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  1. Naomasa298

    Naomasa298 HP: 10/190 Status: Confused Contributor

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    How do you deal with stumbling blocks?

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by Naomasa298, Oct 9, 2019.

    I've run up against a small stumbling block. I've written a passage for my novel that I'm not happy with - it's a few lines of dialogue where I've used too many adverbs.

    "Blah blah" said Character A roughly.
    "Yadda yadda" said Character B hotly.

    etc.

    If I was writing a short story, I would stop and rewrite until I fix it. But I could waste too much time if I do this every time if I do this when writing something longer.

    What would you do? Stop and fix, or carry on and edit it later?
     
  2. Cephus

    Cephus Contributor Contributor

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    Finish the story. Edit when you are finished.
     
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  3. Mish

    Mish Senior Member

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    If it's only related to a couple of lines of dialogue, I recommend to finish the story and then edit afterwards.

    Unless what you plan to fix now is going to create a lot of additional issues further down the track if left as is. E.g. You want to change character's B name from Alex to Alexander, something like that is better to fix now rather than later.
     
  4. Tralala

    Tralala Active Member

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    I leave in the word blah blah, as you've done. Then find all the blahs later, and fix them. It helps to keep the rhythm, doesn't it?
     
  5. Naomasa298

    Naomasa298 HP: 10/190 Status: Confused Contributor

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    The issue isn't the blah blah. The issue is the adverbs, but that's not what I'm asking here. I'm wondering if people would fix any issues now or fix it in edit.
     
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  6. Friedrich Kugelschreiber

    Friedrich Kugelschreiber marshmallow Contributor

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    I'm obsessive with things like that, so I would fix it. I also haven't finished anything of length, so take my advice with a heavy pinch of salt.
     
  7. badgerjelly

    badgerjelly Contributor Contributor

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    Some people edit as they go (plot and general writing) and some just vomit it out and polish later. Try both and see what suits you.

    If you want to write then write. If you want to worry about writing then worry. I think it’s generally easier to simplify things into those two categories, and then get on with it.

    Forgive me for saying, but it sounds s little like you’ve stumbled, fallen over and that you’re now wondering if you could’ve fallen over in a different manner. The answer is always yes, but it doesn’t really help to linger around every spot you fall down on - sometimes it may (you be the judge where it serves to hesitate and where it serves to just stand up brush yourself off and move forward).
     
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  8. cosmic lights

    cosmic lights Contributor Contributor

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    What I tend to do is highlight anything I've written in a colour so that when I have finished, rested the piece and returned I can skim through and find those rough bits and work on them. Then once I'm happy I edit the whole thing.

    Never written anything like a novel yet, but I tried to get into the habit of writing first and editing later.
     
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  9. Naomasa298

    Naomasa298 HP: 10/190 Status: Confused Contributor

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    I've decided I'm just going to plough on, and fix it later. If I do this every time I hit a stumbling block, I'll never get it finished.
     
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  10. thiefacrobat286

    thiefacrobat286 Member

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    I make very similar mistakes during my first draft, but finishing a first draft itself is plenty of enough stress and big an ordeal without polishing and editing it concurrently.

    Step 1) Finish
    Step 2) Revise
    Step 3) Polish

    You're good to go. Like everyone has previously said.
     
  11. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    I know "plough on" is popular advice. I tried it once - I really did. I wrote like a 80k word draft that way just once. Guess what? It's also the only draft I've never edited. Why? Because the idea of facing eighty-thousand+ words of utter and complete trash is about the most daunting thing ever. I couldn't bring myself to do it. Every time I read a paragraph (after I'd finished) I was like, "Gosh this is awful." And I'd try to keep going by saying, "Well, how much of this drivel do I have left? Fuck still another 60,000 words!? Screw that." And shut the document. :D

    No, I edit as I go. My writing by the time I'm done with my rough draft is in near polish condition. At most I have to fix a few sentences, perhaps delete a chunk of description (which, on a sentence-level, is perfectly good) and the main thing I have to change is more likely structure and pacing but never the actual writing. It's easier to edit when you actually enjoy what you're reading, when what you read is already at the very least passable.

