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Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Onward Editor


Lately, I feel like I’ve read my dratted story so many times, if I do it one more time, my eyeballs will bleed.  But during one of my insecure, lack of confidence, what-a-waste-of-time-when-this-thing-goes-nowhere editing days, something neat happened. 

Let me set the stage.  I’m a voracious re-reader.  If I like a book, I’ll read it again a few years later, and if it’s really good, there could be multiple repeats.  Of course, after the first time, the end is not a mystery, but during the time between reads I forget the details.  As a result, a good book can suck me in the second, or the fifth time as well as a book that’s new to me—to the point that little gets accomplished in my life until I’ve turned the last page.

So here I was last week, reading/editing my own darn work in progress for what feels for the millionth time, hating a lot of it to tell you the truth, when I arrived at a critical scene and got hooked.  Imagine that.  I mean, I wrote the thing, right?  Trust me, I knew what happened next.  But, yep, as I approached the climax of the story, I didn’t want to put it down.  And then I had to put it down, had to dash to the bedroom to change my clothes, to skedaddle to work— arriving at work late because I didn’t pull myself away soon enough.  For the rest of the day, while I sat in our crowded office editing a newsletter, I kept thinking about my own story— the one I’ve read so many times.  I couldn’t wait to see HOW I wrote what I knew was going to happen next.

When I got home and picked it up again, the story was as compelling as earlier in the day, the red pen saw very little action, and I learned something.

Regardless of what happens to this dear book of mine, it’s not a waste of time.  It’s hard work, and there is a whole lot more of that to come.  But I'm developing and growing as a writer. 

And now that I've managed to excite that nasty little second-guessing critic who dwells deep inside of me, I'll admit to a minor victory.

14 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That's always cool when that happens! Glad you're fired up about your work again.

mshatch said...

I love when that happens, too :)

Old Kitty said...

Keep at it!!!! Yay for you!! Take care
x

'Yellow Rose' Jasmine said...

That is so cool, how you became wrapped up once again in your own writing after so many read throughs. Good writing cannot be stopped, I say!

J.B. Chicoine said...

I Can't tell you how happy it makes me to read that! You really are growing as a writer. Those passages that still grip and move YOU as the author are precious. Yes, second-guess that nasty little critic within you. Your story is worth it! :)

Carol Kilgore said...

Love when that happens :)
Yea, you!

Bish Denham said...

What a wonderful gift you were given to help keep you motivated. (I can so relate the bleeding eyes.)

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

That has happened to me too. It really makes you feel good.

Robin said...

Reading this made my heart happy.

Anne Gallagher said...

Congratulations! That's a big step for you. I'm so proud of you! Yay!

When we can see not only the crap, but the good stuff as well, that's when we know we're learning. Yay.

glnroz said...

I once heard it's like raising kids,,ya gotta send em out into the world sometimes... hurry up,,I am anxious to read...:)

Jenny Woolf said...

There's a certain amount of re-writing I can do and then it starts to work against the story. I am working on identifying when that moment is! :)

Juliann Wetz said...

That is fantastic! Your writing is beautiful, so it doesn't surprise me, but what a wonderful treat to enjoy your own writing.

Kittie Howard said...

I'm sooo happy for you. Can you see me smiling from ear to ear? Liza, you're such a talented writer, anything you write is a winner.