Wrestling the Internal Editor - I LET Her Win

I'm going to be doing a series of posts on common writing rules and why I think they are or aren't a good idea. We all know sometimes rules can and should be broken, but you have to understand them first. So leave me a comment (or send me an email) suggesting a rule you'd be interested in hearing my opinion on. I'll start those after Halloween (because I have a spooktacular post for you all next week with a ghost and a review). 

Today's rule is editing as you go. 

I know it's been said many times that you shouldn't edit as you write. The main reason being that you'll never get anywhere if you keep going back to fix what you have. But the truth is - I'm a closet editor. As I go that is. Not to the point that I'm changing the same word fifty times, but I do go back before I'm done. WHY? Why do I choose to break this rule you ask? 

Well, it could be that I'm a badass force to be reckoned with. Ha! No. 

It could be that I'm weak and can't resist the urge. Um, yeah I do have problems with patience, but no. That's not the reason.

It's because sometimes I feel that I can't go forward without fixing things right then if I recognize a problem that will wind its way through my manuscript. It's sort of like building a tower of blocks, knowing that the foundation row is wobbly. If you don't fix it early on, it's only going to get worse. 

So if I realize I'm missing a character for example (yes that's happened before), I go back and thread her through to the point I'm at before I continue. It's an important step in order to go forth with my manuscript. 

What if I'm working on a paragraph and I use a cliche? Ah. That's a bit trickier. It certainly will slow me down to fix the wording and again, most people will say NO. But... if I can challenge myself right then and there to think of a better way to say it? I do it. You know why? Because it makes me feel better about going forward. It's going to have to be done anyhow. 

See, I think that's a rule for beginners. Not to say I'm any better at writing necessarily, but it all depends WHY you're doing what you're doing. If you've never accomplished a finished manuscript you have to make that your first goal. You have to KNOW you can do it. So if you're fixing and messing about in order to avoid having to do what's tough or scary then quit it!!!

But if you're doing what you feel you should in order to build a stronger foundation for the rest and you're fully intending to go forward, go for it. 

That's my two cents about this "rule". What do you think? 

Burning Questions Answered

So... On Thursday last week I asked what you wanted to know. Right away I saw a theme emerge. FEAR. 

Dean K Miller asked: How do you deal with, or feel about, the fears associated with writing a book, or other piece? Where do you go (internally or externally) to calm those demons? Or do you even have them?

Barbara Watson said: I love reading about writer's struggles. Not because I want writer's lives to be hard but because writing is.

Susan Kaye Quinn asked: 1) What's the scariest thing you've ever thought about writing (not paranormal scary, emotional scary)? Did you write it?
 2) What's the one thing you want to write one day, but don't think you're ready to yet?

See here's the thing, we (writers) have so much in common. And one of those things, for better or worse, is overwhelming fear and doubt. I've blogged about it before, and that's fine. But what I'm going to do here is relate it to myself on a personal level for you. It's something I don't often do, but since you're curious, maybe it will help someone. Maybe it will give you encouragement. Maybe you'll see yourself in me, or say "Gee, other people go through this too."

What am I afraid of when I write a book? What do I struggle with? Lots of things. I've written *counts* 6 complete YA manuscripts. You'd think after the first it would get easier, right? I'd think, hey, my critique group likes my writing overall (i.e., they didn't toss me out of the group). I have an agent, and he likes it. But still. STILL there's that voice saying, what if this one is ridiculous? What if it sucks? What if my characters aren't believable? What if the plot doesn't make sense? What if I'VE GONE TOO FAR? (I'll get to that in a minute) 

How do I deal with those demons? I remember that it doesn't change the fact that I HAVE TO WRITE. I won't be whole unless I am, and I know that about myself now. So even if I never publish another thing I will continue to write. So why wouldn't I try? Why wouldn't I put myself out there? 

Now back to the "WHAT IF I'VE GONE TOO FAR?" thing. Susan asked what the emotionally scariest thing I've ever written is, and whether I even went there. Ahem. Actually YEAH I did. And I continue to do so. 

I blogged about it a bit here. What was it about the writing that scared me? It wasn't just the tense shift, or the POV shifts (e.g., switching gender). It was the material. The dark and edgy subject matter. Torture. Sex. All important to the story and characters of course. 

The result? There was no denying that letting myself go there opened me up to doing a better job. You can't hold back. You have to let yourself go there (wherever there is for you), because that's how you grow as a writer. WRITE WHAT SCARES YOU. It's the absolute best writer advice I've ever heard, and I continue to pass it on whenever I can. 

Can you change things later? Hell yeah. But you may be surprised how little you actually do. Oh and since that time (no not since Halloween. Since I wrote that first scary MS), I've written THREE more manuscripts. Each one has (I believe) taken me forward by leaps and bounds in my writing. I force myself to go there. To take on the difficult issues and characters and do it anyway. And you know what? I'm kind of proud of myself for it. I've seen my writing grow. I'm not saying "I'm an amazing writer you guys," or anything like that. I just mean from where I started to where I am now, I've shown a healthy learning curve. And I know there's always room to improve. So I will keep on writing and stretching and trying. And I will embrace what scares me. 

Susan's last question was what aren't I ready for yet that I hope to write one day. The answer is the perfect manuscript. It won't happen. It doesn't exist. But I'll keep striving toward that anyway.

Hope that answered your questions! If not, or if it opened up more, feel free to ask.

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