Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Edits for Siren's

So, I got my first round edits back today for Odd Stuff. Or at least the first chapter. It turns out my areas of weakness have not changed altogether as much as I had hoped. I still have passive voice and tense issues but I think the tense is due to the Odd Series being set in first person so it is easy for me to slip and think that Janie knows what other people are thinking even though she is not psychic due to the fact I know what everyone is thinking.

I have less "show don't tell" than I did in the last book and that is a good sign. Edits, for me at least, are a great opportunity for me to look at what I am doing and remember it and hone it for the next novel. Well, and tightening up the existing book, of course but still a learning experience as I go. I tend to push the story out in such a big long gush that when I go back and do edits personally, I am still to close to the story to see the flaws. I love having an editor pick it apart on a sentence by sentence basis and let me know where I slipped up.

I also noticed that I was giggling through my edits. Last round I was bathed in sweat and shaky and defensive. This round I was shaking my head and wondering how I had missed that and laughing at myself. Apparently, edits, like so much in life, are easier the second round through. I also am less touchy, even though this story is my favorite so far. It's like I know the end product will be worth it, so yes, please shine up my baby for me.

Can you imagine if you actually shined babies? My brain just pulled up a shoe shine stand with shiny baby heads as the end result. An oddly unappealing prospect... shiny babies.

Oh, well. Now that my eyeballs are bleeding and my yawns are punctuating the ends of each sentence, I think I shall turn in for the night.

Happy day!

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