Writing a story is fun. Writer's block has never (knock on wood) affected me. But writing is only the first step of the process.
Editing of my writing is a necessity. It can be frustrating and a challenge. Fortunately, years ago, Mike gave me a wonderful gift—a lifetime membership to AutoCrit. This is an editing platform that helps with so much of the editing process! I use it to clean up my work and improve the flow. It helps me identify plot holes and helps me be sure my story fits the genre I aimed for!
A variety of reports and analyses help me dive deep into my writing to give you the best story I can write. A couple of things I focus on are the pacing of my writing and the use of generic descriptions. Pacing to move the story along. Eliminating generic descriptions provides stronger writing and clarifies my thoughts. Everything improves my writing. Using this system over the years curbed my reliance on adverbs, so I use strong words to describe what's happening.
With the offer of a contract, my publisher assigns an editor to my story. We work together to further polish the writing. All to ensure you have the most enjoyable read when you select one of my books.
I'm currently in a different phase of writing with a new story. I had five chapters written when I decided to begin the story with the line that started Chapter Three! A big reorganization happened. Now I have four chapters. In the process, I had to commit the dastardly deed known as "killing my darlings." This is deleting portions of your work that you're attached to. I deleted a few darlings and now have a file labeled "My Darlings" in case I can use them later in the story.
This phrase is used often in the training I've taken. It's credited to many writers, such as William Faulkner, Oscar Wilde, Anton Chekhov, and Stephen King, to name a few. It makes sense and must be done at times. That's why this post is titled as it is!
The bottom line is that editing is critical to the creative process. It's more than typos and punctuation. I like to think my efforts improve my story, but I do enjoy writing more than editing! 😊
Happy reading!!