Editing Brain
As I’m feverishly working to complete edits on my cozy mystery, I’ve developed a serious case of Editing Brain.
Editing Brain is where I’ve spent so much time playing with words, sentence structure, scene choreography, etc. that my brain simultaneously overanalyzes everything and turns to mush.
But here’s the thing: Editing Brain is a necessary risk to achieve your best writing. The best writing, the kind that flows so seamlessly it makes us forget we’re even reading, takes time, sweat, and hard work.
“Easy reading is damn hard writing.” — Nathaniel Hawthorne
Here are symptoms of Editing Brain:
- You think about your story ALL THE TIME. And not just high level stuff. Oh no. Editing Brain makes it so you actually tweak sentences, come up with better ways to say something, while running, driving, shopping, etc.
- You spend so long at your keyboard hunting for the perfect word that when you get around people and have actual conversations, words escape you.
- You overanalyze things that really need not be edited such as text messages, tweets, grocery lists, or even this blog. Ha!
- You start questioning the meaning of every slang word, saying, or idiom you’ve ever used. Thank you, Urban Dictionary, for helping me figure out what I’m saying versus what I actually mean to say.
- When people ask you how your book is going, you mumble something about edits and try to shield them from the full crazy of your Editing Brain.
Fear not, there is light at the end of the tunnel! The closer I get to the end of this revision, the more I daydream about starting a new project… But more on that next week!
Have you ever suffered from Editing Brain? What were your symptoms?
What I’m reading: Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
What I’m listening to: Take Me to Church — Hozier
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