Being an author is like being in charge of your own personal insane asylum.

- Graycie Harmon

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

So Much Paper

I feel so guilty editing as I am - printing out a chapter a day and pouring through it with a red pen. So much paper that will one day be nothing but scrap... it's depressing. Still, it needs to be done.

As I'm editing, I've really noticed that I absolutely without reservation need a second, third and fourth pair of eyes. I know this by the dirth of red marks on the page. That is to say, there aren't very many. Which is to say, I'm not a very good self-editor.

Argh!

I currently have my very first Beta Reader going over the book chapter by chapter. Her prologue comments were both useful and amusing. I can't wait to read what she has for the first chapter. There were many more awkward sentences in that chapter than in the prologue.

I'm currently reading a Steven Erikson novel, and feeling incredibly jealous. The man is a master of prose. I am, well, not. I find as I read, being much more critical in general (though, this particular story sucks me in too deeply to be overly critical), and with this book (Midnight Tides, a Malazan Book of the Fallen novel), I find myself wishing I could write like him.

Gosh he's good!

Right, that's enough crazy stalker fan girl from me. There's editing to do. Wish me luck!

Pollrumptious

Restive; unruly; foolishly confident.
- John Farmer's Slang and Its Analogues, 1902

2 comments:

Pam Asberry said...

It sounds like you are doing great! I have to print my pages out in order to edit them properly, too. I am not familiar with Steven Erikson, but I will definitely check him out. Keep up the good work!

S.M. Carrière said...

Doing better... there were more edits for chapter 3 than before. I call that progress! Tomorrow, it's onto chapter 4. I don't like editing...