Guest Post: Five Ways Editing is Like Dragon-Slaying
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Today, I am very excited to say, we have a guest poster on the blog. Heather, from the blog Sometimes I'm a Story, has kindly stopped by to talk all this editing. Heather is one of my favourite bloggers, and her blog is filled with thought provoking, entertaining posts on writing, music, books, characters, and other interesting subject. If you have a moment, please stop by her blog and say hi. And if you'd like to guest post on my blog, feel free to send me a message!
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Editing. It’s not hard to imagine it as a vile, green beast towering
above we writers, and honestly, we’d probably be better off sleeping late than
trying to battle it. But we’re writers. Knights. Sleeping isn’t in our job
description.
That being said, even if you don’t own a sword or can’t stand the
thought of horses, dragon-slayers and writers have a few things in common. Think
about it.
1. You’re on a Quest
The dragon is never your next door neighbor—the slaying comes after
miles of uncomfortable journeying and unpleasant backtracking. Things you never
even realized were problems challenge you: plot holes, underdeveloped
characterization, interfering magicians.
You, however, are at an advantage: you know you’re going questing
and can prepare. Buy chocolate to reward yourself, cups of tea or coffee to
sustain you through three-hour editing sessions. Look for mentors who’ve slain
a few dragons of their own and set goals so you don’t charge into your project
blind. Yes, it will still be difficult—but if it wasn’t, would you still be
able to call it a quest?
2. You Need Help
Have you ever heard of a knight who braved dragon fire alone and
lived? No, there’s got to be someone else: teams of critique partners, beta
readers, and perhaps a kindly monk (or someone) with an available shoulder to
cry on. We wouldn’t get very far without people to break us down and build us
up again.
Friends and family are often willing to support us, but out in the
wild, we need each another to trade, if we can. There are a lot of sites out
there dedicated to connecting writers (dunno about dragon-slayers) and plenty writing
communities centralize around blogs, just like this one!
3. You Are Your Own Best
Resource
It is important to have a sword when dragon-slaying, but without YOU
to wield it, it’s little more than a sharp, shiny stick. Hundreds of tools are at
your disposal, but unless you keep practicing, and take the initiative to use
them, they’re never going to be more than good intentions.
So hone yourself into the weapon you want to be. Study up on your
dragon, think of the best way to attack him, and work hard to make that attack
plan possible. Unlike with a real dragon, it’s okay if you fail the first time
when writing. You aren’t made of metal, and have plenty of room to grow!
4. The Dragon Wants to
Live
Editing is hard, and so is killing dragons (surprise, surprise). If
you don’t hone your craft or persevere through the hard parts, that dragon will
remain not-dead. Likewise, if you get all the way to the dragon’s cave and you
don’t have your weapon ready, then you’ll probably scream “Run away!” like King
Arthur and his knights.
Dragons are invariably intelligent, and they’ll distract you at all
costs. Pinterest, Facebook, video games, friends, taverns, peril—anything!
Anything to keep the status quo and your blade away from its neck. It’s our job
as knights and writers to overcome temptation and push on—as my dad reminds me:
“It will still be there in the morning.”
5. You’ll Come Home Again
Whether it be the next draft, the next novel, or the next great
project, there’s always going to be “one more dragon.” That’s the thing about
quests: you end up back where you started—and the same is true here.
What can you do? Get really, really good at questing. The more you
practice, the more you improve. It doesn’t get easier, but it gets more
familiar, and when you know more than the dragon you’re well on your way to
success!
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One more thing: when you go on a quest, you change in one way or
another. Every draft will teach you, and you’ll improve with every dragon you
hack away. The best part? When you’re all done, you have the head of a dragon
to tack on your wall—which is something to be proud of.
Go forth, dragon slayers! Your quest awaits.
Have you slain any dragons
lately? What are your tips to slay tricky drafts?
Heather is first and foremost a velociraptor,
but when she’s not wreaking her revenge on the world, she blogs at SometimesI’m a Story and Wandering in a Blur. She also loves to beta read, watch movies,
and sleep. For excessive blog promotions and the occasional original tweet, you
can find her on Twitter.
15 comments
Editing is so difficult and a very slow process, but all of these tips are very useful when slaying the editing dragon. There are definitely many distractions, but somehow we must ward off those distractions and focus on practicing our craft so that we may improve. Friends are also a must.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely; downward with distractions and forward with friends, right? It's always good to know that a rule like that will keep you headed in the right direction!
DeleteFriends are always a big help. They're good for advice and encouragement. Sometimes I think that the dragon's strongest weapon is its ability to tell us that we're not good enough. And distraction. Old procrastination and the dragon must be best friends by now.
DeleteWell, this was an interesting post. Editing is indeed as difficult as slaying dragons, and every dragon is a little different, but hopefully we can all slay our little WIP dragons.
ReplyDeleteYou can say that again. XD I, for one, agree—my WIP dragon is particularly feisty, and I can't wait for it to be dead, if I ever get there.
DeleteTrue, every dragon is very different. I guess that that's what keeps the writing path so interesting. You never take the same path twice nor fight the same dragon twice.
DeleteI'm thinking of my NaNoWriMo t-shirt a bit. I like the analogy, here. I'm in the middle of slaying the second draft of the first thing I've ever actually finished. I'm very new to this whole thing, to be honest...
ReplyDeleteWe all have to start somewhere! I've written first drafts before, but I've never fully edited a novel before, so I'm in the same boat as you are, I think. But we'll get better!
DeleteWelcome to the great land of dragon-slaying then! Editing gets easier with practice, I promise. It's still difficult some days, but it's also the most rewarding thing ever, seeing something you've written turn into the best possible version of itself. It's hard, but I wouldn't give up my editing for anything.
DeleteOh, Heather, this is wonderful. xD I hadn't though of it this way before, but it's definitely true! *glares at editing beast*
ReplyDeleteThanks! And you slay your dragon! Glaring is only half your battle. ;)
DeleteHeather's post was pretty great, wasn't it? *glares at own editing beast* I like the idea of editing as an epic battle much better than a long slog. It sounds more noble, doesn't it?
DeleteI'm struggling through editing right now, and it does feel a bit like I imagine slaying a dragon would. I love this analogy :)
ReplyDeleteXD I'm glad you think so! Keep fighting! :)
DeleteI'm in the same boat as you. But now that we know our books are dragons, it should be so much easier to fight and slay them. Now, where is my sword...
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