Musing On Editing Your First Drafts

 

It's exciting when we come up with a story idea, mull it over, and write the first draft. We put it away for a few days, then read it for the first proofreading and editing. Note that I said 'the first' because one go round isn't usually enough. 

I had a personal essay piece in my files that I decided I would enter in my KS Author's annual state writing contest this year. I read it over and seemed fairly satisfied with it, but I sent it to my online writing group for critique. Four people sent me their thoughts and suggestions. The objective eyes of others saw so much more than I did. 

The last few days, I've been looking at their suggestions and attempting to incorporate many of them in my essay. They suggested omitting a few things, and I was able to see the reasoning, so cut parts here and there, then added a few things that they were wondering about. The editing process this time might be called 'slashing and increasing.' 

Our poster today tells us to 'edit without mercy' which is the mindset we must have when we edit. When it is suggested we cut something, it is not so easy to do. Those words are our words, ones we wrote and hate to lose. But, if getting rid of this and that makes a stronger essay, I'm willing to do it. 

As for the adding part, the suggestions given were good ones. They were parts that I, the writer, knew but had not conveyed well to the reader. The writer sees the overall picture in his/her mind, but the reader sees only what the writer has put into words. 

One critiquer went into detail about her concern about the title. I now have a new title, which was difficult to find. I'm still not sure if it is the one that should be my final choice.

Many writers edit completely on their own, and that's fine if it works for them. I do that sometimes, too, but more often, I submit my draft to my online writing group. I'm almost always glad that I did. Other writers catch much more than I do on my own. 

Now that I've worked on the essay again, I've set it aside for a couple days. When I bring it out again later this weekend, I hope I am satisfied with it. If not, another edit will be done. There is no set number of times we should edit our work. A lot depends on how rough that first draft was. The rougher it is, the more editing needed. Another factor is how much of a perfectionist you are. Where do you draw the line and decide enough is enough? 

There are writers who edit numerous times, but find themselves still not satisfied. How long should you go on to one more edit? That's for the writer to decide, but after three times, I'd advise submitting to a publication and see what happens. 

There are books on editing and revising your drafts. It might be to your advantage to read one of them.