And when I say way too much, what I mean is an obscene amount of “indeed” abuse. Nobody needs to say “indeed” that much. Come on, Heather. Head in the game.
So far I have done an extremely high level edit of the first three chapters. Other than overuse of the word indeed, I’ve discovered:
1. Far fewer semicolons than anticipated
2. Lots of “glancing” and “gazing”
3. One paragraph that made me pat myself of the back and say, “damn girl.”
I try to avoid that kind of behavior, as Lord knows it leads to torn rotator cuffs and pigheaded-ness. But damn. I can be on point when I try.
Bragging over.
So, my game plan is to do a high level edit on the computer, print, edit by hand (catch those embarrassing typos that read “she grabbed the peen” instead of “she grabbed the pen”), and then do another computer edit.
I’m giving myself until mid-May to do this.
As a reward to myself for finishing the novel, I treated myself to the purchase of a new binder for hard copy edits and new pens. Because, you know, other than wine and cupcakes, that’s my favorite reward. My plan was not to tell The Hubs. It’s my money and its my novel. And besides, he’d point out all the binders and pens I already have.
So, of course, I promptly sent the text to him and not to my mother, squealing about my new office supplies.
Awesome.
Whatever.
So, in the meantime, my novel and I are stepping out for two upcoming promo stops! Mark your calendars, kids, because things are getting real:
February 10th through 13th – The Marketing for Romance Writers Mainstream Romance Blog Hop! The theme is “firsts” so I will be blogging a “first look” at my novel, Anything You Ask of Me. If you’ve been wondering what it’s all about, this is the blog to read. And hey, if you’re a romance writer, MFRW is the place for you! Click here for more info!
And guys. There will be a prize during the blog hop. It’s not cupcakes. But it’s awesome! Stay tuned.
On March 10, I will be guest blogging on Delilah Devlin’s site. More details forthcoming, but for more info on Delilah, click here. I’ve taken several workshops with her and am a member of her online writer’s groups. She’s awesome!
There’s a lot in the works, that’s for sure. Thank God I bought so many pens.
You make me laugh, I too love office supplies. It’s like Christmas to me. Secondly, Indeed I like that you had I grabbed a peen instead of a pen and thirdly, I do the same thing with writing, I have my lovely writing quirks that are so annoying once you realize what they are. I like to use, So, Just, Smile just to name a few. I’m about to self-pub a novel so have been going through the editing process too. Fun, but tedious too. Best of luck!
Smile is one of mine too! Ugh, everyone is smiling and glancing at each other constantly. Constantly! It’s borderline ridiculous at time, ha ha! Office supplies are my weakness. When I started my current job, they had a box of office supplies waiting for us at our desks and I almost wept. I was like, “I’m home!” Best of luck with your novel! Keep us updated on your progress!
Thanks! haha. You make me laugh. My people are constantly looking at each other too! Is that really all we do? haha. Seems that way. I also totally agree with the office supplies. All the new writing implements and paper is lovely. I also have a problem with buying journals. I can never fill them that fast, but I’m always buying them because I love the paper and the feel of having a “book” to write in.
“Just” is my overused word, I just can’t get enough of it. Sadly, that was not an intended pun…
LOL, that makes me smile! Verbally, I overuse “like” and “dude,” thankfully neither of which have translated over to my historic fiction. Yet. Sigh.
Overusing character names in lines of dialogue is my poison. Thankfully, they’re easy to catch and I have great delight scratching them out with a newly bought red rollerball pen. Smart move buying the new office supplies, Heather. (See how I like to use names?) Nothing makes editing more fun than having a new batch of weapons to rid yourself of mistakes.
Thanks, Darlene! I use names a lot in writing too, mainly because that’s how I talk (I verbally overuse “like” and “dude” which, thankfully, do not show up in my writing). I used to do freelance editing and we always worked from hardcopy. I tend to catch my mistakes best that way—and you’re right: there’s nothing more devestatingly beautiful than a marked up manuscript page!
I say “INDEED” all the time! But then, I am indeed English. Indeed…
Indeed! Perhaps I’ve picked this up from my recent addiction to British television? When Blackadder-isms start showing up in my writing, this will indeed be confirmed.
If I knew all my overused words, editing might be a bit easier than I’m finding it. A friend said I’m making a meal out of editing, she’s right.
I was surprised at the strange words I overuse! Honenstly, I thought my problems would be semicolon/comma/adverb abuse. It’s an interesting study in my writing, that’s for sure!