Beautiful Books #3 // The Editing Process

 Okay, so I’ve never participated in any linkups before, and I’m a little late in joining this set, as you can tell from the fact that this one is Beautiful Books #3, not #1 or #2. Oh well. I’m here now. So there.

In case you’re wondering, the Beautiful Books/Beautiful People linkups are hosted by Paper Fury and Sky @ Further Up and Further In, and their questions are always so cool. It was only a matter of time before I broke.

On a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best), how did the book turn out? Did anything defy your expectations?

Objectively speaking, my seven NaNo novels turned out to be spectacularly awful, but since I already expected them to be horrible, I haven’t suffered any disappointment on that count. Outsiders would probably give all seven rough drafts a one or a two, at best. Personally, I would give them anywhere from five to seven because, while I know they’re terrible and I know I’ll cringe while I’m rereading them in preparation for edits, I also know they have plenty of potential, and that’s really all I look for in a rough draft.

 

Comparative title time: what published books, movies, or TV shows are like your book? (Ex: Inkheart meets X-Men.)

This is a tricky one, since I don’t like writing novels that remind me of other stories. I’m not going to try to think up comp titles for all seven books, since that could take some time. But I guess one of my historical novels could be described as Beauty and the Beast meets Rapunzel (it’s a fairytale set during the time of the first Black Death outbreak in Europe.) And though I haven’t read the play yet myself, I’ve been told my satire on writing could possibly appeal to fans of SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR.

Do you enjoy working with deadlines and pressure (aka NaNoWriMo)? Or do you prefer to write-as-you’re-inspired?

I need deadlines, and I need pressure. If I know that I have all the time in the world, I won’t get nearly as much writing done. So NaNoWriMo and other short-term goals definitely help with that. There’s a reason why my younger write-as-you’re-inspired self never got anywhere.

How do you go about editing? Give us an insight into your editing process.

Instead of just dealing with different issues separately through lots of individual drafts, like most writers tend to do (from what I’ve seen), I rewrite my entire first draft, word for word, making all the necessary changes that I know are needed. Then, once that draft has cooled and received feedback, I handle all the tweaks and changes required, but again, all in one go. And I get more feedback and keep tweaking until I’m confident the book is officially finished.

 I use this editing process across the board, even for blog posts. It frees me up to write awful rough drafts—as horrifying as they need to be for me to get them out—because I know that I’m going to rewrite and reevaluate every single word anyway. So there’s really no need to bother writing something polished and beautiful on the first round. It won’t save me time. Anyway, the more work during the second draft, the better because the only time I truly feel like myself is when I’m in the midst of those extensive rewrites. At no other time does my head feel as clear and my thoughts as orderly and in control. Yes, you may go ahead and judge me now.

 

What aspect of your story needs the most work?

Does “everything” count as an aspect? *cue crazed laughter*

My plots need a whole lot of tightening and reordering since I hardcore pantsed my novels this month which does not make for a cohesive plot. But hey, that’s what editing is for. My dialogue needs some major fixing as well. And in rough drafts, I do all telling and no showing, so editing is when I need to think of more creative approaches to convey information without just telling it to the reader. Basically, with my NaNo novels, I just pulled together all the building materials I felt I was going to need and piled them up, and now I need to take all those materials and all the tools in my mind and I need to build something presentable. I seriously cannot tell you how much I love this process, as crazy difficult as it can be at times.

What aspect of your story did you love the most?

Despite the incalculable faults in all seven novels, I think that I succeeded in conveying at least a seed of the emotions that I wanted to capture (well, okay, so that’s what I tell myself). And if I have the beginnings of something, I can take it from there.

I actually wrote a large portion of character internal reflection in order to figure out how my babies tick, which means I have a rough map of all their motivations and conflicting issues and fatal flaws. Translation: Christmas came early.

Give us a brief rundown on your main characters and how you think they turned out. Do you think they’ll need changes in edits?

They began life as large piles of goopy clay, and I will have to give them shape and hone them during edits. Since I wrote more than one novel, I have a healthy handful of main characters and I’m only going to list the major ones here.

November (Ember for short) can’t stop destroying herself with the one last tiny seed of hope she has left. Miranda knows what she has to do but doesn’t have the strength and the confidence to do it. Edison has allowed his bitterness and his exhaustion to ruin his last year alive. Jaqueline is so grief-stricken she can’t even see well enough to stop the people around her from dying. Eve’s arrogance is ruining her. Rachel actively sabotages herself and her career. Aiden mistakes apathy for patience. Will is controlled by his fear and by his anger. Maebel won’t even let herself be free now that her controlling husband of sixty years is dead. Cambria is sweet, but she is too naïve and silly to protect herself from those who are eager to take advantage of her. Marianne can’t fight her irrational rage. Roderic is foolish enough to destroy everything just to save the woman he loves. And, last but not least, Lara has allowed her obsession with an unsolvable mystery to consume her.

