The Purpose of IWSG is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
To join IWSG visit Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh here.
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Words don’t flow from my pen. They spit and sputter like a car with bad plugs. It’s not that I can’t write 3,000 words in a day. It’s that 95% of those words would be throwaways.
I know this because I’ve participated in—and nominally won—NaNoWRIMo twice. Each time I came away without a single salvageable word and a total of four lost months of writing time. You’re probably wondering how I could lose four months participating in NaNo only twice. It was easy. Not only did I waste the two Novembers, but I also squandered the preceding Octobers prepping, researching, taking notes, creating outlines. You can’t pants a NaNo, or at least I can’t.
Eric Fischer/Flickrcc
But I digress. I’m reconciled to being a slow writer, in part because until now, I’ve been a lightning fast editor. No doubt attributable to my aforementioned spit and sputter writing. I do a lot of editing as I go.
Operative phrase here: until now.
You see, I’ve been editing my current WIP since November of 2015—six months, and I still don’t feel it’s ready for beta consumption.
I’m over the fact the manuscript took so long to draft. There was a lot happening in my life. But this editing thing … wow, I don’t know what to think. For me, normal editing time on a completed first draft is a month. That includes both a hardcopy edit plus reading aloud into a recorder and listening to the audio.
Anyone else out there ever suffer a particularly difficult edit? Were you able to pinpoint the reason why? Advice on how to handle this monster?
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VR BARKOWSKI 
Hi V.R.
Writing is a marathon, not a sprint. Just got reminded of that today. It takes as long as it takes. But you may be being too hard on yourself. Why not send off your ms to a trusted beta and see what he/she thinks? Sometimes we edit the heart out of a story.
Yep. And out of NaNo I have 6 incomplete stories that I forget about most of the time…
Have a great writing month!
Denise 🙂
Thanks, Denise. Good advice. This is a strange project. Typically when I edit, each pass results in fewer and fewer “corrections.” Not so with this WIP.
I can write away pretty fast and edit as I go too, but I may take a bit longer on the actual edits when done. Just sometimes goes that way.
You are astoundingly prolific, Pat. Not only with books, but on your blog. I know you write/schedule in advance, but still … I’m impressed!
I’m just not as motivated as I used to be. Period. People have told me that I’m so prolific, but I was writing a blog post yesterday, going over my path to publication, and realized that I started writing in 2000 and published first in 2010. All that time I was writing and rewriting my stories. So when I finally published, I had quite a few that I published with very little time in between. My last published book was written years before, and now I’m dribbling along, wondering if I’m just dried up. Dribble, dribble.
I know the feeling, Polly. I just submitted the last of my backlog of short stories, and the thought of ever struggling through another makes me cringe. I do wonder if my sluggishness might have something to do with publishing itself, which—regardless of whether one’s path is indie, traditional, or hybrid—is inglorious.
I am not a big fan of NaNo. To me it teaches negative writing habits. It is a group hug affair like Facebook or the hula hoop — you do it and end up with nothing of lasting worth. But that is just me.
Writing is a lonely, solitary affair. Like dieting, you commit to it for the long haul, not expecting immediate results. Day in, day out, we write. As Denise wrote: it takes as long as it takes. For being such a short book, THE GRAVEYARD BOOK took Neil Gaiman YEARS to complete.
Enjoy the process if you can. A dependable beta reader might not be a bad idea either. Hope this month goes more productively for you. Thanks for being my friend, Roland
I agree with you, Roland. Apart from our four-legged muses :), writing is a solitary pursuit. While I believe camaraderie with other writers can be immensely valuable, particularly if we connect with writers outside our genres (like we do as bloggers), I think surrounding ourselves with those who write exactly what we write often creates a we/they mentality that stifles creativity and leads to formula.
Whew! Didn’t mean to drag out the soapbox.
When I struggled with one of mine, I spent years rewriting it and editing it. Don’t do this! After I got a critique partner, I was able to fix it. Find someone’s opinion you value, tell them your concerns, and see what they say. Good luck!
You’re right, Chrys. I need to vow one last pass, then get this manuscript into the hands of a reader. If I don’t, the process is never going to end.
I’m a slow writer as well. Sometimes I can draft fast, but if I do the edits take longer. Other times I’ve found both processes are like sucking marrow from my bones through a stirring straw. I think the only thing we can hold onto is that we haven’t given up.
With my last book I finally had to contact my publisher and just tell her the edits were taking forever. Karen was wonderful and told me to submit it anyway and if it was close enough I could start working with an editor through them. Even that took another 8 months! I was just glad to finally have someone else helping me.
I think life affects all aspects of our writing and editing and we have to accept that. Just don’t quit and eventually it will be done. Good luck!
Charity, I confess if I hadn’t worked on this MS for so long and wasn’t so close to finishing, I would indeed give up. Now I’m too vested. If guilt keeps me going, at least I’m still writing. 🙂
You may know this already… consider writing a short to get your mind off of your project. Your brain will still work the problem then start from the beginning on a reader and make notes. It’s what I do and it helps me. Good Luck.
