tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650080146272323615.post3726794178261176529..comments2023-05-22T10:56:58.915+01:00Comments on Chloe Tells Tales: To Edit or Not to Edit...Chloehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00183206722136871230noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650080146272323615.post-24176842578763321072011-04-14T09:34:41.247+01:002011-04-14T09:34:41.247+01:00I think you're right Tom. I think for a whole ...I think you're right Tom. I think for a whole novel though the time period needs to be a lot longer. When I wrote the original draft of my novel at the start of last year, I only gave it 6 weeks before writing the next draft and that just isn't long enough to feel confident in making any big changes - you are still too attached to it! <br /><br />I didn't start writing this latest draft until 6 months after I finished the last one and therefore it was much easier to see what needed to be done.Chloehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00183206722136871230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650080146272323615.post-15816319359663851952011-04-13T21:34:37.302+01:002011-04-13T21:34:37.302+01:00Hello again Chloe. Given the cross-section of feed...Hello again Chloe. Given the cross-section of feedback you've received and your own tenacity I can't see anything but good coming from your editing. <br />If I had one small piece of advice, which is only right since I mainly write short stories... would be to edit, then leave it to one side for a week or two, as hard as that might be. You wouldn't need more outside feedback then on a re-read to confirm your new version. <br />Right my friend, I'm off to sort out the synopsis email for you. <br />Take care and keep plugging away.Tomhttp://tomfoollery.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650080146272323615.post-8845683901998257822011-04-13T13:42:05.466+01:002011-04-13T13:42:05.466+01:00billyblogger/Martyn - welcome! Thanks for droppin...billyblogger/Martyn - welcome! Thanks for dropping in. I was really worried about the word count so I asked for advice on that matter from the author Sam Mills, courtesey of the Writer's Workshop. Her opinion was that if the sample chapters are good enough to want to read on then they'll read on, if they're not, they won't! And after that, the matter of whether it's too long or not will depend on whether everything in it is necessary. So, having been through a vicious edit already, I think I will wait and see what she says about this draft before I do a slash and burn so if she thinks it does drag I can at least cut the right things!<br /><br />Thanks Nari :) I've ended up not editing nearly as much as I thought I would after the feedback because I didn't agree with some of my readers. A lot of the questions I asked them were comprehension, to see if they had understood the plot and the background to it etc. That's where readers are at their best - you can't pretend you've written clearly if none of your readers can tell you what the main motivation for an event in your novel is, however much you want to!xxChloehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00183206722136871230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650080146272323615.post-35838962925464004682011-04-13T10:23:39.208+01:002011-04-13T10:23:39.208+01:00Have any of your advisers mentioned that 90+ thous...Have any of your advisers mentioned that 90+ thousand is unusually long for the 8-12 market? Harry Potter and the like are very much exceptions rather than the rule, and I can't help wondering whether you might be jeopardising your chances...billybloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06892046980111756373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650080146272323615.post-3462917794771162992011-04-13T10:05:10.308+01:002011-04-13T10:05:10.308+01:00I can see from the way you speak that this has bee...I can see from the way you speak that this has been a useful exercise. There is definitely danger in only getting feedback from one person, asn you've made me think a lot about my own approach. I have only let my fiance see my most recent work, and I know I would benefit from others' feedback. The most productive editing happened for me when I had my workshop class, with classmates and the tutor giving feedback.<br />You are right that it helps to sift through what may be personal taste.<br />But, Kath (the tutor) used to say all the time that at the end of the day, you are the writer, so if there's something you really don't agree with, leave it. It's all about using your own judgement, and I think you learn a lot about yourself as a writer from it.<br />Nari XNarihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00624659563661326279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650080146272323615.post-42824002842973911302011-04-11T21:22:05.372+01:002011-04-11T21:22:05.372+01:00Thanks Andy :) That was the conclusion I was comin...Thanks Andy :) That was the conclusion I was coming to. I think people's opinions on the book have been most helpful in helping me re-think certain bits rather than giving me a list of "must-changes".Chloehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00183206722136871230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650080146272323615.post-62837162013183744042011-04-11T18:27:08.751+01:002011-04-11T18:27:08.751+01:00Getting numerous revision suggestions from people ...Getting numerous revision suggestions from people can be a real headache sometimes. I endured three years of workshop classes for fiction, and I finally agree with this common saying: <br /><br />If everyone has a different suggestion or take on one single issue, don't listen to any of them and go with your own gut. If everyone is telling you to change the same thing, you should listen.<br /><br />Regardless, the opinions and different reads people have on a draft are important and they break you outside of yourself. Just don't forget that you are the best person to decide what is right for your characters and plot.MrAndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15369352635646378812noreply@blogger.com