Editing My First Novel

My computer completely died a couple of days ago which is why I have not been making any updates. Luckily all my data was recovered so I didn’t lose anything but it’s safe to say that I won’t be able to do anymore work on it for this DK30. I’m pretty happy with the work I accomplished and I looked forward to picking it back up when I get a new PC.

I felt I did a better job with updates this time around. Doing regular updates about small things each day made it easier than the weekly updates. With weekly updates I always felt like there was pressure to produce results to show rather than highlight the process I took and effort I put in. Thats really what this DK30 was about for me. Focusing on the effort not the results. In my previous DK30 I set myself targets which ultimately eroded the fun and undermined the effort I had put in. I think setting myself goals to get started rather than goals to finish was a big part of my success with this project and I recommend that anyone looking to set goals or challenge themselves consider taking the same approach. It might not work for everyone and I know some people are more results driven but it’s always good to experiment and find new ways to improve how you improve. Don’t get me wrong, goals/results are great but never undermine the effort you put in because that will always be worth more in the long run.

That was a bit of a tangent but I guess what I’m trying to say is that I had lots of fun this DK30 and feel proud of the effort I put into my work which I feel shows in the work I did. I know I promised to show some of my work this time around but that will have to wait for another time.

Until next time…

No editing today. I decided to focus on updating my spreadsheet with all the information about characters, locations, time lines, etc. I also use it to keep track of ideas I need to add and the days that pass between events. This document has been invaluable to me during my editing, and keeping it up to date makes my life a hundred times easier. Normally I would update it as I edited but I have fallen behind in the last couple of chapters and wanted to put some work in before I continued with the editing. It didn’t take long to update and having it around makes me more confident with my story. The plan is to go back to updating it as I edit now that it is up to date.

Started on chapter eleven today. This chapter is looking like it will be easier than the last although there are some small changes that will need to be added. It feels good to be back to the regular schedule, the break was ok but I always felt guilty about not making any progress on those days off. looking at the time I have left I’m pretty sure I can get through editing another three chapters before the end of the DK30 but even if I don’t I am still happy with the progress I have made.

Finished off chapter ten. This was a tough chapter because there were some big decisions for me to make story wise which is probably why I procrastinated and put it off longer than the other chapters. I will probably go back and add to it later but I am at least somewhat happy that its good enough that I can move onto the next chapter for now.

Took a couple days break from editing. Not for any good reason. I just got distracted by the new Path of Exile league. Its a bad habit of mine that when I get really invested in something I can tend to forget about other important things I should be doing. This being said I did do some more editing today and I will make an effort not to over indulge in gaming.

Internet went out for my entire state yesterday which is why I didn’t post an update. I did a bit of extra editing that day but it will take a bit more time to finish chapter ten. Today my brother was down from Sydney so I spent the afternoon/evening with him so no progress was made today but its family so I figure what the heck. Planning to return to normal schedule on Friday.

Worked more on chapter ten. This chapter is quite detailed oriented so I am spending extra time to make sure that all the information and events line up better. A fair amount has changed since I wrote this chapter and I have almost been caught out a few times by sentences that contradict other information that I added later or have recently changed in earlier chapters. It has become quite difficult juggling all the information so I am glad that I have been writing down key pieces of information to refer to.

Started editing chapter ten. things are going smoothly. I’m not sticking to the times I set as much as I did the first week but my commitment to doing at least a bit of writing and to continue giving regular updates has given me motivation to always do a little bit of work each day. It’s much more enjoyable and productive than when I did my last DK30 because there isn’t the constant worry of work targets looming over my head.

I feel like I am meeting the minor goals that I set for this DK30. I am at least doing a bit of writing each day (except for the days I needed to rest my eyes). I readjusted my times so that my personal life, work, and health were not adversely affected. And I have been providing more consistent updates regarding the project and what I have been doing. I still need to put some effort into finding some way to share my work with others so I can start getting feedback but the thought of someone looking at my work just makes me worried that I have not done enough and that I need to do more before I show it.

Completed chapter nine today. I’m happy with the overall quality and pacing.

I remember when I first wrote the next couple of chapters I was concerned that they might be a bit dry with too much condensed information. Up until this point in the story I have tried to slowly introduce elements of the world and its characters with occasional bits of lore when they were relevant. When I got to this stage of the story originally I realized there was a bunch of topics I needed to cover before I could think about progressing the story and that this was the most logical place to cover them.

Another concern is that the information might need to be earlier in the story but I am hesitant to do this since I don’t want to overload the reader with lots of information early. It’s been a while since I read these chapters so I’m hoping to be pleasantly surprised like I have with all the previous chapters. Its hard for me to gage these kinds of things since I wrote the story which is why I will definitely have to look into some outside input in the near future.

Finished chapter eight. I was about to remove some lines from the end and replace them but they actually tied in well into the narrative and motivations of the characters more than I first thought so for now I am keeping them.

I feel much better after my short break. Got some more editing done today. Almost finished the eighth chapter. As much as I would like to finish it tonight, if I stay up late again I am likely to strain my eyes again. Not much else to note as of yet.

