 Fantasy: March 02, 2016 Issue [#7512] |
  Fantasy
This week: When to Edit that Fantasy Story Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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A Fantasy Newsletter by Elf
There are many parts of the writing process that we must find time for in order to finish a story. This newsletter looks at editing and how to find time within varying schedules to get the task done. |
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This is a question that will vary depending on the writer. While things like NaNoWriMo and short term contests here on WDC are fun for getting that crazy first draft from idea to reality, that is not the final stage most of the time. Instead, there are other steps that one should consider and it's not always easy to know when to take the varying steps forward with a single story. So, let's consider the options and I'll mention some decisions I've made on a few speculative fiction stories thus far in my writing life.
After that first draft is done of your fantasy, science fiction or any other speculative fiction story, what do you do next? Fix it right away? Enter it in a contest? Set it aside? Write more things?
Many answers are right, which is why I started with this will vary. For most work, I tend to set it aside for a little while at the very least. A novel will get a longer break than a flash fiction or even short story because hopefully it also took me much longer to get that first draft done. Then again, most of my stories are really parts of novels but that's a different topic. Still, a story of 5,000 words will need less of a break than one that is around 75,000 in first draft.
However, if I'm writing for a contest on WDC, there won't always be as much of a break, and it won't be novel length anyways since it's rare to enter anything over 10,000 words on here. I will do little edits along the way, depending on how long it takes to write the item. And on rare time, a first draft may be entered because some contests have fast deadlines (a week or even less). So, that will be a variable when making decisions. If there is a deadline, you will take that into consideration when figuring out what to do next after a first draft is complete.
If there is time, then comes the question: rewrite or edit?
I've done a newsletter on this before though not for Fantasy. I do believe there is a big difference between and edit and a rewrite. Often times, stories and novels even more so, they will need a full rewrite before doing some of the minor changes and fixes that are editing. A rewrite will involve major changes, from my perspective, compared to an edit which fixes sentences issues and such. Not every story will need a full rewrite.
For my first novel with mutant characters, I have done a couple rewrites that included changing tense and point of view. It went from first person present tense to third person past tense. Quite the changes and it took some time to get it all set up. Then I did edits in order to fix any inconsistencies along with general problems like overusing words, too much passive voice and all of that fun jazz. On the other hand, I have an adult mutant novel that I am going right to edits instead of doing major rewrite because at that point I knew not to attempt first person.
It isn't just a matter of when in the timeline of the story creation that you might question. An issue for some of us might actually be the question of when to find time in our schedule to edit. If you write many different stories, you also need to find time in order to edit and rewrite as well. I'm still working on this. I have work, gym, sleep and other things that I do (like writing newsletters last minute). Need to find time to blog along with time to edit stories that are waiting in the background. It's all part of the process and like everything else, I will make the time to do it.
There is no exact answer of when. What works best for you will depend on different factors but it doesn't hurt to ask along the way. When are you going to edit that story?
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How do you find time to edit your stories? When do you think is a good time to start an edit?
Last time I discussed setting and how the Woods can work with fantasy stories. Here is the one comment sent in response to that newsletter:
Comment by ClarityofClouds 
I think the woods has worked as a setting in fantasy for centuries, from fairy tales to "Lord of the Rings"-type novels, because of the mysterious element that clusters of trees possess. Trees have a certain life-giving energy which creates magic when you are walking nearby them. One can easily imagine trees speaking or sending messages to those who venture into the woods; and, if you go into the woods at night, there is a "fear-of-the-dark" feeling which can be used to create suspense in a story. The woods has both the Light and Dark elements within it, and these are very often dueling aspects in a fantasy story.
- Very good points and thank you for sending in your comment. 
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