How do you edit your novels? I am unsure whether to edit my first chapter while it's fresh in my head or move on with the second while my brain is in gear with the story? Thanks.
How do you edit your novels? I am unsure whether to edit my first chapter while it's fresh in my head or move on with the second while my brain is in gear with the story? Thanks.
I agree with leaving time between writing your story and editing. After writing it you will find you will become a little numb. Leave the finished piece for a few days, a week, then read it again. You will see it all with a fresh mind and fresh eyes, as Isabella said, and will spot any grammar and spelling mistakes easily. You will also find you can restructure a sentence to flow better when you have taken a break
Hello Adam
For the record, I can see the name Adam Turner emblazoned on the spine of a book.
Regarding editing, I agree with Phil. I think you should write while your ideas are flowing. No doubt everyone will have a different way of tackling editing, but I decided to start editing when I finished the entire book.
I love red pen for editing. You can't miss it, and it doesn't bother me to see red marks all over my pages. I edited first for continuity of characters, events, timescales, and the finer details. Then I edited for anything that didn't add to the telling of the story and where a line or a paragraph had no value I scrapped it. I took a third edit through to see if the story sat well and the characters were truthful and believable and not sentmental. I lived with it in between editing so that when I came to edit it again I had a fresh pair of eyes. I want it to be as good as it can be to give myself every chance of finding a literary agent.
At one point I started to feel that I would never send it off, because I was caught in a perpetuum of editing and there was no way out so I had to make myself stop.
Thanks Phil!