I’m spending the next month or so editing a novel I wrote during NaNoWriMo 2021. My goal is to edit 10,000 words per week. Some chapters will need just slight tweaks, others will need total rewrites. For each day I work I will (briefly) record what I accomplished and share tips. You can read about WEEK 1 here.

Monday

I didn’t get as much edited as I would have liked today – maybe starting this in the middle of the holidays wasn’t the best idea. I did meet my original goal. The problem is I kept moving the goalpost further along, giving myself a little more work each time. What I need to do is reach my original goal, celebrate, and then realistically assess whether I have time to reach another goal.

Tuesday

This was a very productive day. I got a solid chunk of editing done. I definitely met my goal and found myself with extra time to keep going. Unfortunately, I did end up at something of a cliff. Because of recent updates, my characters’ motivations have changed. I need to step back and consider the next few chapters before I continue. However, that is a problem for tomorrow.

Wednesday

Hit my first patch of writer’s block for this draft. I’ve written about different ways to fight writers block before but what was particularly tricky today is that I left my laptop cord at home so I felt pressured to get A LOT edited in a VERY short amount of time.

After my laptop died, I just stepped back and started jotting out thoughts in a notepad, planning out the next few chapters and seriously reconsidering the characters’ motivations and what would drive them to push the story forward. By the end I felt a lot better about what’s going to happen next. As much as it stings to say this, maybe leaving my cord was almost a good thing.

Thursday

Today I essentially wrote the chapter I was going to write on Wednesday before my computer died. The notes I came up with were extremely helpful, and I feel like I’m on a much sturdier path .

I’ve considered jumping ahead to a very important chapter in the middle of the story to see if it gives me a stronger grasp of the characters and their past. However, because today went so well I’ve decided to move ahead in chronological order. I’m just going to keep in mind that this is an option if I get stuck again.

Friday

Christmas Eve! A lot’s happening over the next few days so I woke up around four in the morning to reach my daily goal. Initially I was only going to edit one chapter but found myself with some extra time while relatives were showering/getting ready. I ended up editing an extra chapter since I doubt I’ll get much done tomorrow.

Saturday

More or less gave myself the day off from editing the novel (seeing as how it’s Christmas). However I did jot a couple notes down while the cats were eating their breakfast.

As a side note, the cats were not happy at all that we were leaving them again.

Takeaways

• Set REALISTIC goals when editing a novel. If you find yourself with more time than you’re expecting, by all means keep going, but don’t keep moving the goalpost back so that you never feel like you are accomplishing anything.
• ALWAYS double check to make sure you have your laptop cord before you leave the house.
• When you have writers block consider skipping a few chapters to give yourself perspective on what you’re currently working on.

Also, you can read more about conquering writers block here.