I used to have a diary when I was twelve, where I would rant and rave about my woeful childhood and my annoying siblings, but I haven't documented my life ever since. This will be an interesting (and hopefully constant) venture!
Having finished my first book, Conduit, I've come to realize that the process of editing is as hard, if not harder, than the story writing itself. Over the course of writing this book, I've been learning along the way and have compiled a list of things that I need to start applying once I begin editing.
There is so much to remember and think about every step of the way, but strangely enough, I'm really enjoying it. It's satisfying to see passages I had doubts about in the past suddenly click into place and simply sound better.
Being new to this, there are moments when I'm not sure if I'm making a good choice. Conduit was 499 pages and 149k words when I completed it. For a YA novel, that's a lot more than it needs to be, which means I have to cut out a lot of things that I deem unnecessary. But of course, this creates the problem of what "unnecessary" means. Sometimes, I'm afraid that I'll cut out passages or lines that might have had an impact on readers, and risk making the whole book sound flatter and less meaningful. Hopefully the second or third editing round will erase such doubts.
Beyond a few concerns here and there, I have to say that the overall process is shaping up a lot better than I had anticipated. I'm enjoying rereading the book in detail and rediscovering the plot and characters.
