Ye Olde Editing Process

A few weeks ago, I read somewhere that writers tend to fall into two categories. First, you have those who most enjoy the actual writing process. The second group is composed of those folk who get a bigger kick out of editing, tinkering with things until the fall into place just right, till things fit.

I would have to say that I do not like editing, not one bit. I finished writing on July the 20th, and per the book/kit's suggestion, did not pick my printed out manuscript for two weeks. Two weeks! It was a good idea, however, as I feel fairly sure that if I had read through everything right away, I would have been happy with it, perhaps even thought it was good.

Let this serve as a notice to anyone who may attempt such a feat in the future (and please do, I think I'm going to do this again in November, which is the official National Novel Writing Month), to keep in mind that you are working on the first, rough draft of a novel. Chanting the words 'only a rough draft, it was only a rough draft' as I read through my 'manuscript' was the only thing that kept me dousing myself and my two inch stack of paper with lighter fluid and having an 'accident' in the kitchen. Whew, that thing was rough.

Reading back over it a couple times, it doesn't seem as bad as it had during the preliminary run through, though I know I have a shit-ton of work to do.Yesterday I finally grouped things into chapters, whereas before the only breaks in writing had been all cap letters announcing another day ('START DAY TWENTY-TWO'). I also very, very briefly summarized who is in each chapter, and the action that occurs. Today, I took those notes and transposed them onto index cards, breaking it further down, from chapters into scenes. Have a look see. I'm not even going to say how long it took me to do all that crap.

My crack-addict internet broke down a little while ago, so I didn't have a chance to upload the even prettier pictures of my masterpiece before my camera battery died. I know, even pretty, if you can believe it. More pictures tomorrow, and some explanation of the color coded system (and by tomorrow, I mean three weeks from now).

Forgive my Absence...

The kit came with the envelop you see to the left, emblazoned with the words "I QUIT" on it. This was included in the kit just in case myself, or anyone who ever tries to write a novel in a month, give up, bites a bullet, and decides they can't take it anymore. I wanted to include a picture of it because I did not read what was inside until I was done. I read it out of sheer curiosity.

So I've had some time to reflect, to look over what I finished seventeen, maybe eighteen days ago, and of course, to have a little celebration. Wow, there was entirely too much celebration. There are just a couple of things that I would like to say, not as a final post, far from it. This is the beginning of something completely different.

First off, I have to thank all of you for your support and encouragement through this crazy process. Anytime you made a comment on the blog, called and left me a message, or even sent me a large envelope full of gummy bears, you helped me keep truckin' along. Booya to you. I would never have finished this without your help, or without the fear of letting you down. There was so much fear.

I would like to let everyone know that I plan on revising and editing this damn thing, and hopefully, getting it published. I'm sure Penguin books or someone will offer me their whole company as retribution for me letting them publish such a poetic, sweet laden work, so keep your eyes peeled for islands that might be on the market. Should this fail to happen, well, I may just post the damn thing online (maybe here) in word form, and you can send me some Bubble Yum in lieu of payment.

Lastly, peruse these lovely pictures of my triumph, if you will. I will be posting from time to time on here, describing the editing process (THRILLING), the search for agents and publishers, and, please Lord, an announcement that my book is going to be sold. Look back here in about three years for that information. Until then? Look at the pictures, and check out toothpicking.blogspot.com. I had so much fun keeping this blog, I may just start, I don't know, doing what my friend Trey does (dantzlersmith.blogspot.com) and write about shit that interests me. What'd you say? LOTS of people are doing this? Crap. Always late to the party.

Thanks, again to everyone, I love ya'll mucho. To some pictures!

Directly to the left is my 'Mighty Novel Progress Log'. Each day that I wrote down my goal, how many words I wrote that day, and my surplus. If I reached or exceeded my goal, then I put a goal star (indeed, gold) next to that day. A supreme mark of achievement.

Below is my finger, wielding the last star of the month.

To the right, we have the last star, placed next to the final word count (it says July 20th down below, ignore the 13).