I have finished the first draft of the manuscript for my second novel, and I'm finally editing. Does anyone out there actually enjoy THIS part of the process? I'm not talking about the editing that goes along with finalizing the entire work. I mean, the first read through and making sure your book doesn't sound like the ramblings of a psychotic wordaholic.
Don't you like that... wordaholic. I am so guilty of overstating and overusing words. Here's the perfect example... my first novel, FRIDAY LUNCH is 368 pages. Well, the original manuscript is almost 500 pages with a completely different ending, and there are characters that you'll never meet.
I'm a work in progress, and in my second novel I have tried to create more story in less pages. I like the element of finishing strong and my manuscript not looking like I just purchased refill paper for the copier. I like to have it printed from the computer and in my hand for the final read, because there's just something about turning that last page and closing that notebook that gives me such finality that I instantly want to start creating again.
Are you a wordaholic? My mom reads through my book first before anyone and she has taken her red pen and marked out entire pages. Some would cringe, but not me. I'm all about the strength of the work, so when it's in your hands, it has the ability to hold you until the end.
Can I ever recover from my addiction to words? Not likely. But, what author do you know that can say anything without being a little flamboyant in their descriptions?
I am writing my first novel and my biggest fear is that I will run out of words. That it won't be long enough, descriptive enough and not enough characters to really tell the story I have in my mind to tell. It is utterly terrifying. I would much rather be a "workaholic" (I had to look back and see how to spell that). I am guessing I won't know until I actually do finish this thing. The goal is to be done with the first draft by June 30th. I will let you know if I will be adding your word to my profile. Great post.
ReplyDeleteHi Vanessa, great post.
ReplyDeleteI would say that 'too much' is better than 'not enough', when it comes to words in a story.
From my (limited) experience, it's always easier to take from a story (sometimes) than try to add more.
Best wishes.
Wish I was more wordy - I'm a bare bones writer. I do like the editing part because then I can go back and fill in details.
ReplyDeleteAnd your comment about refill paper made me chuckle.
I think you have every right to be proud of the fact that you're writing and completing projects. How many writers out there never get past the first chapter? Changes or not...
ReplyDeleteI've been known to be an adjective-aholic before, but I'm not really very wordy. Most of my CPs and betas make me add about a third more words to each chapter because they don't understand things. Why not? It's perfectly clear in my head...
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm a fellow IWSG member. Nice to meet you. My first book had 100K words. I cut it down to 68K. Crazy how much I had to get rid of. However, most of the chapters didn't push the plot forward. I guess you could say I overdid it a little bit there. haha I've gotten better with being more concise.
ReplyDelete