How to Edit Smarter

I have wasted my time writing.

Here's what I mean; I have wasted months on going through draft after draft of my work and fine tuning it and trying to fix it. I needed to admit something to myself: I'm not an editor. By trying to craft the perfect draft I have wasted my time. I'm in the weeds, I can't see the forest for the trees (insert your favourite analogy on not being able to see the bigger picture here.)

So I hired an editor. One of the most frustrating yet relieving feelings is going through what you thought would be the final draft of your work and seeing editor notes marking up your rewrites and underscoring inaccuracies you never considered. Hiring an editor has given me perspective on my work that I could never have come up with on my own, and as such it has allowed me to add better Noir elements to Skeleton Unburdened (my novel). It has given me not only a better understanding of my main character, but it has also given me a better understanding of secondary characters. It's allowed me to create fleshed out people on the page.

So how can you avoid the mistakes I made? I have three tips that have helped me now and will help me in my future works.

1. Don't write more than two drafts.

   In her book Bird by Bird Anne Lamott talks about simply getting your first draft on the page. She calls this your "shitty first draft." The idea of the shitty first draft changed how I wrote because if you know it's going to be shitty (in some capacity) then you aren't nervous to get started, and you aren't bogged down by perfectionism. You are simply writing the story as it's flowing through your mind.

   
   

   Your second draft should be making sure the story order is done well, the plot makes sense, and your characters change for better or for worse. Once this is done you should move on to the next tip which is:

   
   

2. Hire an editor.

   Was an editor more expensive than I thought it would be? Yes. Did I debate hiring one? Very much so. In the end I decided to do it because I wanted the experience of seeing what a professional would come back with. I wanted my work to be the best it could be. Spending a lot of money on an editor may not be within your ability at the moment. Which is why I would encourage the alternative of finding beta readers (with experience in the genre you write in) to have a look and give suggestions. Many will do this for a cheaper fee, some may do it for free. Once you have a second set of eyes take a look at your work, then you are ready to polish the piece with the suggestions given. This is technically a third draft, but you are not stumbling around in the dark as you were with your first two drafts. You are polishing with purpose. You can do the third tip while you do this which is:

   
   

3. Research in real time in order to eliminate inaccuracies.

   Let me give you an example of this. Skeleton Unburdened is a Noir detective novel set in 1922 in a Northern Ontario town. In one scene my protagonist is fighting through a bout of nausea in his 12th floor apartment leaning against his teal coloured bathtub. He's lit a smoke with a Zippo lighter while Benny Goodman plays on the record player. When I wrote that I thought it was great imagery and that it added atmosphere to the story. What I didn't realise is that it was completely wrong.

   
   

   in 1922 the population of my particular town (North Bay) was not so large as to need an apartment that towered over 12 stories high. Nor would there be a teal coloured bathtub as that was something that came into style during the 50's and 60's. Zippos weren't invented yet and Benny Goodman was nine years old. Hm. Is that the sound of a balloon deflating I hear?

   
   

   These small details are what make up the bones of my story, and too many incorrect details are just going to make my story fall flat. In fixing these I noticed Skeleton Unburdened took on more of an authentic feeling that I can feel good about. If you research ahead of time, and I mean really research, you are going to solve these details as they come up and won't be as bogged down by them when your work is finished. Look for a blog post on this later.

   
   

   When I was a kid I had one of those learn to draw: science fiction books. I realise now writing is a lot like that. You start with a few odd lines that don't look much like anything, but with each step you add a little bit more to it, and then complete it with a polish that makes the work pop.

   
   

   You will save yourself time if you follow the three steps I outlined above, and that's important. Happy Writing.

   -Mark

   
   

   Find these tips in action below

   
   

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