For me, editing has always been an evolving process.

When I first started writing fan fiction at age 12, editing was simply looking through a chapter once or maybe twice before I posted it for the whole world to see. After a few years of doing that, I enlisted the help of a beta reader via email who helped take some of the pressure of grammatical editing off my hands so I could focus more on the content. I still looked over the chapter once in a while but, if I'm being honest, I didn't care all that much and trusted that the beta fixed most - if not all - of the major grammar mistakes in my writing.

After attending college for four years and participating in workshop classes, I changed my technique. Not only was I writing completely original content for the first time (not counting the two projects I started in high school... we don't talk about those), I was also writing short stories for the first time. Kinda. One-shot fan fictions don't really count, seeing as they're more snapshots in an already- developed world. In college, I was faced with the challenge of creating my own world and characters all under 10,000 words (sometimes 8,000, depending on the professor). This required a much more vigorous form of editing that I like to call: Obsessively Checking Everything So I'm Not Embarrassed in Front of the Class.

Now that I'm graduated and finally working on the projects that I want to work on, not just those for a grade or to experiment with a different format, I am forced to once again completely change my
editing style. This is for three reasons: One, I'm working on a novel. My college education didn't cover novel writing, unfortunately, so that means some of the editing techniques I used for short stories are not applicable. To be clear, I'm speaking of larger-scale editing - so those focused on plot, pacing, character development, etc. I suppose grammar could also be counted, but more along the lines of diction. This also leads in to reason number two that I changed my editing style: I'm writing a fantasy novel.

Figure 1. Barbosa gets me.

In college, I was taught the "rules" of writing (see Figure 1). This included the actual act of words-on-a-page, editing, peer reviewing, brainstorming, outlining, and overall storytelling. These "rules" were nearly always set within the perimeters of literary fiction. For those unfamiliar with the term, it basically groups together the books that don't really have a genre. Most of the time, these are books set in present day and have a character-driven plot. Character-driven means that only the acts of the character dictate how the plot moves instead of the plot pushing around the character.

In genre fiction, it is believed that the plot, more often times than not, moves around the character (I wrote an entire post about my feelings on that subject, which you can read here). Because I am writing a fantasy book, which would fall into the genre fiction category, I have to pay special attention to basically all facets of writing I was taught in equal amounts of detail, if not more. Most especially believably and character. If a fantasy world isn't believable, especially one created from scratch, the story will flounder. I also feel the need to pay special attention to character because of the ground-in stereotypes I heard all throughout college. It's a lot of bases to cover and henceforth needs a lot of pre-writing development referred to in the writing community as "worldbuilding." What does this have to do with editing, you ask? Well, in my case, my worldbuilding is constantly growing around me - like flowers in a fertilized garden. I set the soil and watered the seeds by building the world and the rules and the characters. Only after writing the first draft, the watering process if you will, will I be able to see those flowers start to bloom. Some of those flowers will be beautiful and look exactly how I want. Others will be damn ugly, so I'll have to rip out their roots and try again. I did not run into this problem in college or before when I was writing fan fiction, hence the need for a change to accommodate the pretty flowers.

Figure 2. Accurate representation of me literally writing away my soul. Or voice. Or both.

The third and final reason why I am changing my editing style: This book carries a piece of my soul within the pages. Yeah. That's right. My book is a freaking horcrux. (See Figure 2)

Now, I'm not saying that this book is the only piece of writing I've ever cared about. That is the furthest from the truth. Every story, article, blog post, tweet, Facebook update, journal entry, short story, flash fiction, essay - everything that I've ever written means something to me. My number one rule for writing: Never write anything you don't care about. Ever. This book, however, has a piece of my heart, soul, and hours upon hours of development that I spent taking the images and characters and scenarios and transposing them into words. I have been working this project on and off for about five years and have had the main character in my head for eight. She, and everything about this book, is singed into me like the mark of a branding iron across every one of my essential organs. It's hard to capture in words what I feel for this manuscript but that's as close as I can get.

What does me loving this book - probably too much - mean in terms of editing? It means I will ware myself dry editing, revising, and rereading every little detail until it is perfect. I can safely say that I have never done this with any other piece I have written. Of course I have put an unprecedented amount of time into them and cared about the outcome... but not like this.

Figure 3. Hnnnng.

Now, I understand that perfection isn't possible. I'm not that naïve. We can't all be Mystique from X-Men, gawked at by a young Magneto for our effervescent blue skin. We can, however, picture him saying "Perfection" every time we write a really amazing line/scene/plot twist (See Figure 3). While I know I will never reach Mystique-level greatness nor call over Magneto to my crib via Tinder, I will still continue do my darndest to get as close as I can to perfection without developing arthritis or pulling a brain muscle. This includes utilizing editing strategies I've never used before and abusing ones I know too well. Sounds exhausting, right? It is. In fact, I am now in the "I Hate Everything" phase of editing, which basically means I've been looking at my manuscript for too long. I didn't even realize it was normal until talking to a fellow writer recently. On top of being a giant relief that my book isn't actually trash (well, probably), our conversation also reminded me that it's okay to walk away from your draft for a bit - and by "a bit" I mean more than a few days. You should to give yourself a few weeks before even glancing at it so as to look at it with fresh eyes and a fresh perspective. I plan to take this advice for my second read-through edits, something I have never done before. In the past, I have set aside a piece of writing for a few days, maybe a week at most, but never for very long because I had deadlines. As I have yet to be signed by a literary agent, or even seek one out until I think the draft is ready, I have time on my side to utilize a strategy that I have never had the opportunity to try before. The thought both thrills and terrifies me.

I've read about a dozen different articles about editing and what the best strategies are. Some were very helpful. Others, not so much. It is my belief that editing, like writing, is a process unique to every person. It is also, as the title of this article alludes, the best and worst part of writing. It's the best because it allows you to make as many changes as you want, look at the progress you've made, and get some personal time with your story as a reader - a neurotic, detail-oriented reader, but a reader all the same. Editing is also the worst because of, well, exactly what I said before. Some changes you make to the draft end up causing a chain reaction that sets off major plot discrepancies. Looking at your own progress can be intimidating if you're doubtful on some of your ideas. Reading as a writer can also be a painful experience when you're looking at the flaws of your own draft.

The trick is to embrace the positives of editing. Use it like armor and fight away any negative feelings you have with an iron sword. And take breaks. Lots of them. Unless that doesn't work for you. In which case, I am eternally jealous and bow to your everlasting glory. Also, don't be afraid if your editing style changes from story to story. Each unique tale is entitled to its own unique editing approach, just like how every story is unique in the way it is read by someone. You can't control how people read your story or how they perceive it, what you can control is how the story is written. Think about that the next time you sit down to edit whatever project you're working on, creative or not, and know that you are in control of your own words just like you are in control of your own destiny. If you're lucky, the two might even be closer than you realize.

❤ Dae