The Writing is in the Rewriting
By Guest | September 5, 2010 |
Therese here. Please welcome guest Stacey Ballis to Writer Unboxed! Stacey’s new book, Good Enough to Eat, releases in two days–September 7th. I’ve invited Stacey here today to share thoughts on her process and insights as a multi-published author. It’s a fab post. Enjoy!
The Writing is in the Rewriting
When people, upon finding out that I am a full-time writer, say with an air of reverence “Oh, I could never do that, you have to have such discipline!”, my first response is usually to snort the nearest beverage through my nose.
These people clearly don’t know me at all.
I have no discipline. And my work, which I do truly love more than anything, is also an enormous pain in my butt. I will do almost anything to procrastinate writing. Not blogging, or tweeting, or entering recipe contests, and not the freelance copywriting that is my actual bread-and-butter-pay-the-bills writing…but my “real” writing. The writing I supposedly left my nice comfy secure salaried health-insuranced 401ked 60 hour a week job for. The writing I created a schedule around to ensure many hours a week free to focus. The writing that necessitated the upgrade to the fastest internet service for “research”, which is usually important stuff like watching Literal Videos on YouTube. The writing that was the impetus for the amazing new computer my boyfriend gifted me with to make certain my equipment was up to snuff. Which came loaded with many more versions of Solitaire than my other one, and is much bigger to store whole seasons of Sons of Anarchy and Army Wives in iTunes.
The dumb part is that when I actually knuckle down and start writing, it flows and I am excited to see where the stories go, and how the characters develop. But starting, that is really hard. Almost the hardest part.
Until it is time to edit. And then I just want to shoot myself in the head.
I actually edit a lot as I go, working back a couple of chapters almost every time I sit down to write, sort of priming the pump to then move forward. Halfway through a book I will give the manuscript to my little sister (the only person who sees it besides my editor before it is completed) who will read it and give me notes about what sort of shape it is in and we talk about where it is going. I do a pretty serious edit based on her notes, and then finish the book and send it to my editor. At which point I am so excited to be finished that I do a happy dance and drink pink champagne and start dreaming about the next one.
I always forget about the real editing until the notes arrive a few weeks later.
Crap.
As much as I believe in edits and rewrites, they are really hard. Often you have to let go of things you love about your story or your characters or say goodbye to paragraphs you think are well crafted. You have to give yourself over to a process that is the opposite of the luxuriously free creative process that created the book, and embrace tedious minutia, questioning every line, every conflict.
My new book GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT, which is being released on September 7, is a book I am very very proud of. It is a slightly new direction for me, a book that tackles some hard questions about self, weight and body image issues, turning 40, finding and keeping love, trusting friends. With recipes!
As proud as I am, and as much as I believe it is a good book, the writing was hard and the rewriting was heartbreaking. A whole series of flashbacks throughout the book (which I loved) had to go away. And yes, I believe it was better for the flow of the book, but BOY was it devastating to press delete. Characters changed and went away, the ending was altered. Again, it was what was best for the book, but as an artist, imagine looking at a freshly finished painting and having someone say “Take out all the blue.”. Even if you know in your heart that the painting will be more powerful, more real, have greater impact…losing the blue is really really emotionally debilitating.
For me, the only thing that gets me through is the finish line, and my own commitment to being the best writer I can be. Thinking about how many times I have read a book that felt like it needed one more rewrite to help it achieve its full potential, and was disappointed that the work wasn’t given that chance. Thinking about how much I hope that at some point in my career someone will buy my first two books (currently out of print) and be willing to do one more edit with me on them both before re-releasing them. And so, as much as it pains me, I sit down and knock out those edits as quickly as possible, like ripping off a band-aid. I might procrastinate all over the place during the first draft, which is honestly the fun part, but edits I jump into and work nearly round the clock until they are done.
Here is how I get through:
- I remember that my editor wants the book to be good, and has a perspective I am just too close to the work to be able to have.
- I save every possible draft and version so that after I make a change, even one I don’t fully agree with, I can see it side by side with the original to really see which one is better.
- If I balk against a cut or change, I put it aside and keep moving forward and come back to it the next day to see if it still grates. And if it does, I send that one piece to another writer I trust to see what they say. If I continue to defend the choice for more than 24 hours, I will contact my editor to have her explain better the objective in making that change. If it really continues to feel potentially wrong, I run it by my agent. And if he sides with my editor, I suck it up and make the change. I believe that we have the right to fight for things we truly believe are essential to our work, but as solitary as the initial writing is, books are a collaboration and to pretend otherwise is foolhardy.
