Ughhhhh...
I'm bruised and broken. The revisions for my MG science fiction novel are kicking my trash. Hard.
"But I thought you loved editing!" my husband chirped to me a few days ago after I collapsed on the sofa, twitching.
"I do, but these edits are hard," I groaned back to him. "So hard!"
So yeah. This situation is kind of ironic. Usually, I look forward to the revision process and I simply love slashing through my manuscript with a bright red pen. But these revisions make me want to pull out my hair and chew off my fingernails. They make me want to chug a gallon of rocky road ice cream. And vomit. A little bit.
But why? Why are these edits kicking my trash when I used to love it so much before?
It took me awhile but I figured out why. Aha!
This is what I realized... When I self-edit my manuscript, I like to focus on certain things: smoothing out paragraphs, tightening sentences, and enrichening the setting. I tend to whittle away at the small stuff rather than pick apart the big picture things like character arcs and motivation.
Big Picture Stuff = My Editorial Blind Spot
And this is why I'm pulling my hair out! This current round of revisions makes me do all of the big picture stuff! Beefing up arcs! Infusing more motivations! Eeeeek! I'm so out of my element!
Still...it's a good growing experience--and I know my book will be much better because of it. But why, why is it so HARD?
(Sorry about the whiny voice!)
So what about you? What is your editing blind spot?
What Is Your Editing Blind Spot?
