Is what I've mostly been up to the last few days...going in for those itty bitty nitty gritty things that once fixed make my book sparkle and shine. It's nice, it's kind of relaxing...it's also kind of boring--besides when I line edit some steamy kisses;)
I know some writers LOVE line editing...but line editing doesn't really whip me into a verbal frenzy. <--Points if you know what movie I bastardized that quote from.
So since I have only a luke warm relationship with line editing, I thought I'd share mmy absolute favorite thing in the world-Writing the rough draft. I love the rush and excitement and the way the story just kind of unfolds so freshly around you, and it's all new and exciting and you're in like a protective shell where SNIS can't come near you. Even though I technically was writing, rewriting and rough drafting my book for two years, the actual rough draft that would become my book took 6 weeks. It was probably the best 6 weeks of my writing life, and I seriously cannot wait to do it again.
What's your favorite part? The ideas? The brainstorming? Outlining? Rough drafting? Revising? Editing?
Also... I have deleted about 10,000 words so far. Yeah. I rock.
My favorite part is the first draft, too! Very few writers seem to feel that way, though. Most people I talk to seem to prefer revising. But I get the same feeling you do when first drafting...wondering where everything will go, getting to know my characters for the first time, and just typing in a frenzy. It's like a really, really wonderful first date, only even better because you are in control (mostly) and you know it's going to be awesome (mostly) and you get to spend a long time with it fixing all the things that went wrong. I don't do extensive outlines, though, so I think that has something to do with why I love drafting so much; I'm still not sure where the story will take me!
ReplyDeleteYou do rock!
ReplyDeleteI've only done rough drafts so far so I can't quite choose one over another. I love the rough draft at least. I'm on my first rewrite and even though it's really slow (and I'm distracted with MarNo novel) I like how it's going. It's tough but going to be much better now I am a better writer than I was when I started the book. I really want to rewrite and edit so I have at least one to submit in 2011.
10 Things I Hate About You. aka "the perfect teen movie."
ReplyDelete*stalker retreats back into hole now...*
There is nothing like the adrenaline rush of writing a rough draft. I love it. Of course, it's kind of a downer when you go back and start editing...but then you get to watch your story get stronger each day, so I love that too!
ReplyDeleteI love all of it, actually. I enjoy outlining, naming my characters, deciding major plot lines, I really enjoy the first draft, I love editing. All of it is creating something and then making it better. All of it is progress!
ReplyDeleteI like rough drafting best, too. I'm currently doing first read thru of my novel and taking notes before I start the actual editing. Unfortunately instead of cutting I need to add words to mine. Ugh. We'll see how that goes!
ReplyDeleteWhat exactly is "line editing"? :/ Is it just proofreading/editing your book?
ReplyDeleteI love the planning part and brainstorming. Gets me hyped up enough to do that actual thing hehe. :)
Heather, oh wow. I have to outline, though I keep things kind of loose. I dont always know exactly what's going to happen but I know that I'm going to without a doubt get from point A to point B to C and so on. Maybe one day Ill try to work without an outline just to see what happens.
ReplyDeleteDawn, hehe thanks! Congrats on getting to your first rewrite and I hope you have something to submit in 2011 too!
Steph! YES! Awesome:-)
Meika, oooh that's so true. I do love revising for that reason, it feels like Im scultping the book into something better.
Brianna, yes thats so true. There really arent any parts I dont like, though some are more exciting. The pre-writing phase is pretty great, its like being in a dream, the world is full of endless possibilities.
Embee, hmmmmm, yeah I add tons and then I cut...its constant give and take.
The Red Angel, yeah pretty much. I've gone through and revised the whole thing already fixing plot holes, cutting storylines, developing characters etc...and now Im just down to checking for commas, and spelling and extra words I dont need.
I like writing the 1st 20 pages of the rought draft. I think I could write the beginning of 100 novels with no problem. It's the rest of it that's an issue :-) Good luck with your line edit!
ReplyDeleteThough I really like the rough draft, my favorite is the revising stage. That's when everything really starts coming together, when you expand on some areas or fix problems area,etc.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you- the first draft. It's so exciting. I was actually kind of depressed when I finished my rough draft that would become my book.
ReplyDeleteAs for line editing- ugh. I wish I had enough money to hire someone to do the job for me. I hate line editing, plus, I'm horrible at it.
You should check out the AutoCrit editing Wizard. It helps take the tedium out of the line-editing phase. It works for me and I'm no fan of dealing with the nitty-gritty :)
ReplyDeleteYay, Frankie! Good for you, for cutting 10K words. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteI love the whole process, but I do find the rough draft a bit torturous. The revision is much more fun to me.
Ummmm 10 Things!
ReplyDeleteYayyyy 10K words! But where's my shoutout, wifey? :-P
I love revising, and I love 10 Things I Hate About You. :-)
ReplyDelete