Not doing any editing today, eyes are still feeling strained so I’m hoping an early night helps. I tend to lose track of time while writing which often leads it getting past midnight which has started to impact my work. I think I should try to set my times a bit earlier to avoid this a bit more. I think with one more good nights sleep I should be good for tomorrow and be back to my schedule.

Missed my update yesterday. My eyes have been strained lately and it has made it harder to work on the editing. I work as a software engineer so most of my day is already spent looking at a screen. I managed to do a bit more editing today but I will need to be careful and make sure I don’t over do it. Still going to try to write but I might take a day off once a week to make sure I am giving my eyes some rest from the computer screen.

In better news, the chapters are getting a bit easier to edit. Most of the information I am changing now isn’t as much about the content but more refining how I explained or described it. There will be more large changes left to make but luckily it seems every second chapter is an easy chapter which has made it easier to work through.

I started later than scheduled again and thought that I wouldn’t get much work done today. I actually got another chapter done which makes that the seventh (Including the chapters I had done before the DK30). This one required a little bit of rewriting but more in terms of small details rather than big sections so it was pretty quick. I’m really glad I took the time to add the chapter headings to my document because it makes it so much faster to navigate through the document which has saved me a bunch of time.

Its weird that the past two days I have not been able to work on the novel when I had scheduled to but because of that written obligation I made to work those days it made it easier for me to pick it up later. It also helped that I didn’t feel like I had to do a certain amount and could just pick it up and enjoy working on it without stress of time left or quotas. I have also been pleased with my goal to post updates more often. Its hard to write interesting or unique updates but I feel more in control of the project than I did last year.

If anyone wants to check out my progress in terms of chapters completed I am checking off the chapters as I finish them down in my first update. Currently I am 7/54 chapters done for my first goal.

Looking forward to next week.

Got through a whole chapter today. I didn’t start at the allocated time because I had made other plans but I still made time later in the day to work on it. Lots of stuff had to be trimmed from this chapter and I will probably have to come back and review it again later but overall I am happy with it. I was initially worried that my story was a bit bloated especially since it is so long but it feels like with each passing chapter I remove the fluff and refine the good parts. It is very easy for me to add more additional information during my editing and bloat the story or characters but I have actually been removing bits here and there which has helped highlight the important elements of the story. Although I definitely think I could be more succinct this is a good start

The next couple of chapters will hopefully only need smaller edits than the ones I had to do for this chapter but either way my work flow has improved since I started the DK30.

Finished editing chapter five. overall I’m pretty happy with the result. Had to delete a couple of paragraphs that no longer made sense but it was easy to replace them now that I know exactly how the story is playing out. I have also been adding to my spreadsheet of information slowly as I edit which is giving me more confidence in the structure and continuity of my story since there are important events that happened before the beginning of the story.

Next chapter will also probably need heavy rewrite but it was probably the weakest chapter in the story and I already have a solid plan as to how I am going to fix it.

Was tired yesterday and didn’t get around to posting my update. The fifth chapter is taking a while as I suspected but its been an enjoyable chapter to edit. I feel like i am fleshing out the characters and making them and their place in my world more interesting each time I edit or add details.

Managed to finish editing chapter four. Made some pretty significant changes to some of the key events but it all fits better within the context of the main story. Next part will probably take me two or more days to edit but at least I don’t feel like I wrote myself into any corners yet which is something I was pretty worried about.

First day went well. I had the day off from work so I started writing earlier. I feel pretty happy with how things are going so far. I am over half way complete with chapter 4 although the next couple of chapters will probably be a lot of work.

I was better prepared for the DK30 this time around. My plan is to edit the book start to finish for each one of the goals outlined. In the first run through I plan to Fix inconsistencies in character/location/plot. The earlier chapters need quite a lot of work but I’m sure the later chapters will be much simpler. I have given each of the chapters a title. I’m not sure if I’m going to keep them but for now its a good way for me to keep track of where I am and navigate the document easier. As I finish editing chapters I will cross them off here and then start a new list when I move onto the next goal. I had already done a bit of work before the DK30 started so the first three chapters are already completed.

• The Hunt
• The Demon Among Monsters
• Deliah
• Paradise
• Grandmother of Crime
• At Any Cost
• First Meeting
• Haven
• An Old Friend
• Return to the Warrens
• Training Begins
• Do or Die
• Summons
• Court of the Queen
• A Previous Life
• A Rocky Start
• First Assignment
• Catching a Killer
• A Good Deeds Reward
• Until Dust
• Cezanne
• Disturbing News
• The Best Offense
• The Masters District
• Another Promise
• Ideals
• The Warrior of the South
• Dire Times
• The War of the Warrens
• Aftermath
• Grim Reminder
• New Leads
• The Friend of My Enemy
• Banquet
• A Promise Broken
• A New Threat
• The Inner Palace
• Torn in Two
• The Boy in The Darkness
• A Brief Reprieve
• A Dinner with Royalty
• When You Gaze Into The River
• An Incited City
• A Desperate Plan
• A Divided Front
• The Crows Feast
• The Inevitable
• The Truth
• To Fire and Ash
• A Sorrowful Duel
• A Fitting Fate
• The Beginning
• Theatre of Death
• A Fitting End