So, I’ve started working on my manuscript after taking about a year off and I can’t believe the changes that are taking place already. That’s what always gets me about the editing process. No matter how good I think the plot is or how perfect the characters are, once an ms has been sitting long enough, the flaws become obvious.
**It also helps to have a supportive writing group.**
I’ve been doing a general read through, with the occassional change, and I’m about 100 pages in. That’s when one simple plot change caused a total–possible–rewrite of the rest of the ms. It equates to one drop of water causing a tsunami a hundred miles away. Totally not what I expected when I decided to make one of my character’s days a little more difficult.
Will it be worth it? Yes, probably, so long as I am open to more feedback from my writing group. I think they’ll be able to confirm if I’m on the right track.
There’s no bones about it, make sure you take a good long break from your writing project. A long gap will allow the characters to leave your head for a bit. I find that when I come back, I don’t hear the characters the way they were originally, but instead, I hear them as they really are. And I see them as an impassive reader.
I’ll give you a clue as to how my ms is changing: I basically took a strong supporting character and gave her an illness induced by a brief but difficult stint in prison. This illness–and recovery therefrom–should provide good material and tension for the rest of the story. Now I have to write about seeking treatment, recovery, and her support network. I will need to address her mobility and general physical weakness, all while her brain retains full function. How she gets around, who protects her, how she can further contribute to the plot without being a blite on the other characters and without making the reader feel like she’s weak. I think it’ll be a fun–albiet–daunting challenge.
And thus, you have my blog’s namesake: Endless Edits, the way I feel about the writing process simply because find the fin is as illussive as a green Easter egg in a lush meadow.
Happy writing! editing! Feel free to leave a comment.