Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Drowning in a sea of edits...

My current writing soundtrack: Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis


"The difference between the right word
and the almost right word
is the difference between
lightning and a lightning bug."

Mark Twain


This quote pretty much sums up my struggle with editing right now!

A single word can make a massive difference and I am laboring over every single word...

How can I say this in fewer words? How can I perfectly convey what I am trying to say? Am I in the right point of view? Are my tenses correct? Is that image vivid enough? Is the dialogue snappy enough?

I am drowning in a sea of 96,000 words!
So to guide me along the way, give me a framework within which to work, I bought some books about self-editing. Perhaps I can learn some new strokes that will help me keep my head above water and, maybe - just maybe - make it back to shore!
MANUSCRIPT MAKEOVER by Elizabeth Lyon

REVISION & SELF-EDITING by James Scott Bell

I'm also taking a plotting class called "The 'W' plot" at Hearts Through History Romance Writers.
Have you read these books? Were they helpful? Taken the class? What do you do to tame the self-editing beast?