The Very Hardest Part of Writing

I try to keep things around here reader-focused, but having just answered this question for an interview post (coming in May – I’ll post a link when I have one) it occurs to me that maybe it’s something readers and writers would enjoy hearing about. So, what, to me, is the hardest part of writing?

The editing process.

See, when I’m writing I get to live in my little story world where everyone does exactly what I want them to do (or, if they come up with something else to do it’s usually better than what I’d been consciously thinking, so we roll with it) and even if the words on the page aren’t exactly what they should be, I know what they’re doing/saying. And it’s wonderful, and cool, and little bunnies hop merrily around on the bottom of the pages and birds flutter around the top edges of the pages and it’s basically like Snow White out in the forest.

But that ends when it’s time to edit.

When it’s time to edit, it’s like the Chainsaw Massacre inside my manuscript. I tear it apart. My critique partner tears it apart. In some cases, I pay a freelance editor to tear it apart. And then, slowly, methodically, it’s time to paste it back together one word at a time. It’s a horrific process to me. (I know some people love it – I just love the end result.) And when I’m done, I sing a couple of verses of the Hallelujah Chorus and dance around the kitchen. Then I send it off to my editor at the publisher thinking that I’ve just crafted the world’s most amazing piece of literature and she’ll surely be calling to tell me just how incredible it was.

Yeah…not so much. See, no matter how much time and effort I put into editing my work, my publisher (and I truly believe this holds true for ANY publisher) is going to have tweaks. Sometimes they’re big. Sometimes they’re little. All of the time, getting that document back when it’s all filled with track changes (I did finally turn the color to something other than red so it’s not dripping blood when I look at it) hurts. It does, it hurts. And so you take a deep breath and you step away from the computer for a few minutes (or a day) and then you push up your sleeves and you dig in. (Side bonus: successfully making it through the editing process helps develop the thick skin you need if you’re going to brave releasing your creative works out in the world. Cause people can be harsh, and you have to learn not to take it personally.)

Often, I look at what I had and what she wants and…yeah, I should’ve written it that way to start. Other times, I don’t like her suggestions but I get the gist and so I’ll re-write it to suit the intent behind the edit. Sometimes I put back what I had and make a little note of why I feel it needs to stay the same way. I try not to do this too often – you have to choose your battles in every part of life – but so far, with some back and forth, we’ve come to an agreeable solution every time. (But there’s been back and forth – again, just part of the process!)

When that’s finally done, the manuscript I have is so much better than it was when I initially thought it was “done.” I love my editors, even though I struggle through the editing process every time it comes around. It’s hands down the hardest thing for me, but also the aspect with the most appreciable improvement as a result.