16th
Editing
I like losing myself in my stories. It’s the best part. I can lose myself in someone else’s work, but I like creating my own because then I have unlimited power. I say what goes next, I say what happens next, and I say who gets a say. It’s nice.
Editing, however, is difficult. It’s hard to tear myself away from the feelings of joy and accomplishment I get from finishing a piece, although this is necessary for objectively viewing its merits and pitfalls.
I also feel estranged from the elements of a story. Inciting incidents, rising action, climax—it all seems faraway and theoretical to me. I’m starting to understand the necessity of using these ideas in editing, but I’m very much out of practice.
I’m also starting to realize that a normal first draft will most likely fail at one or more of these things. It doesn’t mean I have failed. It just means that I am an actual person doing actual work.
This is a very comforting thought to me, and I’m starting to find the confidence to be absolutely brutal with my manuscripts. Once I can accept that it’s not perfect I can make it better.
