the challenge of editing

by Anna Maria Hansen


Writing has been like a tickling, annoying mosquito bite this summer. The more I scratch at it, the itchier it become. The harder I try to ignore it, the more it floods my thoughts.

I move restlessly from story to story, dawdling over poetry and submissions of flash-fiction; contest entries and editing. I can't seem to pin myself down to anything for a decent period of time. Is that the nature of the beast?

Yes, writers are very creative and often sporadic in their work, sometimes taking many years to bring a book to conclusion. So, is that what's going on with me?

Personally, I believe the problem with my writing is I don't take it seriously enough. At least not enough to treat it like a real job... with hours, salary and benefits. I don't give myself anywhere near this much slack with my "real" job (where I work as copy-editor and sometimes-reporter); why do I fail to buckle down with my personal writing?

Every November since 2009, I have participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) http://nanowrimo.org/ ... a project that challenges writers to type up a 50,000 word storm... in one month. 50,000 words is the minimum length for a novel and has given many a writer the kick they needed to jumpstart themselves. For three years, I have completed the 50,000 word goal in the 30 days... and rough-drafted three separate novels.

Why then, have I spent two years dithering over the editing process of one book I wrote in 30 days?

For me, I think it's a lack of structure that allows me to ramble my slow unyielding path.

So here it is.

I'm setting my own challenge. Edit my book from page one to the last sentence in one month -- August 2013. It doesn't have to be a perfect edit, it doesn't have to be the final edit. But it will be a complete edit, done in a timely fashion.

I plan to prepare for it in the same way I get myself geared up for NaNo. Put some research into the topic, read a few non-fiction books that pertain to the story, take notes on what I'm looking for and re-outline.

But I will do it.