I am going crazy with self-editing and I am getting frustrated and burnt out...what do I do that doesn't involve putting it down because I have to get as much done as I can before school because I won't have as much time once I go back and I'm kinda freaking out... Help?
Focus on parts that are less stressful when you can't bare it, then do the more strenuous parts when you have the time and energy. Alternatively, you could just put it down for a few days and refresh yourself, then go back to it.
Completely understand your frustration. Years back I hated self-editing. For me, it was the least creative aspect of writing. I could never be objective enough and my editing was as skilful as a heart surgeon using a scythe. What happened later is that I discovered it was as important as any other part of the craft, if I only gave it the time and attention it deserved. I even enjoy it now (though maybe with a little delirium thrown in by the time I reach 130,000 words!!). The trick I learned was to pause. If I gave myself several weeks between drafting and self editing I could come at the project with more objectivity. That really helped me. If you've done that and you are still burning yourself out, you might not feel objective enough, too critical, too pressurised to do the edit justice. You mentioned editing around school - that's okay as long as you are being realistic around how much you can accomplish. If you are giving yourself deadlines stepping back to give yourself more time is important, in my opinion. Writing is about patience, from putting the story down, even through to getting it published. Either that or you can burn out, unfortunately.
Editing is really on-going. I've been working on a story for months ... And months. It's also frustrating because I get super-tired of reading my own story over and over again. Got the darn thing nearly memorized. lol. Last night I took a break and stared writing something else. I feel kinda refreshed and ready to give the story another look. Maybe like the others said take a small break. It sounds like the opposite of what you think you should do but writing is full of opposites.
Taking a week or so between writing and editing helps. You tend to forget things that were in your mind, but didn't write down. Then, when you go to edit, you see it with fresh eyes. If you don't want to go a week without writing, you could try working on a different section or piece instead. Then, go back to the original after a week or so.
Is the draft finished? Cus if it's not, how about just writing instead of editing? Otherwise, much as you don't wanna put it down, maybe you'll just have to take a break. Over-editing is worse than leaving it alone, trust me. Whereas if you got some distance from it, even if you only had one week, it might be a far more productive one week than if you'd just carried on and worked on it for 10 weeks. 10 weeks of gibberish, tangled-up mess because you won't stop... Or one single week of quality, productive work that really gets you ahead? Choice is yours. (the time frames are hypothetical, of course)
