Edit as You Go
It is becoming clearer to me that, the more of my book I write, the more I am finding that I am the type of writer that needs to get the draft finished before I go back and edit a word. Stopping and reading what I’ve written as I go is only serving to slow me down and it is, a lot.
Each writer handles editing slightly differently and I am always interested to know how each does so because no two answers are the same.
How do you approach editing? Do you wait for a draft? Do you edit as you go?
by 
Top Five
I’ve been trying to complete the GoodReads challenge for a couple of years now (I set a low goal and then reset it too high.) It has got me thinking though, about all the books I have read in my life, so far. There have been dozens, from The Mallory Towers series and The Sweet Valley High books that I used to read religiously when I was at school to now where I have read varied genres.
I have enjoyed many books (and there haven’t been many where I’ve not managed to get to the end,) and my top five will change on a regular basis. However, when I think about my top five at this moment, they are, in no particular order…
by Routine or Inspiration?
The more I write, the more it’s becoming obvious to me that I am the kind of writer that needs routine. If I don’t write every day, a week or sometimes a month will pass and my word count will be sat at zero.
There are days when the words pour onto the page and others where even getting to a hundred words is like taking a walk through treacle but it’s still a hundred words more than I had before I started. However, is it a waste of my time to write for the sake of getting words down on paper? Continue reading
by Different Endings?
Many of us have been at the end of a book willing it to end a certain way. Sometimes, it does and then other times, a twist will send it in another direction and we won’t see the ending coming.
Some endings are brilliantly done and others disappoint. I either shut the book happy with how it finished or thinking, ‘I wouldn’t have ended it that way.’
Harry Potter, for me, ended the way I hoped in some ways but I wasn’t ever keen on the ‘many years later,’ chapter. I can understand why JK Rowling decided on that course but I maybe wouldn’t have gone that far into the future. I loved the end to The Hunger Games trilogy and thought it ended where it should have (although it would have been great to see Peeta completely returned to his old self.)
Which book have you read where you got to the end and thought, I would have ended it differently? Why?
by Third or First Person?
It’s a decision every writer has to make. Third person or first person? I am going from one to the other at the moment, trying to decide which one fits best and, to be honest, which one I find the easiest to write and I’m at a bit of a loss.
I find the first person good for getting into the head of my character but is third person better for an inexperienced writer? I’ll write one way for a while and then switch, not being able to decide which one is better for me and which one suits my story.
Which one do you find the easiest? Do you favour one over the other?
by Book Club