    I also enjoy having alpha readers to keep motivation up, as well as to spot any major plot problems, any particularly glaring writing blunders. I don't much feel like writing 30,000 words before I realise this plot direction doesn't work. With an alpha reader, you find it within the first 5k-10k words or so. Still a chunk but much faster than if you had no early feedback.

    For the editing as I go thing - I follow one simple rule. Only ever edit what you've just written. That means, if I'm on Chapter 2, I might go back and edit the final scene in Chapter 1, and then I move on and write Chapter 2. The next time I come back, I might edit the very first scene of Chapter 2, and then move on to the next scene in Chapter 2. Always only one step back. If I'm on Chapter 10, I don't jump back to Chapter 3 and start editing that, never. I might edit Chapter 9, but no further. Of course if I know exactly what I needed to do back in Chapter 3, then yes I might go back and add a single scene or change a paragraph or correct a typo. But I don't just tinker around - for that, only ever the very final thing I wrote in the last writing session.

    Ultimately, this only works though because I know my writing is good. Unlike most writers, I really don't suffer from a lack of confidence. I know when it's done and I move on.

    It isn't editing as you go that's the problem. It's knowing when to stop and move on. Editing as you go doesn't mean you just stay on the last scene forevermore. Usually, for me, after 4-5 passes, the scene is done for sure. If I keep wanting to reread the same scene and yet make no changes, that's usually a point when I just really enjoy what I've written, and I move on.
     
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  12. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    I'd say if a 'fix' occurs to you within a short period after you've written it, by all means fix it then. But I'd say DON'T get derailed by stuff like this, or stop your ongoing story while you mull it over. If you get in the habit of not moving on till what you've written is perfect, you are very likely to never finish anything. And here's the thing ...perfection isn't really attainable anyway. You can always make things better. But don't get hung up on perfection. Especially at this stage.
     
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  13. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    Some people say a blank page is the hardest thing to work with. Well, sometimes it can also be the easiest thing to work with. Like @Mckk, I edit as I go. I too have done the just-write-it-until-the-end thing. What I had was too much of a mess to bother fixing. I wrote that novel really fast, but in the end that showed and was a mistake (as far as I'm concerned).

    I edit as I go, but I also go back and continue to edit and revise whatever I'm working on. While I edit as I go, my writing isn't coming out perfect and polished, but it is making sense. And the more times I go over what I have written, the better it gets. This actually helps me move forward and progress. It also gets me closer to producing publishable work.

    I still go back and edit and revise. I spend more time on revision than I do the initial writing. But we have to do whatever it takes if we really want to be writers.

    I don't really have a problem finishing things. And since I know I finish things I'm not in a rush to prove to myself that I can finish things. A lot of people seem to think postponing editing and revision until the end is a good thing. Maybe it works for some people. But I bet there are just as many first drafts that are too much of a headache to deal with as unfinished novels. Just a guess.

    You have to figure out what works for you and what you want to accomplish. I'm writing to publish and make money. I know I need to produce writing that is good enough to sell.

    And putting off editing and revision until the end doesn't make anything easier. It doesn't skip the process. It doesn't shorten the time needed to get your novel to the best place you can get it. But it might cause you to feel overwhelmed with all the work you still have to do after you thought for a brief moment you finished your novel.

    I still go back and edit and revise when I'm done. For me, editing as I go doesn't mean there still isn't more to do, but it does make the process easier and more enjoyable. By that point I feel more like I'm playing with the story than trying to fix it.
     
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  14. bparker

    bparker New Member

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    I'd just continue. I think the 'freewriting' approach will give you a better structure and will keep consistent across your entire piece. Unless I think of a better way to write something right away, I'd save it for later.
     
  15. BillyxRansom

    BillyxRansom Active Member

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    this. very much this.

    like, every word of this.
     

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