Editing and the New Novel

Sorry I haven’t posted on Serious Writer but I’ve been seriously writing. I’ve never been a “do this much every day” kind of writer, which has had both good and bad results, the main bad result being it takes too long to finish projects. I reached an impasse around chapter 19 in my novel plan. I decided maybe the way out of it was to start writing the book, and revisit the plan when I got close to where it breaks off. So I set myself a daily word limit, and I’ve actually kept it. (No one is more amazed than I.)

I’m also tracking the improvements I make in it along the way in a sort of “editorial checklist.” A number of good books on editing your own fiction exist out there — eventually I’ll cover them in a review here. But having been a professional writer for years (nonfiction), I know where a lot of my weaknesses are. Between that knowledge and the criticism I’ve received from others about my fiction work, I have a pretty good idea what to look for. So I’m making a list as things occur to me, or as I correct something I catch midstream. That way, when I go through to do an edit, I don’t have to mentally remember everything I’m supposed to be checking for — it’s all on the list. Maybe this could work for you too.

~ by seriouswriter on August 28, 2007.