Creative Editing Begins (Crashcourse, Day 19)

Welcome to Day 19 of Crashcourse!

Food Festival!
Taking a break from the writing

I did something I didn’t want to do today, namely editing. But this was a bit different than acquiescing to an inner critic. This was creative editing.

Creative Editing Begins

I added 1,366 words to Crashcourse today in 1:26. That doesn’t really sum up the day though as you’ll soon see.

Overall, I got sidetracked again, but I think it’s for a good reason. After about thirty minutes of free writing, I got the feeling I was off on the wrong trail. Not completely, mind you. It just felt like I’d skipped a few stops and failed to light a few torches along the way. You see, I’ve written a lot of stuff about the Madkey School and how magic works on the premises. I’d touched on Randy and his life as well. All in all, a fascinating world is coming to light. But Randy’s actions within that world felt off to me. He’s been a passive character, walking around, letting stuff happen to him. But that didn’t feel quite right. I get the feeling that Randy should be doing more. So, I took some time (a couple of hours) to let my mind wander, then returned to the book. And lo and behold, a whole new part of the story came to mind. I began to see how various pieces and scenes fit together. I went back to the beginning of the story, introduced a new character, and kept writing. Things started to change very fast. Unfortunately, I had to cut out early due to a prior engagement so I didn’t get to see it through yet.

Now, a few days ago I expressly said I didn’t want to do any editing until I was done with the story. And yes, the work I did today involved some editing, mostly little stuff, as I worked to add in the new section of story. So, yes, I edited. On the bright side, it was creative editing, designed to help add in this new section. I’ve always liked the idea of creative editing. But I’ve never really done it since it always dovetails into endless rewrites. My challenge will be to add in this new part while staying in creative voice. I hope it works!

Crashcourse Totals

Daily Total: 1,366 words in 1:26. 953 words/hour

Total: 17,939 words in 23:42. 757 words/hour

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