Editing for me goes hand in hand with procrastination. It’s always something I struggle to find time to do, and struggle to do when I have the time! When it comes to short stories, I never know when to stop – they’re never quite good enough; there’s always a little more ‘fine tuning’ I can do. Short stories are one thing; novels are another. In November I managed to win ‘NaNoWriMo,’ and wrote 50,000 words in 30 days. Many of them were rubbish words though! I didn’t write chronologically either, so my novel ended up consisting of a mishmash of scenes with huge gaping holes in them. I was, however, so relieved to have produced 50,000 words, that the quality of them didn’t seem so important at the time. I figured I’d leave the story for a while and come back to it later.
‘Later’ has become now. I still have a lot of content to add but I also need to do a massive amount of editing, and that is the tough part. I’ve got into the habit of writing a short piece then moving onto another immediately so I’ve now got a whole bunch of stories (in addition to my novel) that I need to go back to.
One thing I’ve come to realise is that completion is such an important part of the writing process, as important as getting the words down, but at the same time it’s necessary to know when the story is good enough to submit. I’ve got a few weeks off from work soon and I’m determined to edit all my ‘not-quite-ready’ stories as well as complete and sort out my novel. Hopefully Scrivener will help me with that!
Flotsam and Jetsam 
true Editing any work before submitting is a necessity ..
http://serendipityofdreams.blogspot.in/2016/04/ebonized.html
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It’s as important as writing, I think. Not as fun though!
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Hey, I could have written this very post, Mary! Your situation sounds exactly the same as mine for this past year. My novel has taken so many twists and turns, resulting in far too many dead ends, that I have found it difficult to smooth it out and move it along to completion. Scrivener is definitely a helpful friend in all of this. Keep me posted with what seems to work for you in getting the “mishmash” straightened out. Maybe your ideas will help with my own “mishmash!” 🙂
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Thanks, Mark. I’m still struggling a bit with Scrivener but I think it could be because I haven’t structured my novel very well. Need to sit down with a few cups of tea and work it out!
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Or a couple of blasts of gin! 🙂
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yes, much better!!!
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Editing is a hard thing to do. Not site if anyone has mastered it completely but I’m a pure novice. I keep my fingers crossed that you fulfill your editing plans!
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Thanks so much, Rian. It’s the bane of my life. I’m great at starting things, not so good at completing them!
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I have yet to complete a true work. I congratulate you in managing 50k! I hope to do it as well!! /fellow challenger
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Thanks, natepd! I need to go back to it soon – that’s the difficult part! Good luck with your writing 🙂
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I can imagine your reluctance for editing. When you write, you must be in a flow and writing fiction involves so much creativity and hard work. After writing, to again revisit your work and editing could be tedious.
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I think I’m just lazy, Shantanu! 🙂
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