The Editing Process

[malenkayacherepakha]

Editing my own works isn't something I do very well - I read things over of course and make the odd minor change, but I've never done a proper critical edit of my fic. I want to improve my writing though, and I've got a couple of fics in the pipeline that I hope have the potential to be really good, and good editing is going to help a lot with that.

So, I thought I'd see what wisdom all the brilliant writers on here have to share!
What do you look for when you edit (or beta!)?
How does your editing process (or beta process) work?

Any thoughts are massively appreciated!

Comments

[magpie_fngrl]

As a pantser, I'm big on editing and revision. The main thing I do is rereads. I edit as I go along, so I'll read from the top, making corrections here and there; when I get to a point that needs heavy revising, I'll do that, then I might reread from the top again to ensure it all works. Pacing is hard to judge for everyone; for me, my guide is my reread: I try to be alert to the tiniest feeling of boredom; it usually means I need to revise/tighten something.

I'm also a huge cutter. One of the most edifying exercises I've done is one where I had to cut my writing by x per cent (I can't remember now the exact percentage, not that it matters much). That might mean finding 200 words to remove in a 2k fic, which seems impossible at first, but it's not. During my editing, I'll cut all the "just" I keep writing, all the dialogue tags that aren't necessary. Another thing to do about prose is to search your doc for a word you know you're using a lot, say "looked". If you're me, you might end up with 100 instances in a short fic, where apparently every one looks at each other and nothing else LOL. Do it for words like "realised" (most times words like that can be cut), "really", "very" and any other filter words that give you nothing.

Reading aloud is a fantastic way to ensure flow. When you catch yourself stumbling over a sentence, it needs rewriting.

Writing well depends on reading well; what we read is what we write. I can usually tell by the first paragraph if a writer is experienced, and I can always tell if a writer has been reading only fanfic. This isn't about editing a specific story, more to learn about storytelling which will help you know what to look for when you edit: Find a few stories that make you think "this is the kind of writing I want to do, the kind that speaks to me" and read them closely. Study those works. If there's one piece of advice out of this long-ass comment I'm writing that I'd urge you to take, it's this: take the best writing you can find and break it open. Consider questions such as: what kind of obstacles does the author set before the HEA? How do they reach the resolution? How do they start a story? What do they leave out? What is my fave moment in that story, and how tf did they manage to leave me shaking on the floor? I've learned more from reading Captive Prince than from several MOOCs I took.

Distance and time is the best, although not always feasible. But even a few days suffice.

Final suggestion: def find a good beta. Find a friend who's a decent writer themselves and/or an ardent reader (of books, not just fic) and exchange beta services. You'll learn loads from doing beta, too. Also, you can ask questions such as: what didn't you like? What would you cut? Or things like: "would X character behave this way here?"

[malenkayacherepakha]

Yes it's stuff like pacing which is a bit harder to judge and explain (as opposed to grammar etc) which I struggle with, looking out for my reactions to each bit is a good tip.

Doing the drabble challenge on the drarry discord has made me practice my cutting skills a bit - it's hard to hit a specific word count - but I really like the sound of your exercise. It sounds painful in a good way! I know I use 'just' and filler words like 'looked' and 'started to' too much so I'm going to make a note to do a read through where I just focus on finding those words.

I totally agree on reading being so important for writing well. I've been trying to do something similar to what you describe when reading some of my favourite fics, and I've taken away a few things which I'm already trying to put into practice. I'm definitely going to set aside some time to really deconstruct some of my favourite writing though now, and really think about how they make the story work - this will be so helpful when I start to write my longer, more plotty fic.

(Also I'm seeing a lot about Captive Prince everywhere, sounds like I might need to get myself a copy!)

I'm definitely seeing the value of a good beta - recently I've had a couple (including Chris, Grace and Marina) who have really helped a lot, their comments have been really insightful and definitely made the fic a lot better. I've also been trying to up my beta game too (in cases where it's appreciated) to offer concrit that goes beyond just spag, and it's helping me think about how I might approach editing my writing in the same way. The more you think about things like this the more you realise how valuable a really good writer-beta relationship is!

I think it was you actually who reblogged something a few days ago about your writing only being as good as your beta, and people only being able to beta as well as they write (or something along those lines, I can't remember the exact wording), and that is part of what made me start thinking about this, I thought it was a really insightful comment that echoed a lot of what I'd been experiencing but hadn't been able to put into words.

[magpie_fngrl]

H-how have you not read CaPri yet?! Run to your nearest (virtual) library and see if they have an ebook. It's a phenomenal romance.

Ah yes, I remember that post! I reblogged it mainly as a response to something I see in fandom a lot: when they speak of concrit, people tend to say "My betas have given me concrit, and I trust them." And the mean person in me thinks "well, I've read your work and would hate to tell you so, but your beta isn't as awesome as you think." The post put it aptly: you can only critique at the level you're at. Not that people should allow unsolicited concrit, far from it, it's just something I've been thinking about, and that post put it into words.

Giving critique is as rewarding as accepting it, def. Consider this an open invitation for you to take any of my fics (maybe over 4-5k so it has some meat in it) and give me your critique. Good and bad; be brutal if you want. But be specific: we'll both learn more if you focus on the mechanics of it. I do allow concrit on AO3 (on the story, not writing craft).(I have a lot of thoughts about concrit, you might have gathered lol)

As for the filler words, don't rely on the read-through bc usually these words are invisible. Do an actual search. Word has the function and Google Docs I think. All the instances will be highlighted so you'll be able to see them at a glance. Not to mention that seeing the total number might put the fear of the Writing God in you and the next time you might catch yourself before writing "just" "really" (I use those two so much!)

[malenkayacherepakha]

I have no idea! I'll download it tonight.

Yeah reading that post was like a little lightbulb went on in my brain and made me understand something I'd struggled to articulate even in my thoughts before. It's very interesting and has definitely made me look at my beta relationships in a new light. I'm beta'ing a fic currently and trying to put some of the thoughts inspired by that post (and the comments on here!) into practice, and I think it's going to really improve the quality of my beta'ing. It's also made me rethink how I find my betas - I'm not sure putting a general call out on discord is going to get me the results I want for longer fics, I think I'll need to stick to asking people I know. I can see why people end up forming long term beta partnerships!

Oh thank you - that sounds like it could be a really helpful exercise! It'll definitely feel a bit strange - I'm not used to being 'allowed' to give concrit, especially not to authors who I admire, but I can imagine it'll help my writing so much. Once I'm done with the fest deadline I'm currently working to I'll have a go!

I'm open to you doing the same for any of my works too, by the way!

I'd be very interested in hearing more about your thoughts on concrit. I'm still in the process of turning my feelings on concrit into actual thoughts, if that makes sense, and am trying to figure out what *my* thoughts are without being swayed too much by the discourse around it on Tumblr. I definitely want to start getting more concrit, it's maybe the context that makes all the difference (ie if you decided to concrit one of my fics after this conversation or if a beta gives me concrit, that's fine, because I've asked and because I know you/my betas and know that you're a good writer).

Good point - I'll do a proper search!

[magpie_fngrl]

Omg do not get a random beta from discord for your serious stuff! I mean, they might be fantastic at betaing but they also ... might not.

[malenkayacherepakha]

Yeah I've stopped using them for anything but the smallest stuff that I don't care too much about - I've had some great betas from that but also some not so great ones, and the risk is too high for stuff I care a lot about. I totally see why a lot of authors have their little group of betas that they use over and over again, and I'm focusing on building those kind of relationships for myself.