I opened up chapter 23 of the fifth book of Before the Blood on my phone last night, and within the first few lines I realized the chapter is not quite edited.
I'm not talking about typos (although I did fine one) because I don't get too concerned about them early in the editing game.
I'm talking about flow, scene structure, beats, all which had flaws and made for a rocky reading.
It's too easy to think a piece is "finished" when it really is not.
The most dangerous time for such faulty thinking is shortly after it's written or edited.
Melissa brought her report to her bedroom, three-hole punched it, and threaded it into the purple folder her mother bought to display it. She leafed through it with satisfaction, admiring its layout. It really looked professional.
“It will be the Pulitzer Prize next,” Steve teased her.
Read your work again. And again.
Open it on another screen. Your phone. Your desktop if you wrote it on a laptop or your laptop if you wrote it on your desktop.
Wait a few hours. And then a few days.
Read it from the bottom up.
It's done when you enjoy the reading for reading's sake, when you can forget you've written it.
At that point, it's ready for your editor.
And when he/she's done with it, you can repeat the process.
This morning, I'm soooooo tempted to open up chapter 23.
But I have an especially busy work Monday.
And the chapter and some space.
(Grumble).
Illustration by Matt Coundiff for "Visage." Follow
him at www.facebook.com/artbymattcoundiff
I'm not talking about typos (although I did fine one) because I don't get too concerned about them early in the editing game.
I'm talking about flow, scene structure, beats, all which had flaws and made for a rocky reading.
It's too easy to think a piece is "finished" when it really is not.
The most dangerous time for such faulty thinking is shortly after it's written or edited.
Melissa brought her report to her bedroom, three-hole punched it, and threaded it into the purple folder her mother bought to display it. She leafed through it with satisfaction, admiring its layout. It really looked professional.
“It will be the Pulitzer Prize next,” Steve teased her.
Read your work again. And again.
Open it on another screen. Your phone. Your desktop if you wrote it on a laptop or your laptop if you wrote it on your desktop.
Wait a few hours. And then a few days.
Read it from the bottom up.
It's done when you enjoy the reading for reading's sake, when you can forget you've written it.
At that point, it's ready for your editor.
And when he/she's done with it, you can repeat the process.
This morning, I'm soooooo tempted to open up chapter 23.
But I have an especially busy work Monday.
And the chapter and some space.
(Grumble).
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