Starting the Edit

Having taken a break from writing over the summer, and having been distracted by writing another short story that was just screaming at me to be put down on paper, I have finally turned my attention back to my novel, and started the edit.

When I first started writing I thought that every word I wrote was precious. The thought of even changing a sentence around – let alone cutting it was appalling. And to cut out a paragraph or two – or even a whole chapter - that would be abhorrent!!

But as we grow as writers so we learn to edit and cut. I never send out the first draft of a short story – I always put it aside for a few days and then come back to it – hard on the delete key. Sometimes I’ll turn a story about completely, sometimes all I do is tighten and polish. But always it goes through at least two or three iterations before I finally read it through and decide that it is ready to be sent out on its first journey into the perilous world of the short fiction market.

This is the process I’m just about to embark on with my novel. I have a list of changes I want to make, some extra research I need to apply, and of course I need to polish it until it shines. Only then will it be ready to tackle the greatest challenge of all – finding an Agent!