- At the end of the day, I try to err on the side of my editor. I have to trust the partnership and believe in the end result. This is easier with some editors than with others, but it is what I try to do. Even if I do get all kinds of snarky about it.
- I never read a book of mine after it is published. To me, I just see things I want to fix or change or put back. Once it is out there in book (or EBook) form it doesn’t belong to me anymore, it belongs to my readers and I can only hope they find it, embrace it, and get what I meant.
Every writer I know longs for the day some editor will get their hands on a manuscript and say “It’s perfect; we’re just going to send it right to line edits!” But I’m pretty sure those piglets aren’t flying quite yet, at least not in my neighborhood. Until they do, I’m just out here breathing through all parts of the journey, and remembering to be grateful to have these problems at all. I have come to embrace my horrible procrastination as part of my process, and to love the push and pull, and enjoy some of the magic that happens when you don’t have time to overthink. And I have come to terms with the rewriting, knowing that however difficult, at the end of the day, I don’t feel any of my work has ever been overedited or diminished along the way. That is really all any of us can ask.
How do you deal with editing or rewriting?
Many thanks to today’s guest.
You can read more WU guest posts by visiting this link.
I do my edits pretty quickly too. I rarely have to cut material (I get asked to add some on occasion), but the labor of grinding through the ‘was’, ‘were’, ‘had’ and ‘that’ hunts is usually worse. I recently did an edit of my first novel for a possible re-release, and ended up cutting over 15K words on my own!
Marc Vun Kannon
https://authorguy.wordpress.com
Wow… what a funny and wonderful post! Thank you for sharing!
I’m so relieved I’m not the only one who battles with the discipline of focusing on the “real” writing!
I have to admit, though, that I find I’m actually enjoying the process of the line edits that I’m currently doing. In a way it’s easier than that first draft, because there’ something concrete to work on. I can grab a 1/2 hour here or there and be productive, where in the first draft creative stage, it takes me a least half an hour to leave the real world behind and enter into my story’s world…making it a lot more difficult to snatch a chunk of time here or there for writing.
Your new book sounds a good one!
Judy
Ditto what Mo Parisian said!
Also, haha, I’m glad I’m not the only one who fritters away the time on a state-of-the-art laptop her boyfriend graciously gifted her! :P
But seriously, you obviously ARE dedicated, even if that dedication doesn’t LOOK like discipline. Thanks for sharing your tips! I have yet to be edited by an agent/publisher, but I’ve been taking crits from teachers and writing buddies for years, and I can totally sympathize.
Stacey, you must have a pretty darn amazing sister!! How lucky to have her as a reader.
So much to say about this fantastic post, but one phrase jumps out at me: “A whole series of flashbacks throughout the book (which I loved) had to go away.” Seems flashbacks are disappearing from all books these days! Sure, the flow can improve, but I wonder how much of the underlying preference for a flashback-free flow is a sign that readers have simply become conditioned by the immediacy of soundbites and tweets. It worries me sometimes, about where books are going.
Oh, I loved this post. I, too, have had a poopy pity party when my editor doesn’t love every word I’ve sent to her.
I love the cover of your book! Thanks for admitting your issues with procrastination. Makes the process all the more real!
Stacey,
That has to be the most heartwarming and helpful post on revision I’ve ever read (and I’ve read A LOT!)
I’ve just gone through the type of revisions you’ve described with my debut novel (still waiting to hear what my editor thinks of them and praying I don’t have to do it again) and have started on another set of revisions for book 2. Yes, I’m definitely there.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience. It helps more than I can express to know that not only has someone else been there, but that they understand and feel that twisted love-love-occasionally loath relationship with it that I do.
Appreciate your post!
Joan
Thanks for your honesty and vulnerability in this post. I have been trapped in rewrite hell for the last several months and it is encouraging to know I’m not alone, that others go through that as well (even those who have agents and editors).
So many times, I’ve been drained to the point of almost giving up. Almost. It’s posts like yours that keep the pilot light burning when the house is dark and cold.
Thanks again. :)
Cyndi
Stacey, I *so* enjoyed this post. Thank you. I haven’t got to the push-pull-with-editors stage yet, but you seem to be living in my brain. That you made it through the other side is very encouraging.
