Volunteer Before Victim! On Editing and Revising

As someone who enjoys writing in a stream of consciousness (and who has a funky writing style), editing is certainly important.

I have to make sure my ideas are clear and well organized. A spell check won't catch this miss steak (wut), but it would label dis as a mistake. So, not only do I have to do a read-through for careless mistakes I may have made, but I also have to keep in mind what mistakes spell-check may be making in terms of what I want in my writing. So revision is more than just a spelling or grammar check--it's an idea check.

Are my thoughts coming across the way I want? Is there a better way this scene or sentence could be executed?

In small amounts, I do enjoy revision. I enjoy laughing at some of my mistakes, rewriting sentences into stronger statements, and reordering paragraphs. Why? Because I see my thought process strengthened and it makes me feel giddy inside.

On the other hand, I put myself on an editing schedule recently where I risked burnout from the amount of editing I had to do, which is why I said "in small amounts."

Now, I do all of my revisions on software, so I couldn't take a picture of the process. I also cut down on the depth of edits I have to do because my outlines are pretty thorough. Unlike my editing process, my outlines are printed, and I mark them up as I write. I also have a separate booklet that I fill with scene edit ideas. Those ideas I either add as I go or save for the editing process.

So, for me, editing is a process that begins the moment I type the first word of my manuscript.

Another blog prompt brought to us by Wriye.