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Don't you hate it when...


  • KodyBoye
    Apr 30 8:31 PM
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    You're editing something, like, a year old, and you're doing so well (you get two pages though with only a few troubles,) then stupid people around you (AKA your annoying family/siblings) start being completely annoying and you get FRUSTRATED AS HELL.

    GAH.

    I have THIRTY FOUR FRIGGIN PAGES left to edit in this short novel, and I only edited TWO before I got too frustrated to continue.

    Someone, please--put me out of my misery. The only reason I haven't trunked this novel is because I like it too much.

  • Myryca
    May 1 ↑
    Reply
    My dad does that ALL the time. Not just when I'm editing but when I'm actually trying to write too. Why can't people understand that writing is not something to be interrupted?

  • Oddities
    May 1 ↑
    Reply

    "Now, we're going to make a new rule."

    "When you come in here and you hear me typing or whether you DON'T hear me typing, or whatever the FUCK you hear me doing; when I'm in here, it means that I am working, THAT means don't come in. Now, do you think you can handle that?"

    • CactusJack
      May 1 ↑
      Reply
      classic.

    • tonialoise
      May 1 ↑
      Reply
      You know I've tried everything with my mom, from shutting my door to wearing headphones to telling her if she sees words on the screen not to interrupt me. but no... she still does and if it's not her walking in wanting to talk about some little gossip I care nothing about it's her hollering across the house at me about some news item on tv. grrrrrrrrr...

      So yeah... I know how you feel.

      • CactusJack
        May 1 ↑
        Reply

        Just lucky I guess

        The only interruption I might get would be the noise from the outside world. That and maybe my dogs barking, literally, I don't mean my sore feet. I live with my wife who is also a writer and she knows the annoyances of constant interruption. Usually I'm using the computer in the office while shes curled up with the laptop.

  • KodyBoye
    May 1 ↑
    Reply
    My thing was that no one was near me--my little brother and cousin were banging stuff around in the shop (well, that's what we call it--it's a big storage room about twenty feet away from me.)

    LOL!

    But, yeah. Ah well, I've already come to a decision. I'll edit all my older work, put it aside for when my editor reads it, then just write my newer stuff and edit it after it's finished. That way, I WILL NEVER be frustrated with old writing!



    I'm a genius.

    • tonialoise
      May 1 ↑
      Reply
      That's what I do. I edit a chapter at a time right after I finish. I did try to edit an old novel and am halfway through it, but it's hard to edit something old no matter if there's interruptions or not.

      I suggest you try going to a library or some other quite place if you can. I was going for a few hours once a week and let me tell you, I got a lot done in that time.

      • KodyBoye
        May 1 ↑
        Reply
        I suppose I could get away with going to the library, mostly because I have a laptop. I'd just have to screw with the settings so the battery life wouldn't run out so quick (or get some kind of external battery I could plug into the wall to charge, then plug into the laptop.)

        Thankfully, I got two, almost three, more pages done. My struggle is that my older writing (from a year ago) has a lot of passive voice in it. Though it can be frustrating as hell (and worse) sometimes, it helps to know what I've improved on since that time.

        • tonialoise
          May 1 ↑
          Reply
          Hehe... Yeah I guess that helps to have a laptop, guess I forgot to mention that, though printing it out and a red pen might work too.

          Well... I don't know about your library but mine does have outlets where we can plug our laptops in while we use them, so I don't worry about the battery.

          Eek, yeah I understand the struggle with the passive voice too. I think many of us struggle with that one. Good to hear you're improving though.

          • KodyBoye
            May 2 ↑
            Reply
            I need to get a surge protector. One power outage and--BAM! computer could get fried (and I paid almost seven-hundred bucks for it.)

            Passive voice in my newer stuff is... well, REALLY not present. It's there in places, but not as bad as in older stuff. I find that as I'm editing older stuff, I'm rewriting bits and pieces, or whole paragraphs, haha.

            • tonialoise
              May 2 ↑
              Reply
              True, definitely get the surge suppressor. I hate it when that happens too.

  • sarahhitch
    May 2 ↑
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    Editing is always the part I don't enjoy but needs doing, even though I have edited my novel as I went along. I have now completed it, al 54 chapters and 90,000 words. I am currently editing it on paper, lots of red ink. Oh the fun, and having four kids at home at the weekends it makes editing harder.

  • Marta
    May 13 ↑
    Reply

    I agree with Oddities and also learn to put up boundaries that no one can break down or go through--it can be done. It just takes imagination and a strong will.

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