When I think back on the first draft of my current (first) novel, I remember how the words just seemed to fly from my fingertips. The characters became living, breathing entities, and I cared about them. Yeah, the writing may have been a little flowery, wordy, and full of technical errors, but it came to life just the same.
A couple years later, my computer crashed.
I had to begin the long process of retyping the whole thing. While I typed, I edited... and edited... and edited. Somewhere along the way, I lost touch with my characters. I lost track of the story, and traded authentic for technical.
I think I've killed Sarah and Michael. At the very least, I dumped them off on a dirt road somewhere to find their own way home. Oh, what have I done? For now, I'll continue to type it back in, one chapter at a time. But from now on, no editing, just typing. Once I find them again, we'll deal with the technical issues.
Have you ever written something you loved just to over edit it to death?
Yep, I sure have! Recently, I have come to realize that, although proper grammar, punctuation, and structure have to be basically adhered to for a smooth read (and our own credibility), sometimes, those 'rules' have to be broken to make the story actually sound 'real.'
ReplyDeleteBlessings and the best of luck to you on your book!
Thank you, Anna, good to see you here!
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