Bernadette Benda

So I started editing the brick/beast/giantstackofpapersthatismynovelandortrilogyIDK.

The Green Crow, I mean, ahem.

I kinda feel like I actually have no idea what I’m doing and I’m just wondering where that handbook for “an easy way  to edit your novel” is…Library maybe? JK  I don’t think it exists.

Anyway. The editing has begun and there is no turning back *cue climatic music*.

Now I just have to deal with the growing pains.

For some reason when you start reading through things you realize all the horrible and ridiculous names you gave characters and places.

So you have to rename them. And. I. Just. Can’t. Stand. Naming. Things/People.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Because apparently I can’t remember anything about anything I wrote down a couple days ago. I have a problem.

Foreshadowing? Forget it man. I’ll never remember what on earth I was talking about. (Unless I write it down. But then, where did I write it down? In my notebook? In the other notebook? The binder? On the computer? Which folder? WHERE IS IT????).

Sometimes you read your writing and it just sounds amazing. You’re so happy and you get up and dance and run down the street with a banner into the sunset.

And sometimes, you’re just like…um, what?

Exhibit A:

“He fell of his horse as if fallen dead”

We’re just going to leave that there.

Add 20 pages, delete 10 pages. Add 500 words, delete 200…JUST HOW LONG/SHORT IS THIS NOVEL???? I WANT TO KNOW. And I was proud of my 160,000 length novel. But now it’s 158,000. But that’s good right?? It needs to be shorter, right??? But 160,000 had such a nice ring to it!!!

I have word count probs.

Because you wrote the thing and you read the thing and you rewrote the thing and read the thing and rewrote the thing and IF I HAVE TO READ THIS SCENE ONE MORE TIME I MIGHT LOSE MY MARBLES.

….where did I put those marbles….hmm….

Honestly yeah editing can just be terrible.

Good luck.