For the past two days I've had great editing sessions. Tonight...not so much.
It's a strange thing to be a writer. One day you can read what you've written and feel like you're the next Tolkien or Bradbury. The next day you can read that same text again and wonder if you should delete the entire chapter and start fresh. I've learned that during these bad days, you just have to plug away at the editing and look forward to the next editing session, because more often than not everything will turn back to gold tomorrow. :-)
You have a great attitude. Keep plugging along and I am sure that everything will be fine.
ReplyDeleteAnd never never never delete anything when you feel like this :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen! :-)
ReplyDeleteSarah, I completely agree. I actually have a tough time deleting anything...at ANY time. (I think it's the web developer in me. Once I delete something, someone calls and asks for it!) When I have stuff I'm really not that pleased with, I cut it and save it so that I can come back to it later. If it ends up being something strong or that can be made strong with some edits, it ends up making the jump back into my W.I.P.
So, so true! I was just thinking about this yesterday when I started editing a novel again. I go through phases where it is the best thing ever and then it's the crappiest thing ever. That's why I like track changes and new drafts, so I can keep things I might want to add back later on.
ReplyDeleteHi Scott! Nice to see you back. On those bad days, I quit editing, because I HAVE deleted chunks of work which may (or may not have) been terrible. If I look at it a second day and it still seems like crap, then I go ahead and re-work it :-)
ReplyDeleteI have never written a novel but I know you never do anything that can no be undone on a bad day.
ReplyDeleteCherie - I need to get better about using the tracking features. My cut and paste method isn't nearly as efficient as that would be!
ReplyDeleteLisa - Thank you! I probably shouldn't have taken such a long break, but I feel energized now, so I guess it was worth it! :-)
Hi JT, you must have posted your comment while I was composing mine. I completely agree with you. Again, the web developer side of me has learned that lesson the hard way!
ReplyDelete