While much of their respective core natures have been somewhat established, I still need to work at making them properly unique and three-dimensional and compelling and all that fun stuff. Also, I love how their most defining features, at this point, are their fatal flaws. *laughs maniacally* In edits, though, I will be sure to give them positive qualities to balance out their vulnerabilities.

What are your plans for this novel once you finish editing? More edits? Finding beta readers? Querying? Self-publishing? Hiding it in a dark hole forever?

Mad editing and then querying.

Share a favorite snippet!

This snippet is actually the very first paragraph I wrote during NaNoWriMo, and no, I haven’t edited it any, so it still needs a lot of work:

“She could see him. In the corner of her eye, she could see him, and he was so close there were still times she thought she would be able to reach out and touch him. Times when she spoke to him and was certain he would respond. Times when she forgot he was just a hallucination.”

What are you writing goals and plans for 2016?

In 2016, I plan to finish editing at least two rough drafts, maybe three. I have a few novels from last November that I haven’t touched yet, and I have the seven I wrote last month, so I’ve decided two of the ones I want to prioritize, but I’m not sure which other one I will add to my plate. At some point, if I’m feeling brave enough, I may have you vote to help me decide, but until then…

(Yeah, I was just too lazy to finish that last sentence, but if you want to think that I was doing that for dramatic effect, then by all means, do so.)

Other goals include writing 800,000 words next November if I can possibly manage that without killing myself. And I want to see if I can get some small freelance writing jobs on the side. In other words, it’s going to be busy year.

 

What about you, my little coffee beans? What are your plans for 2016, writing or otherwise? What is your editing process? If you participated in NaNoWriMo, how would you rate your work?

Book Review: WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams

Warning: As always, I try to stay relatively spoiler free. But it doesn’t hurt to proceed with caution.

Rating:  Five Stars—ajklsdflk (when words fail to describe how wonderful a book is)

 

Well, it’s certainly been a while since I last wrote a book review, and it feels like way longer because—in my mind at least—NaNoWriMo lasted about a century or two. But anyway, I’m back to reviews, and today I’m going to cover one of my many all-time favorites—the book that kept JAWS from claiming the much-coveted #1 slot on the New York Times Bestseller List: WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams.

I’ve talked a bit about this book before, but I’ve been wanting to discuss it in more detail. So here we go.

The Main Rabbits. Okay, a lot of fiction I’ve read starring animals as main characters turns out a bit goofy (with the exception of books like CHARLOTTE’S WEB). While the stories are cute and the critters are charming, they’re not real and you know it. With WATERSHIP DOWN, we enter a much different playing field. Here we have rabbits who feel like rabbits, who act like rabbits, who communicate like rabbits. In fact, most of what I learned about rabbits and their behavioral patterns as a child came from this book.

Instead of giving us furry human-like creatures wearing clothes and going on quests, Richard Adams gives us creatures who follow the rules of nature, who fail to understand the human world, and who might even make you wonder what is going on in the minds of all the rabbits ever (or, maybe that’s just me). Sure, these rabbits are super clever, but they don’t rely on human-based smarts. And they always, always process information the way a rabbit would, rather than the way a human would. (For instance, to them, a train is a giant, fiery messenger from their god.)

Above all, they show themselves to be resourceful, daring, mischievous, and more. They have their own rabbit culture with folklore and legend detailing the harrowing exploits of their original rabbit ancestor. In general, they’re just the best rabbits ever, and they’re the type to be taken seriously, not the type to be cuddled.

The Symbolism. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m pretty sure this book is somewhat of a metaphor for the human existence. As humans, there are many things that we understand about our world, and many things that we don’t. Similarly, the rabbits understand all the details on their level, yet the world is so much bigger and stranger and harder to comprehend than they could ever dream. Like us, they are trying to survive, trying to find a place where they will be safe and well-fed, trying to build good lives for themselves. Along the way, they run into corrupt governments and individuals who are willing to survive at the expense of others. They encounter the caste system, corruption, and lies.

While, like I said, these rabbits are in no way humanized, their struggles resonate with us because they share the same basis, and though they aren’t meant to be us, I think in some way they’re meant to represent us. They are a small part in a bigger world, and we are a small part in a bigger universe. In being their little rabbit selves, they clarify what it means to be human.

