I edited quite a lot today. In fact, I think I’m doing quite well. I’ve finished five chapters, and one of them was almost a third longer than all of the others. I’m sure I’ll be able to sort it out later.
As yet, I think I’ve sorted out most of the problems with the first half. Yes, in thirty pages. That’s quite impressive, right? I had a few good typos … “a sharp intake of break” (should have been “breath”) was one of them. And of course, I’ve forgotten what colour my character’s hair was. I’m not sure I ever said, which could be why.
A Balancing Act
Today I’d like to talk about balancing things. That is, balancing writing (or editing) with the rest of your life.
I was planning to take part in National Novel Editing Month. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a month-long challenge created by participants of National Novel Writing Month, and the idea is to spend 50 hours editing during the month of March.
For somebody who managed to write 193,000 words in November, you’d think I’d be slightly more eager to take part. But, er, no. And that’s not just because I hate editing.
I managed to write a lot of words because I write fast. I can write a thousand words in ten minutes if I push myself; fifteen is more normal. So if I work at that speed I can write 4k in an hour, which is more than double the daily amount for NaNoWriMo. This meant that 50k in a week wasn’t too big a deal – I usually managed to clock in with at least two hours a day, though they weren’t necessarily all that productive as hours go.
I’m busier this month. I was off dancing with injuries back then, I didn’t have huge massive scary exams coming up in just four weeks time, and I was taking part in fewer musical groups. Soo … all of this points to one thing. No EdMo for me.
It’s a shame – I was looking forward to the experience. I’ve managed to put in around six hours editing so far (based on a guesstimate) and I would have liked to do more. But there we go – I’m already three hours behind and I’ve been forbidden (by my parents) to do any more work on my book today. Humph.
I think, though, that taking a few more weeks to finish my third draft won’t kill me. I need to pass these mock exams. Next term, I’m taking several GCSEs early, my grade 7 flute exam, my grade 7 violin exam, and probably my grade 5 ballet also. Which means I just can’t commit to 50 hours in a month.
But I’ll do my best…
World Book Night
I was going to review the World Book Night programmes I mentioned yesterday, but unfortunately my mother is on the warpath and I should be doing work right now. I’ll try and update this post later, but if I don’t manage it, then I apologise in advance.
However, if you subscribe you’ll find out the next time I post, and you won’t miss anything …
