I’m spending the next few months editing a novel I wrote during NaNoWriMo 2021. My goal is to edit 10,000 words per week. Some chapters will need slight tweaks, others will need total rewrites. For each day I work I will record what I accomplished and share tips.

WEEK 1 – WEEK 2 – Week 3 – Week 4 – Week 5 – Week 6 – Week 7

Monday

My main character and I don’t have a ton in common but we do both have OCD. Even though I know a solid amount about the disorder form first-hand experience I’m actually taking notes of what I want to research to make sure I get it right (my experience is not identical to everyone else’s). While I haven’t done a ton of in depth research yet one thing that has surprised me is how many people believe that OCD just means you clean a lot. My home office alone is enough proof to throw that myth into a lake.

Tuesday

I had very little idea how I was going to start today’s chapter. I knew where I wanted the scene to go but didn’t know how I wanted it to begin. I ended up picking out the opening’s most interesting detail (in this case a locked door) and went through each of the characters’ interacting with that detail and expressing their thoughts on it. A LOT of it ended up getting cut BUT I got a lot of good stuff as well. It boosted me to the parts I’d already written that just needed some light editing.

Wednesday

I’ve reached the part of my novel where I’m hoping events will more or less stay the same. Going forward, it will (mostly) be me just strengthening stuff I have already written not re-writing entire scenes. Hopefully this will actually be the case.

Side note: I finally took down the mouse and squirrel traps I mentioned a couple weeks back. We never caught anything and haven’t heard any more scurrying.

Thursday

I’m also going to have to do further research on tabletop games. I’ve written a scene where a number of my main characters play a role playing game (through which we learn about their pasts/relationships). I’ve played a few campaigns but I’m no expert. I should find some friends to play more with to make sure the scene is realistic. This should be fun research.

Friday

This is something of a continuation of Tuesday’s entry: I found myself editing a chapter where the characters were apparently standing in a void. During the rough draft I’d failed to give any sort of detail regarding the setting . Wanting to give more texture to the world I closed my eyes, took five deep breaths and pictured the scene in my head. What did it look like? Where were all the characters positioned? I tried to notice unique details. Then I did the same for the other senses. Needless to say I ended up with way too many details but I had a bunch of great ones.

Side note: Over the past couple weeks I’ve been producing about a chapter a day. If I keep up this pace I will be through the first round of NaNoWriMo edits in a little under two weeks. 🙂

Takeaways

1. As you write/edit make a list of things you need to research.
2. If you don’t know how to start a scene, just focus on the most interesting detail/event and focus on that. How are each of the characters reacting?
3. If you find your chapters are lacking detail, close your eyes, breath deeply and focus on one sense at a time.
4. Give yourself weekly goals, but also have an estimated end date. Once you can see the light at the end of the tunnel your motivation will increase.