Hazel. True, Hazel may not initially seem the most obvious choice for chief rabbit, but despite what he considers to be his lack of qualifications, he does what is necessary to keep his band of followers together and safe. Through it all, he remains humble and gentle, never demanding power and never treating his fellows as though they are less important than him. Instead, he recognizes each individual’s unique value, he helps his friends work together as efficiently and effectively as possible, and he never forgets what the others have done to help him out along the way.

Fiver. Here is where Richard Adams strays a little from established zoological facts by making Fiver something of a psychic or a mystic. But while Fiver’s visions are scientifically improbable, they do make for good storytelling, and the inclusion of rabbits who can glimpse the future and sense hidden sinister motives helps make the book what it is—beautiful and sad and dark and wonderful. Also, Fiver is just plain adorable.

On top of that, Fiver balances out Hazel remarkably well. While it’s true that Hazel is a talented leader, if it weren’t for Fiver, there would be no group of rabbits to begin with. Ultimately, Hazel would not be nearly as effective without Fiver at his side, helping him out, and Hazel makes his biggest mistakes when he ignores Fiver’s advice.

Bigwig (Thlayli). Bigwig is a former member of the Owsla, which is essentially the rabbit form of military/police. (Come to think of it, I’m not actually sure if that’s a thing in real life rabbit warrens, but oh well, it’s cool so we’re just going to go with it.) Hot-tempered and powerful, he is a force to be reckoned with, and yet, once Hazel earns his loyalty, there is nothing Bigwig wouldn’t do for the physically-unimpressive rabbit he has chosen to follow. Despite his occasional surliness and poor judgment, he remains an invaluable member of the team.

All in all, WATERSHIP DOWN is one of the most atmospheric and captivating books I’ve ever encountered. I’ve read it about nine thousand and twenty-three times (numbers not accurate), but it never gets old—it’s still just as suspenseful, just as powerful, and just as incredible as it was the first time I entered the story. And if I had the money, I would buy copies for everyone ever because it would totally be worth it.

Have you read WATERSHIP DOWN, my little coffee beans? If not, what are you still doing here, not reading it? If you have, what do you think about it? Which character is your favorite? Have you read anything else by Richard Adams? Do you think Owl City’s reference to “the crow and the bean field” is a tip of the hat to this book?

The End: A NaNoWriMo Wrap-Up

Well, this has been a rather eventful month, at least for me. While I certainly didn’t meet my original writing goal for November (505,505 words), I did still manage to beat last year’s word count by 40,000 words, so that was exciting. (Also, if you’re new and you’re wondering what National Novel Writing Month is, here’s a link to the explanation.)

As for my word count, I’ve been asked several questions along the way, so I’m going to attempt to answer them all here as I remember them.

 

What did you write?

Well, I (very technically) wrote seven novels in November, along with some other assorted odds and ends. Two of the books were historical fiction set during the time of the Black Death, one was a fantasy retelling of an Aesop’s fable, one was a psychological thriller, one was about time travel, one was a satire on writing, and one was a mainstream novel featuring writers, jealousy, and tea. These works all vary in length from a little under 50,000 words (the two that could be considered bloated novellas—but they’ll be longer after edits) to a little over 90,000. They all have a beginning and a middle and an end and some semblance of a plot. None of them are well-written or anywhere near presentable, which is why I won’t be sharing any snippets for a good long while. *sad face*

 

So you wrote all these words—are you going to edit them now?

Yes, or at least, partially yes. After my first NaNoWriMo (2013), I managed to edit everything that I had written because I took my three NaNo novels, went choppity-chop, and combined them all into one story. My second NaNoWriMo, I wrote five books, and I have only had the time to edit one (and that one still needs to go through at least one more draft). When it comes to revising and fixing up all my untouched NaNo novels, there’s going to be a pretty long waiting list, and while I do want to tackle each of them at some point or another, most of them will just have to wait a long time. (Translation: HELP I HAVE TOO MANY ROUGH DRAFTS AND WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH THEM ALL AND WHAT IF THEY FALL ON ME AND BURY ME?!)

As for when I will begin to tackle editing again, well, I will wait at least until January. It’s going to take a while to get all my thoughts back in order and my wrists back into working condition, so I’ll be taking all of December off. (I’ll still be blogging, though, so don’t worry—or I should say, don’t get too excited.)

 

Do you listen to music while you write?