Great advice. I too find I can force myself to write the articles and posts and what-not but it’s the creative writing that actually causes the most angst and procrastination. Now feel energised to go do some!
Your post is a wonderful description of MY writing process. And it makes me wonder if someone, somewhere, is cloning writers. :) If so, we should suggest they do some “productivity tweaks” before they release the next batch. LOL
Once I get writing, I always wonder WHY I was avoiding it so much. It’s the same with exercise, so I may just be predisposed to that kind of behavior. LOL Maybe I just need to redefine the word “discipline”. :)
Great post. Interesting to hear how you revise a bit before moving on. I do that, too, though I limit myself to one chapter so I don’t get carried away. It satisfies my urge to tinker (without indulging in full-blown revision of something that might get cut later) and lets me move forward with the context of where I’ve been fresh in my mind.
I actually love revision, but there’s no question: it comes with some painful moments. I’ve resisted changes that I knew were right, telling myself I’d just try them—and of course they proved to be necessary.
One thing I procrastinate about is transcribing audio interviews, and though it’s still a struggle, I’ve learned how to trick myself into doing it. I tell myself that I only have to do it for half an hour that day. Inevitably, once I’m into it, I do much more than that. Of course, I do still have to get started, which can be, um, difficult. But my “promise” to myself helps.
Thanks for the post!
I like Stacey’s bullet points of “How I get through it.” Yes, it is a team effort so I’m glad to see those hints included.
Thank you for this post! I love your honesty about the procrastination involved in first drafts and the difficulty in making revisions at times. There’s some great advice in here. :)
What an honest and humorous post. I enjoyed reading it, and can identify with more of it than I care to admit. I especially liked reading about your passion in defending what you want to keep in your manuscript, but your willingness to let it go and trust your editor and your agent. You seem to have a great, balanced approach to revisions.
I needed this post, at this moment, so badly. I’m in the middle of revising my first novel (before starting the query process, which scares the hell out of me). I worked like a dog on revisions at first, then realized I wasn’t getting very far. I knew I needed to shave off some length, and it was getting longer instead of shorter. So I stepped away from it for a while. I gave it to a couple of beta readers who gave me really great insight on my main character.
And this afternoon, I axed 5,000 words.
I know this is only the beginning. I can only hope I get a chance to shed more blood, sweat, tears and words while working on it with an editor one day.
Thanks for the GREAT post.
“as solitary as the initial writing is, books are a collaboration and to pretend otherwise is foolhardy.”
Love this! Really enjoyed these insights and will keep reminding myself that in order to get there (published, etc.) I’ve got to keep going. I’m editing at the moment and it’s just so hard. I actually saved paragraphs that I tried to recycle in other ways just because I loved them so much, but alas, this doesn’t work as well as I’d like!!
I lack discipline, too :-) It’s tough!
I use the AutoCrit Editing Wizard as a way of structuring my editing time. It keeps to me on the straight and narrow.
It is comforting to know the process is so similar for many of us. I don’t know why we resist doing the thing we love to do, but I have made a vow to not play any more computer or video games until I have found an agent and a home for my novel. It has freed up a lot more time…not that I always use it effectively. Thanks for giving me something productive with which to procrastinate this evening.
And here I thought I was the only one dragging my feet and crying through the editing process. I know it’s better for the book, but it’s still so hard.
What has amused me in the past few years is that a number of the more bestselling authors have managed to wrangle a deal where they get to release the ‘authors preferred version’ of a novel that has already been in print as the ‘publishers preferred version’. Which means that they get to reinsert all the scenes (i.e. your aforementioned flashbacks) which were cut out by the editor not because they were bad scenes but because they interfered with the flow. I am not yet aware of any data on how well these versions do in comparison to the originals but it would be interesting to see those stats. Of course, it is only the authors who the publishers already know have a dedicated following – some of whom may even buy both versions – so their revenue is assured.
I have felt this pain myself on several occasions and I have mainly only worked in shorts (and one novella) up til now. One of my shorts keeps being sent to me by beta readers with suggestions to cut bits which I see as essential character building and am loath to remove despite being rejected twice on the grounds of it ‘being too slow’. I’ve also been asked to add stuff – such as more detailed background info – because I sometimes forget that the reader doesn’t already know a lot of it. Its hard but ultimately it makes a better story.