Soooo….I’m editing. I’ve got this 70,000 word document on a computer screen that needs to be assessed, reorganized, and added to/subtracted from. I wrote it primarily on my laptop (although sometimes notebooks were used when I was ‘on location’ at the park, roller rink, pediatric waiting room, etc.)
But looking at the expanse of screen and scrolling, scrolling, scrolling is very awkward. I can’t flip quickly between page 22 and page 222 (well, I can, but it involves computer commands.)
At this point, I’m using my unwieldy print-out of the manuscript. I went to Office Max yesterday morning and bought some 1″ binder clips that I’ve slapped on it to keep the thing from falling apart.
I have a large supply of Post-It notes that I stick onto a page when I’ve got a question that needs to be checked out (like a continuity question, setting issue, forensic or police procedural fact, etc.) I also attach sticky notes to pages that have clues, red herrings, alibis–important plot points–on them so I can easily access these pages later.
I’ve printed the story on one side of the paper and use the opposite page to add text to a scene or to dialogue. Cutting text is easy–just draw a line through it.
I’ve also got a collection of photographs from magazines or printed pics I found online that I’ll stick in the pages of my manuscript. Sometimes I come across faces in news media that remind me of my characters. When I do, I tear or print them out so I can picture these folks more easily.
Drawbacks to this method: These papers are a mess and they get messier everywhere you go. They’ve been rifled through, drawn on, there are Post-its sticking out of the top, etc. A kid dripped on them at the swimming pool yesterday and I doused my pile of papers with coffee this morning.
Another draw-back is that anything you do on paper has eventually got to be transferred to the Word doc.
Even with these issues, though, I find I edit myself better on paper. It just helps having something tactile for me to shuffle through.
I like your idea of using photos of people to help with character descriptions. It beats having to remember what your old 8th grade gym teacher–you know, the one with the giant mole on his forehead (or was it his neck?)–looked like.
I could NEVER edit on screen, so I totally hear you, though I write long hand originally–first round of edits happens with the typing. But I also love, love, love the idea of taping pictures in there!
It seems to me your system is about as good as it’s going to get for a mystery.
Question: do you do ALL your editing on the hardcopy and then go in and enter, or do you go back and forth a little?
I’ve gone back and forth so I’ve never had a copy of the whole darned thing to do that with and I’m wondering if there might be some merit to trying, in spite of my 800 pages.
Alan, my 8th grade gym teacher was a lady (sort of…)
Watery, my last WIP I did completely on the hardcopy and then went back and entered it page by page onto the soft copy. And that was reallllll boring. And tedious. I’m thinking this time that I’ll do 3 chapters, then add to Word. The important thing is making sure I know where I’ve left off. Sometimes I go BACK to a chapter I’ve already edited and make more corrections on the hard copy instead of picking up where I left off with my revisions. Last time I did that, I couldn’t remember which material I’d transferred to Word and which text I hadn’t. This time whenever I go backward instead of forward I’m using a colored pen. I’m also making a check mark to indicate when I’ve added my revisions to the soft copy.
Elizabeth
I’m pretty much a do it on the computer guy. Except, for reading for glitches. For me, the document absolutely reads differently on paper than on the screen…at least in terms of finding errors or omissions. So, I buy lots of paper, have a printer that duplexes, MAKE SURE page numbering is on…miss that one and I am dead. And print it out ever so often–is that expression Southern? I lived in Alabama for several years.
A few weeks ago, I did a post about PowerWriter software. It is so much better than Word for organizing, moving, tracking, and keeping jpgs. Still it has the word interface and command system, so, there is no learning curve. Great writing software. A trial download is free. Have a great weekend.
Best regards, Galen
Imagineering Fiction Blog
You’re much more hands-on, tactile and visual in your approach than me. I edit in Word with track changes. But what works for one does not necessarily work for another, for sure. :)
The Old Silly
Invest in an editor/proofreader. Sure, its fun to do as much as you can yourself, but ultimately, you’ll want that second set of professional eyes looking at your manuscript. Especially one as large as 70,000 words.
I can recommend my editor/proofreader. Send her 100 pages and see if you like her work. 100 pages is a small investment and you can clearly see what that second set of eyes can bring to your story. I’m convinced you’ll be glad you did.
– Steve Tremp
http://www.stephentremp.blogspot.com/
I do most of my editing on the computer. When I think I have it right, I print out a hard copy. Still there’s always more to correct than I expect. I think I’m going to try the software Galen mentioned for my next novel.
JaneKennedySutton
I’m totally with you. Since this is my longest work so far — much longer than newspaper/mag stories I’ve written! — I occasionally feel intimidated by all the pages. Printing them out helps tremendously — Instead of being a semi-abstract work on the screen, it becomes tangible, in my hands, much easier to mold.
At the moment, I have lots of tiny strips of paper around my office, and each contains a note or quote or idea that I still need to get into the book. I’m taping them into various chapters where they belong. Looks like a kid has taken scissors to my manuscript!
I started writing in biro on paper, I found the biro made my hand ache. So then I wrote on my laptop. I got so frustrated with the scrolling screen. I now write on paper with good old fashioned ink pen,(no wrist ache), then I transfer to laptop. It works for me, I seem to have more of an open mind when manually writing too.
I love your idea of pictures,etc. I am going to ‘borrow’ that idea. Thanks
http://www.glynissmy.com
I edit both ways and find I see things differently when I read from the monitor than I do when reading the printed copy. I even do additional edits as I transfer the paper corrections into the Word document. The best part: when I’m at the revision/editing stage, I feel I’m on the home stretch.
Galen, thanks again for the reminder on the software. I do get irritated with Word…this program sounds like a good alternative.
For proofreading, I definitely prefer the laptop. But for content changes….I don’t know. I just can’t see things on the computer the way I can on paper. (I’m also one of those who has to physically move furniture around to see what it looks like in a different location in the room.)
I’m noticing, other than Jane, a feminine bent toward printing copy out. Am I being sexist in thinking this could be another difference in perception for the genders?
Elizabeth
I do “soft edits” on the computer with tracking, but to finalize, I like the feel of the paper, the physical hardcopy in hand. I also think it is easier (for some reason) to pick up typos from a hard copy.
Nancy, from Just a Thought…