Anna from elements of emaginette
I did something similar, Anna. I edited a short story, which I submitted yesterday. Today it’s back to the manuscript. We’ll see if my time away helps.
Well, if that doesn’t work, I’ll cross my fingers. That should do it. 🙂
Thanks, Anna! 🙂
Hi, VR! I haven’t visited your blog before, and I found it for the first time as an IWSG co-host. Thank you for saying that you are a slow writer! I sometimes wonder if something is wrong with me because I am so slow at writing! But when I’m finished with something I am usually happy with it. I edit a lot as I go, but I always am pleased at what more I can learn through the objective eyes of an editor distanced from my writing. I’m struggling and fighting my way through a memoir right now, and it’s both a daunting task and an exciting one. I’m not sure that the effort you put into writing something that didn’t pan out is lost effort and time. I think of it like performing science experiments. If something doesn’t work, you’ve eliminated an option while still learning from the process. Good luck with your writing in May.
Thanks for dropping by, Louise. I agree, no effort is truly wasted. As a rule, I save all my discarded work: excised paragraphs, “clever” turns of phrase that didn’t fit my current story, darlings that were beyond saving. Because, hey, one never knows. 🙂 Best of luck with your memoir!
Thanks, also, for following me!
Do you read M.J. Fifield’s blog? You two have a lot in common.
I also am a slow writer. I haven’t even attempted NaNo as I know it would be useless to me. As for the editing, everyone I’ve read lately seems to have come to some sort of standstill in their writing. Perhaps it’s something in the ether. If so, it’ll pass, and things will come easier soon.
NaNo can be great, but it’s not for every writer. Too bad it took me so long to realize it wasn’t for me. Apparently, writing isn’t the only thing I’m slow at. I’ll check out M.J. Fifield’s blog. Thanks, Liz.
I’m a slow writer and faster editor, too. But I’m not as fast an editor as you. Normally it takes me three months. Except for one book. I think the problem was I knew I had a problem but I didn’t know what it was. Something just felt off. No matter what I did, nothing helped. Some things made it worse. So finally I made a pass working on nothing except technical things. Then I sent it to my editor. If I would’ve had a beta reader, I would’ve sent it to her. Bingo! She spotted the problem in the first chapter. It was one simple item in the setup for the story – but it affected most of the dialogue and how the protagonist viewed everything. Not one page was left untouched just working on this one thing. It made all the difference in the world. It took me a month to do that rewrite because I knew exactly where I was going and had to accomplish. So maybe it’s something like that with your manuscript. If so, fresh eyes will probably spot it. Good luck!
I plan to send it out after my next pass through whether I’m satisfied or not. I thought I’d found the fatal flaw, but now I’m not so sure. Typically, I find plot holes—easily corrected. Dealing with a character issues is a much greater challenge.
Looks like you have gotten a lot of good advice. I have done NaNo 3 years running and both camps. I never make November word count, but do okay in the camps. I agree with some of the advice. Find someone whose opinion you trust and tell them why you think it’s not working and see what they think. You may being too hard on yourself or overlooking something very simple. Good luck. Wishing you much success.
Juneta @ Writer’s Gambit
Thanks, Juneta. While I don’t believe NaNo is right for all writers, I’m a fan. We all have different processes and starting points. I think for writers who begin with plot or concept, NaNo can be a godsend. I don’t think it’s as effective for writers like me who start with characters’ transformative arcs.
I’m the queen of slow writing. (sigh) I’d hoped to get 40 or 50K words written in April, but ended up with closer to 20. But slow and steady wins the race, right? (RIGHT???)
You’ve already gotten a lot of good advise, but I have to agree that letting a fresh pair of eyes read your manuscript may be the answer. While trying to “fix” a WIP, we can sometimes get so deeply involved in it, we lose focus and can no longer see it clearly. My eyes aren’t exactly “fresh,” but if you ever want my input, just give me a shout.
Good luck.
Yes! Slow and steady. But 20k is great progress, Susan. You should be proud! I was convinced I was going to finish this edit in April, so I’m feeling rather ashamed. Be warned: one more pass through, and I plan to take you up on your offer.
Sounds good!
I’m slow and get slower during the last phase because everything has to be scrutinized! And the scrutinized again.
True, and if I keep scrutinizing, I’m eventually going to slow to a complete halt. 🙂
You could ‘shelve’ it for a while to gain some fresh perspective. Or you let your beta readers at it, and perhaps then can help identify the things you can’. I’d be happy to help. I did three revisions of mine including the invaluable out loud read through. Now my beta readers have it. When they’re done I do the final edit.
I’ve shelved it a couple times, and it’s helped. I agree that reading out loud is invaluable. I typically wait until I’m satisfied with a manuscript before I do the read through, but with this project, that may never happen. I’ve decided to finish my current pass through, read the work out loud, then send it off. I’m beginning to think I’m not up to the subject matter, but that’s a post for another IWSG.
Wow, I’m impressed. So long as you’re still moving forward with your writing, edits, and rewrites it’s all progress in my book:)
I am moving forward, but I really have to quit with the detours or I’ll never reach the finish line!