Monday, October 13, 2008

I love to edit

If I say it one hundred times, maybe it will eventually be true.  How many times can one book be edited?  Here is my dilemma, I love my series.  I especially love books two through four.  My problem lies in the first half of book one.  This is a major problem because this is the hook to the entire series.  If someone can't make it past the first part of book one, they will never get to the rest.  I think this is partially why I am putting so much pressure on myself to make it perfect.  I have done three major rewrites on the first fifty pages of my series. (not to mention all the minor ones I am constantly doing)  I still don't know if I'm satisfied.  Every time, I feel a little closer to where I want it to be.  At least I know I am in good company.  Ernest Hemingway said, "I rewrote the ending of 'Farewell to Arms' 39 times before I was satisfied."  So does that mean just 36 more edits to go? (maybe more, because I am no Ernest Hemingway)  I know that I'll know when it is right.  I have other areas of my book that I have hardly edited at all because they felt right from the  moment they were written.  Ahh, if only it was all that easy.  I must say, I have a new-found respect for writers.  Who knew that writers had to do so much hard work to make reading so easy?  I will never read a book the same way again.   

2 comments:

  1. Anything worthwhile is hard work, isn't it? It seems like the easy part is writing the first draft. After that, the real work begins!

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