Editary is the word that I use for “Edit February”. It doesn’t sound as nice as “Preptober” and “Writvember” but it’s as good as I could make it. And how is it going? Smoothly (૭ ｡•̀ ᵕ •́｡ )૭
For Editary, I have a printed version of the manuscript that I have already run through with a red pen during Prepuary. I’m now working through it and my digital copy of the manuscript, making the necessary changes and catching more as I fine-tooth comb it. I’ve tried only editing on the computer to save paper but I’ve found it difficult in the past, especially with my own work where my brain has already adjusted to the writing and plot. Fresh manuscripts are easier to spot the edits in. I very much prefer to have something physical in my hands and so cut printing where I can unless it impacts my productivity/ease of working.
I’m 190 pages into the edit, about 80%, and I feel like it’s going well. Everything feels cleaner and I’m happy with how easily I can see my bad writing habits as I come back through. I try not to judge myself too much as I throw in those bad habits when writing, and I’ve improved my visibility of them during editing to the point where it’s fine for me to just write and not have them nagging me. I’m learning to really trust the editing process so that I can throw up anything onto the page without too much anxiety.
Not sure if it counts as a habit or a skill but my perception of time when writing can be off. I forget that lunch has passed or I realise the lighting makes not sense for the middle of the night, for example.
Character description consistency is typically not as issue with me but I do sometimes forget to mention it at all and realise that the world isn’t painted much for the reader. This isn’t inherently a bad thing because it allows readers to build their own interpretation and often allows them to dress the scene in a more relatable manner, but they shouldn’t have to do all the work so I try to check for this.
Ed’s Bad Habits (¬⤙¬ )
- “a little bit”, “for a moment”
- “begins to”, “starts to”
- tentative words
- slightly, pretty (much e.g.), actually, really, probably, sometimes, feel like
- I do this A LOT in my writing, particularly personal writing and it’s a confidence issue
- redundant “ly” words
- finally, properly etc.
- tense
- sometimes you can see different writing sessions by in the shifts (ᵕ—ᴗ—)
- I used to only write in past tense but changed to present with Rini & Butler and it has taken some adjusting to
Of course I don’t cut all of this out, some of it makes sense contextually or for the style, but these are little red flags for me when I’m cleaning up the work when editing.
Improvements for Next Writing Block Rounds
I still haven’t gotten around to it but I’m thinking a good idea in the future is to have an editing guide, not on the content but on my writing style. I always have an editing guide with me but it centres around the content and structure. Editing and proofreading comes naturally to me and was my greatest strength when working in publishing, but editing one’s own work comes with a different set of challenges.
The editing guide would be a fluid “document”, catching all of those bad habits I’ve listed up above and anything else I’ve noticed as I edit my writing. I should also put editing tips gained from others in there. Sometimes I have a “considerations” section in my editing guide that lists small tips that I’d read up on but I’ve not gone out of my way in a long time to upskill my editing using more than the same five textbooks I have on my shelf. Editing is one of those areas where I read “tips” and often already known 9/10 and so I get complacent with the skill. This time, I want to work on getting writing tips from real people and a variety of people.
I’ve already talked on my anxieties about picking up ideas and learning from other people in the field and I’m starting to truly see that there is only great things to be gained from engaging with the community and the wealth of knowledge it holds. Perhaps the fear of being labelled a “copycat” or “plagiarist” is rooted in the gatekeeping of a few and not the entire community, because it looks pleasantly welcoming and eager from the outside. And I also don’t know why I worry about it. I’ve never copied or plagiarised in my life, in fact I was that kid in school others were copying the homework off or getting me to do the assignment (/ω＼). At the end of the day, I need to remind myself that those who wish to claim “inspired by” and “copied” are the same, that’s on them ╮(ᵕ—ᴗ—)╭ How are we supposed to learn and grow if not learning from and being inspired by others?
I’ll let you know in the future how the “editing guide” goes (if I remember to make it), and hopefully by the end of February I will be able to hold up a clean sixth edit of Rini & Butler to the world … and then find some people to read it (•᷄ᴗ•᷅ ᵕ)
Hopfield is Writing 
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