Editing: The Bane of Every Writer’s Existence
Genius is that eureka! moment when you have an idea.
Discipline is writing it down.
But it is in editing that your art gets translated articulately.
This involves long hours sitting in front of your computer and staring at text.
It ain’t easy!
Things come up, your mind wanders, you’re feeling unmotivated, editing can feel like the most challenging thing.
Whether you’re part of the club that loves it (yay for you btw, we don’t like you very much) — or you’re like the rest of us who hate it, then read on:
The Editing Process
- Optimism
- Agony & Self-Hatred
- Proficiency
- Flow
- Nihilism
- No more f*cks given
- Beast Mode
- Finish Line
1. Optimism
Ah, yes. The beginning of any project brings so much hope. So much excitement. Opening your document to the first chapter can spur so much energy, optimism, and general excitement to get things done.
You look at the word count at the bottom of the page.
You say to yourself, ‘Yes, I can totally edit 10,000 or 30,000 words. Heck, I can edit 100,000 words.’
I’m ready, world, and I’m here to take you on!
You break out the calculator and divvy up the word count into bite-sized pieces. Based on your deadline, you’ll need, on average, a chapter or two a day and about 3,000 to 4,000 words. Great. That was easy. This is doable. You got this!
So far, so good.
You start to get into it.
This is not so bad…right?
2. Agony & Self-Hatred
Suddenly, you get to that line you wrote while you were feeling cheesy. So, you reread it, and this time it makes you cringe.
The agony & self-hatred have kicked in.
You hit a wall.
You start to hate your writing. You begin to hate yourself. The negative self-speak rises to the surface.
Why write this thing in the first place? Is it possible to rewrite the whole thing now? Can you still make that deadline?
But dammit, how are you supposed to finish editing if all this self-deprecating noise keeps creeping up in your head? Maybe it’s because you’ve been a talentless hack all this time. Perhaps you should have listened to your parents and become a doctor. Is it too late to crawl into a hole and never come out?
You sigh heavily and groan into your hands. Maybe a walk will help.
3. Proficiency
There’s no use graveling. After some time away (and reevaluating your options for a career change), you figure it’s time to try again.
You’ve got nothing better to do anyway. There is no point in watching T.V., no point in mindlessly playing games, and no point in procrastinating. You can’t stop thinking about your draft.
So, after a few days of agony, you decide it’s time to open your word document and have another go.
This time, as you start editing, you skim past the hard parts. You’ve moved past that cheesy line.
You’re working through it.
It’s kind of like magic.
You can do this.
Things are working.
4. Flow
By some miracle, you get into the rhythm.
You get a resonance going. There’s no more force; you’re not straining yourself; you’re just doing.
You feel what’s in your heart. And you trust yourself.
You get lost in the writing.
There is no self-deprivation. It’s only self-discovery. You’re enjoying yourself. You’re figuring out how you can do things better. One-upping yourself at every section.
There is no right and wrong like a musician playing in an orchestra. You only do what you can do best.
Somehow, that plot hole gets fixed. Somehow, half of your novel is edited. Somehow, the book is coming along better than you expected. You keep going. You don’t want to lose this flow. This is what you’ve been searching for all along.
Like a beautiful melody carried along on a mid-summer’s day.
You keep going.
5. Nihilism
And you keep going…
That ‘flow’ you felt has become less like an effortless drift of the wind but now a dragging of the feet.
You just want to get on to the next section, but you cannot get this one part right.
It’s taking too darned long.
The realization sets in that you’ve been working on this draft for the past week — no — 2 weeks — a month!
You push the keyboard away in a rage.
The cynicism starts to kick in.
Things are starting to look dire.
Will this ever end?
Maybe. Maybe not. You guess it doesn’t hurt to take a day off, right? Then, come back at it with fresh eyes?
6. No more f*cks given
After a day (or two), you come back. Recharged.
You open up that document you’ve been obsessed over for a duration of who the hell knows how long.
You know what?
You’re going to finish this thing. No more excuses. You’ve waited long enough! The world needs to see your art. The only way they’re gonna see it — is if you finish.
You must. GET. IT. DONE.
It’s the only way. With a newfound determination and courage, you begin again.
Isn’t it funny? How many times you’ve ‘begun again?’ It seems like a million.
No more distractions. Phone? In the drawer. YouTube? Blocked. Snacks? No time.
It’s time to pump this thing out.
7. Beast Mode
In other words, putting your head down and god damnned finishing this sh*t.
You’re going to give it your all.
That snail’s pace you were going has suddenly become a bear running through a field of honeycombs.
You rip through the next sections.
You know what’s important.
Finishing.
Let’s go.
8. Finish Line
You’ve got one more section to go. You got this. After a long, grueling, agonizing process, you’re finally…finally…almost there.
Even if you must crawl across the finish, you’re gonna get there.
Just a few more hours…
Just a bit more stamina.
Here comes the last period, the last crossing of the ‘t.’
FINALLY. Finally. You throw your hands up in the air. Time’s up.
It’s done.
You look back on your masterpiece and marvel at its glory. It’s a masterpiece. There is a sense of joy and pure euphoria.
The accomplishment of having just written a whole book is insane.
So you go for a well-deserved walk. You eat that ice cream. You take that time off.
You deserve it.
Good Job. You’re on your way to becoming the world’s next best writer.
All of that was for the realization that you can become better and better at writing. It’s in your blood. It’s in your veins. You are an amazing writer. You just hate editing. But hey, it comes with the territory, right?
You’ve just leveled up. And now you’re ready to move on to bigger and better things.
Because it doesn’t matter how many days or weeks pass, you will get that itch again.
The feeling in your blood like you’ve just got another creative masterpiece idea waiting to be fleshed out and become artwork.
What can you say? You’re a writer by heart.
You thought it was over? It’s never over. You’re a writer. You can’t stop. You take a deep breath…and begin the process again.
