Saturday 5 April 2008

Edit or rewrite?

Today it was far too wet and cold, and my wallet far too empty, for me to contemplate leaving the flat. All was quiet, so I pulled the novel towards me and thought it was prime editing time. I wish I could say I twirled my Montblanc pen with a jaunty flick of the wrist, but rather it was a mad flap around the house that only revealed an Ikea pencil. Something eats pens around here… it’s probably the ladybirds.

The edit started off really well, just changing a few bits here and there, and then suddenly realised I had practically rewritten three pages. Hmm… but the rewrites sort of flow better I think. This however means editing might take a bit longer than I had initially expected! Still, it is fun to actually write by hand, and then go back to the computer. I do need to find a pen though. Maybe a trip to Argos?

And now J is back, and Jeremy Clarkson is talking in the living room. I do like the way he emphasises every other word when he delivers his lines – I wonder if he talks like that in everyday conversations? I might have to adopt it… “J? Have you finished chopping the mushrooms for the truly exquisite spaghetti Bolognese we are having… (pause for emphasised flourish)... tonight?"

Bet he has a Montblanc pen.

2 comments:

Akira said...

Your edit turned into a rewrite :) I have so much editing to do, I don't even want to think about it now. I deleted an entire character somewhere near the beginning to the middle because I read somewhere that two characters shouldn't be similar. I think eventually when you move on with the story, you need to do a lot of rewriting.

Jayne said...

Hello Akira! And yes, it did! I cannot believe this post was two years ago actually, and I am still talking about the same story.

Good luck with your revisions. It sounds like there might be a lot of editing ahead of you, but think how wonderful and tight your story will be at the end of it!