutshell: no sentence stubs (or only sparingly), use ellipses and dashes instead. My own writing benefited extensively from these small changes. It is a pain in the butt at first to change the way things come out, but it will get easier with time.

    And I look forward to your piece (not that I will know who submits what until much later) :)
    Lifeline, Jun 14, 2016
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  2. obsidian_cicatrix
    Thanks for the advice @Lifeline. :)

    What do you mean by stubs, if you don't mind me asking?
    obsidian_cicatrix, Jun 14, 2016
  3. Lifeline
    Hi there :)

    "Stubs" = abbreviated sentences. Either without noun, or verb, or somehow else shortened, not conforming to grammar. I used them extensively because I was so deep in the head of my MC that I just didn't pay attention that others wouldn't see it that way. To be fair, some did, but the majority of people prefer a style which is more or less conforming to grammar.
    Now I am not saying that one has to use grammatically correct sentences in every single instance, but not in every second one (like I did *grumble*). I kind of see their point. ;)
    Lifeline, Jun 14, 2016
  4. obsidian_cicatrix
    @Lifeline Ahh...gottcha. Thanks for that. I think I'm ok in that regard. I understand that if I fracture my protagonist's thoughts, they will be harder to follow and, as some folks find First tiresome to read, I don't wanna push my luck. (That's also the main reason I decided to streamline and lower my word count.)
    obsidian_cicatrix, Jun 15, 2016
      Lifeline likes this.
  5. Tenderiser
    Woo! I've had some of those 'light bulb' moments and they're wonderful. The best thing is that you can train yourself to write better in the first place, reducing your editing time as you go on.

    @Lifeline, beware that lots of people find ellipses as annoying/more annoying than sentence fragments!
    Tenderiser, Jun 16, 2016
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  6. Lifeline
    Yep @Tenderiser , I avoid them whenever possible. In my mind there is only one justification for such a construct and just now I had to use it, justified :)

    Guess I meant a semicolon, I am much more fond of them!
    Lifeline, Jun 16, 2016
  7. obsidian_cicatrix
    Hmm... I'm not a fan of the semi colon as it just encourages me to write bigger and bigger sentences, and I'm long-winded enough as it is. ;)

    I actually like the elipse but only when used as a pregnant pause, either in First Person narration or in dialogue. I feel it comes across more naturally, but what do I know? That said, I'm still very sparing with them.
    obsidian_cicatrix, Jun 16, 2016
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