tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000518581959626200.post2061775637530361556..comments2023-10-26T06:33:50.775-05:00Comments on E.J. Wesley, Author: BEWARE THE MANUSCRIPT BEAST!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00273059558675234923noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000518581959626200.post-47207902681286090862010-05-07T12:00:29.942-05:002010-05-07T12:00:29.942-05:00@ M.L. - I know exactly what you mean! I pre-read...@ M.L. - I know exactly what you mean! I pre-read a small section from the previous day's work before I get started each morning, and I have to fight to keep from spending hours mucking around in what's already been written.<br /><br />Everyone has their own process, but for me, hard editing as I go is a formula for never finishing anything.<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00273059558675234923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000518581959626200.post-71332457644796793662010-05-06T16:02:51.168-05:002010-05-06T16:02:51.168-05:00Elbie- You crack me up! Had to get that out!
E.J....Elbie- You crack me up! Had to get that out!<br /><br />E.J.- You may find me sick and twisted but I have to tell myself NOT to edit! I keep wanting to go back and read what I wrote. If I do that, it won't be long before I'm tweaking one thing after another... adding a new character maybe killing another one off. <br /><br />Keep with it! I'm sure it will be amazing and totally worth all of the effort you put into it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000518581959626200.post-46419964527587087882010-05-06T02:36:51.534-05:002010-05-06T02:36:51.534-05:00E.J. Yay! The "Come Here!" was it! I'...E.J. Yay! The "Come Here!" was it! I'm such an MK dweeb :) <br /><br />Definitely one of the biggest challenges I've faced in writing is my clueless non-writer friends. <br /><br />"Oooo, you wrote a novel (=first draft). You should so self-publish. It's so easy to e-publish these days." <br /><br />I've totally mastered the smile, nodd and back away slowly :) <br /><br />Elbie, I love your comment. Good luck on 100K :)Claire Dawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14354840714847021685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000518581959626200.post-54304654844017317802010-05-04T10:01:36.905-05:002010-05-04T10:01:36.905-05:00I don't know if you saw my MS on "Extreme...I don't know if you saw my MS on "Extreme Make-Over: Novel Edition". When we first met The Journey she weighed in a King Kong sized 234K words! <br /><br />Since then she has undergone Gastric Bypass surgery to rapidly lose some word count, took up power walking to tone up her dialogue, and finally saw that dermatologist about those adverb clogged pores. <br /><br />Today she weighs in around 134K with still a bit to go. She's hoping to fit into a size 100K by summer. Although she wouldn't look bad a two piece right now. And she changed her name to go with her new look "Prep School Sins".<br /><br />(This blog was your funniest yet in my opinion)ElbieNy25https://www.blogger.com/profile/11552745757227927622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000518581959626200.post-31319503829838073732010-05-04T08:39:47.402-05:002010-05-04T08:39:47.402-05:00@ LM: I guess I'll enjoy it more if and when ...@ LM: I guess I'll enjoy it more if and when my efforts yield a truly polished piece of work. Right now I'm afraid those 'butterlies' you mentioned are really moths and they're going to go eat holes in my favorite boxers! lol<br /><br />I think the 6x9 book is a great idea, btw. I may have to give that a try!<br /><br />@ Claire Scorpion has many weapons with which to vanquish his unworthy opponent ... "GET OVER HERE!" ** sorry, couldn't resist! **<br /><br />I think you bring up a valid point: perhaps the hardest thing about editing is the scope. When I speak to non-writing friends about it, I get the impression that they think once the book is drafted, you go through and spell check (2nd Draft), replace missing punctuation (3rd Draft), change a character's name (4th Draft) and then ship her off to be published. It doesn't occur to them that if you think chapter 14 stinks, you can't just cut it out. It might mean re-writing 1/3 of the story. Or that if Mrs. Pennyflaven decides she doesn't want to tell Mr. Hogstooth to shove it in chapter 4, you may have to completely change the ending of the story.<br /><br />The time factor is also a huge downer; when I suggested recently to a fellow writer in a critique group that she might have to spend as much time editing (or more) as she did drafting, I might as well have set her manuscript on fire and danced on the ashes. It's just a hard pill to swallow.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00273059558675234923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000518581959626200.post-31720600436416561912010-05-04T08:07:08.603-05:002010-05-04T08:07:08.603-05:00I spent about 5 minutes staring at this, and wonde...I spent about 5 minutes staring at this, and wondering how long Scorpion had a sword without my noticing. lol. <br /><br />I'm not a fan of editing, but I don't mind doing it. The thing which is depressing me right now (on my first edit) is that I've probably got to make at LEAST two more passes on the book. At that rate, it might be published by... the end of the century! <br /><br />GRRRRR!!! <br /><br />-Claire Dawn <br />(who should be editing, but hasn't turned on the computer since Friday, and is checking out the blog posts she missed instead.)Claire Dawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14354840714847021685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000518581959626200.post-13048206237185017622010-05-04T06:22:38.122-05:002010-05-04T06:22:38.122-05:00I love editing, you should too. It takes your Cate...I love editing, you should too. It takes your Caterpillar and turns it into a butterfly. Now I must admit, I print out my wip in a 6x9 book form and carry it around and red line the poor thing to death. The sick pleasure of acting like my past teachers take over me. The viola' a piece of art. Keep at it and you'll learn to love it.LM Prestonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16624508396760965680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000518581959626200.post-16822886531633180342010-05-03T21:09:36.159-05:002010-05-03T21:09:36.159-05:00I hear you, Kay. Editing stinks but it must be do...I hear you, Kay. Editing stinks but it must be done!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00273059558675234923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000518581959626200.post-115179955670406892010-05-03T20:29:52.106-05:002010-05-03T20:29:52.106-05:00A very wise lady (not me) told me the drafts are j...A very wise lady (not me) told me the drafts are just the beginning; it's not until you finish your pruning that you efforts result in a novel.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14115085533635353291noreply@blogger.com