Featured Image CC-By: Laura Ritchie
Link to License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
Man, is the editing process a whole new ballpark.
One second I feel proud of the work I’ve done and get really excited about my draft, then the next second I am not happy with it all and convince myself that it is beyond repair.
My draft can be repaired (although I have to remind myself of that), and I’ve narrowed done what I will focus on as I continue the editing process. One of the biggest things I’ve noticed is that when I’m writing and I get excited or when there is a lot going on, the story line and dialogue gets kind of jumbled together and is hard to follow. As I’ve been reading, I’ve been really focusing on whether or not I’m able to follow along comfortably as a reader and that I’m not overwhelmed with too many details.
A second focus of my editing is making sure that my dialogue sounds real and isn’t cheesy (Good Lord, do I have a habit of having my characters say things that a real human being never would). I’ve been doing a lot of research recently through blogs of other authors to try to learn more about creating realistic and good dialogue, and I feel like I have improved a lot just by doing that.
The third focus I have while editing is making sure there are no holes in my plot. I know when I reach good parts in my plot, I get a little excited and tend to forget to put in details that are needed for things to make sense (again, the excitement causes problems). I’ve been watching closely for things that are not logical based on what I’ve given the reader. Sometimes the holes in the plot are needed to make a good story, but other times it leaves readers way too confused.
The final focus of editing is making my characters deeper and more complex. I wrote down everything I want my readers to know personality wise about each of the main characters. I keep those details with me while I edit to make sure I incorporate the personality traits into my writing. I’ve always admired Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight for the complexity of the characters; she pulled off writing in different character POV beautifully by letting the reader see the differences in personalities through what the characters were thinking and doing.
Anyways, I hope everyone is having a great time with their ILP! Happy learning!
Keeya Marquez 
I think writing a book is a task that many never complete in its self so now that you have completed and are working on editing it is amazing!
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Your picture kills me! 🙂 I’m pretty sure editing is what every single writer dreads at the finish of a draft. After you finish the first, edit, after the second draft, edit. And the cycle just goes on and on until you feel like you have something that’s somewhat decent. Anyway, I’m so excited for you! I know that editing is hard and makes you feel bad at some time, but you’re one step closer to that final goal that you have. Just keep pushing Keeya! I can’t wait to hear that you’ve been published. You know, even though I totally won’t be jealous at all 🙂 Like I said, just keep pushing and you’ll get through it. Don’t give up now, the hardest part is over!
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“Don’t give up now, the hardest part is over!”- Amen to that!
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We all go through struggles! that book is going to be awesome!! The editing picture cracked me up!! I’m no writer but like Ali said the hardest part is over. You got to persevere and write this book like you killed it! Like I do in my workouts when I have a good day I killed it! Keep working hard!!!!!
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Editing is such a pain, especially when you put so much time into something and then when you think your done, you have to go through the whole thing again and sometimes multiple times to make sure it is done right. Keep it up!
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