On Editing – How I work with hard copy

Editing is one of the most time-intensive aspects of writing a novel. Some folks prefer to do it by their computers. I am someone who must work with hard copy on serious edits. I’ve tried it a lot of ways, and this is the only way I consistently produce higher quality edits.

Simply put, I see the pages and the words differently. It is easy to tell when a paragraph is too long and needs broken up. I can see the flow better. I can tell when I’ve omitted things. I can see where I repeated myself. But, when your manuscript stack is almost as tall as a coke can, it can be very, very daunting approaching the pile of papers.

The first photograph is of all of the supplies I require to start editing. I have the full, untouched manuscript. (You can see that to the lower left.) I have the stuff I’m actively working on. That is forefront in the lower part of the image. At the top, fanned out all neatly, is the stuff I’ve already edited.

This image shows what my desk actually looks like when I’m working on the edits. (I only keep out the scene I’m actively looking for.)

Finally, this image shows the carnage typical to a page of the manuscript.

My rough draft is not a completed piece of work. It is a foundation. This is where the magic happens for me. The more I have grown as a writer, the more time I spend on this phase. The more I _think_ about how things piece together.

After I do the carnage, I edit it _again_ as I copy the changes. A lot of the handwritten sentences are thoughts that I refine when I put them in the story. (Or try to, at any rate)

The materials I use include: Post-it notes, post-it tabs, post-it flags, my novel/series bible, a laser printer, and several dead trees worth of paper. (Fun fact: I end up drawing on the backs of the manuscript before they’re used as kindling for my fireplace. One manuscript is enough kindling for a _long_ time… and the ‘free’ sketch paper is definitely a boon.)