Novel Writing Tools
Novel Writing Tools Course tinyurl.com/begin-writing-now The emotions behind writing - Writing was something that you enjoyed doing, something that you worked hard on and something you should be very proud of. However, editing might not follow the same trajectory. Often, you might look at your work after having completed it and feel very dissatisfied with it – don’t. This is not a reflection of your writing ability, but rather an insight into how tiresome editing can be. No matter how much your brain tries to convince you otherwise, what you managed to write in your first draft was good writing and you are not a terrible writer. Self-doubt might plague you regarding whether your voice deserves a place, let me stop and reassure you that it does. Your ideas are important. The story you’re choosing to tell is essential. Please make sure to remember the emotional aspect of what you feel about your writing, and recognize signs of self-doubt that may emerge and shut it down. Once you have done this, you can approach editing more technically. Edit, but take measured breaks However, to start with, do take a break from your writing – you will not want to read it the day you finish writing your novel’s draft, and that’s okay. What you want to do is be able to approach with a rejuvenated perspective, but while your idea is still fresh in your mind – balance your breaks accordingly. During your writing process itself, try to highlight specific sections that you think need more work, and then move forward. This way, you can approach your writing with an awareness of what the primary focus of editing is. Make lists to organize information when editing Organization helps; you might have noticed this by now in your writing process. When you’re trying to organize information during editing, try and pick out patterns of what requires most work. Is it the pacing you’re not content with? Is it the overall dialogue delivery that you wish was done better? Being aware of what needs most work allows you to direct a larger chunk of your attention in that direction during the editing process, and will help you create a product you’re more satisfied with. Ask others for help This is going to work for you on multiple levels – you need a group of people who can work as your unabashed supporters, you need another that will help you along the editing process, and you need yet another group that will provide constructive criticism. You might find it easier to combine or divide groups two and three depending on your preference, but ideally, you want to be able to direct attention towards both the stylistic and grammatical elements when they’re editing, and it might be helpful sometimes to split that into two groups to get measured feedback accordingly. As for your supporters, well, make sure they’re cheering you on and are there for you every step of the way!