Funny thing, that. I used to insist that I rarely listened to music while I was drafting, but this month I found myself with my earbuds in a fair amount. I think that was mainly to minimize distraction, though, because I now live in a basement apartment beneath a family with young, boisterous children who like to make a lot of noise. So yeah, music was my friend this time around.

That being said, when the kids had gone to bed and the house was silent, I did enjoy writing with no other sound but the clicking of the keys.

 

What did your schedule look like, and how much time a day did you spend writing?

So on a stay-home day, I would get up and watch something on Netflix with my sister, see her off to work, and then mentally prepare myself for writing while taking a shower. And by mentally prepare myself, I mean choose which flavor coffee creamer I wanted to use, or if I wanted to just drink the stuff black. Once I’d nabbed my coffee and situated myself on my bed (because I totally write in bed—guess where I am right now), I would browse through the NaNo forums for a while and kill time on Facebook.

Then, when I had procrastinated enough for starters, I would work for about two to two-and-a-half hours before taking my lunch break (which included more Netflix). After lunch, I’d write for another hour or so and then do anything that needed to get done around the apartment, like washing dishes or doing laundry or cleaning or amassing the necessary slave armies in preparation for taking over the world. I’d write for another one to two hours before eating supper and watching more Netflix. Depending on what my sister’s work schedule was on any given day, I would either end up spending most of the evening watching Netflix with her or I would focus on getting more writing done.

All in all, although I never kept track of my times, I guesstimate that I managed five to seven/ten hours a day, depending on what else I had going on. Earlier in the month, I had packing and moving which gave me even less time to work with, and there were days when various obligations bit out large chunks of my day. So yeah, I think five to ten sounds about right, on average.

Are you even human?

Well…no. But that has nothing to do with my writing speed.

 

Wait, what, how even?

I always get a little surprised when someone finds my word count impressive (and I know you’re going to hate me for this) because I spend most of my time comparing my numbers with other over achievers who are ahead of me. Like, way ahead of me. All that to say, I’m not some magical NaNo goddess with cages of trained muses giving me inspiration and typing speed in exchange for their eventual freedom. There are plenty of others who make me look like a first grader scribbling with a crayon on a used Kleenex.

 

 

This chart tracked the progress of everyone who wanted to be included (so, it's by no means comprehensive), but hopefully it can give you a decent idea of the general NaNoWriMo topography. For space reasons, I'm only showing you the top 26 out of 221 participants, but if you want to see the whole thing, here's the link. If you're looking for me, my username is Lorna Doone 11, and I'm tied for ninth place with Caillien.

I’ve already written a post on beefing up your word count, so I’ll just give you the brief version here. The main reason why I got to 444,444 words was that I spent the majority of my free time forcing myself to write, even when I didn’t want to or when I maybe had other priorities that were more important (oops). Sure, I watched TV, but that wasn’t just frivolous time spending, either. Every break was a chance to recharge my brain and wrists and get myself back into the writing zone. And every time I stepped away from my writing, I made sure I kept the writing mindset going so that I never had to stare at my document and wonder what I was going to do next. That being said, had I prioritized better and procrastinated less, there is no reason why I couldn’t have written more, but hey, that’s me shooting myself in the foot. And even though I didn’t reach my original goal, I’m happy with the number I got.

Well, that’s it, little coffee beans. I could talk about NaNoWriMo for hours and hours, but this post is getting long and you’re probably getting bored, so I’m just going to end it here. That being said, if you do have any specific writing, editing, or NaNo-related questions that I haven’t covered, feel free to ask away in the comments and I will get to you as soon as possible.

Just Checking In

So, it’s the last day of November, which means I’ll be scrambling to write as many words as I possibly can before NaNoWriMo ends. It also means that, soon, I will be more active in the blogosphere. I have been pretty much AWOL all month when it comes to commenting on all your blogs and answering all your lovely comments on mine. Starting tomorrow, I will once more begin making my rounds, though it may take some time to get to all of you.

I will also be reading more (consequently I will resume posting reviews on Monday), and I will be binge-watching TV shows as I detox and recharge my brain. On Wednesday, I will give you the breakdown of what I have been up to all month. In the meantime, if you’re feeling like a stalker and you want to follow my writing progress today, here's a link to my NaNoWriMo stats page.

I haven’t written as many words this month as I had planned/hoped, but I have still succeeded in doing more than I had begun to think I could manage with all the other things I’ve got on my plate. As always, your support and encouragement have been invaluable, and I want to thank you for that.

And now it’s time for me to step out and get back to writing so I can finish with a bang.

 

Well, my little coffee beans, for those of you participating in NaNoWriMo, I hope you have a wonderful last day. And for all of you, how was your November?