If you read my post from yesterday, you'll know that I've be writing like crazy on my current work in progress, Aquatara: The Water Spirit. I love when my muse finds her voice and gets in the mood to create. It's so fulfilling to see the pages fill up and have most of it make some sense. I have, however, run into a little snag.
My internal editor will NOT shut up.
The way I've written in the past is to just purge everything that comes into my head, spilling it out on the page. But this time I find myself stopping every couple of paragraphs and reading what I've just written, editing it over and over until I think it's perfect. Then I'll move on and write a little more, only to be stopped again by that little OCD person in my head to edit and rewrite. I even go back at the end of each page and then again at the end of each chapter. I'm totally obsessed and to be honest, it's driving me insane. I've never written like this before.
So, I'm curious, how do you lock up your internal editor until it's his turn to polish your WIP? At this point, I could use all the help I can get.
I have the same struggle. But the more I read about writing the more I realize I not going to get anywhere if I don't just tell Editor that she has a day off and run for the hills. Because she makes everything take forever.
ReplyDeleteI think if I sat her down and said, "Look. I am over here with muse. She and I have a lot to get done. And I'm sure to you it looks more like goofing off but we are doing our jobs. This is your vacation time. In the near future you are going to have so much work to go that you are going to be moaning from exhaustion. So rest up."
Or you can just write a note "Upon this paper I place my internal editor. Upon this paper she shall stay until a future time and date." Then tie that baby up and place it where it is always in site.
I have the same problem. I find that if I have lots of mistakes, I can let it go more easy and come back later to fix and revise. But if there are only a few mistakes, I'm stuck there for hours.
ReplyDeleteI really love Amber's comment. And I struggle with this too, a lot! But I'm working now on just not re reading what I've done before I start writing, just dive in. We'll see how it goes :)
ReplyDeleteChristine, you could always pretend that it's Nano Wrimo and say to your self that editing is a no no. Then just take off and write like the dickens. If that little voice starts to whine, just say, "Shut up, I'm nano-ing."
ReplyDeleteI tell her to shut it because I'm not finished with the first draft yet. Of course, I can't just tell her once. I have to keep telling her over and over.
ReplyDelete"It doesn't matter. I can come back and fix it later. It doesn't matter. I can come back and fix it later. It doesn't . . ."
I'm lousy at locking up my internal editor. So I write with it. It's writing and I'm getting words down even if it isn't as fast as I'd like.
ReplyDeleteI write like that to some extent. It's slow, but it actually works for me. Most people seem to find writing easy and revising hard. I find the writing hard (fun, fulfilling, but hard), and the revising fairly easy. Most of the time anyway.
ReplyDeleteEditing as you go isn't a bad thing. I have a friend who is a very successful writer (30 books to her credit) and she edits as she goes. By the time she finishes the story, it's ready to send. As for me, I write the rough draft from beginning to finish and then the fun starts. I probably go over my books at least 4 or 5 times before I'm ready to send it to my editor. So, it doesn't matter. The point is to get the story out and you are! :)
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