#editing is hell

[diaskedasilexis]

Current status of You're a Demigod, Percy Overhaul

(mostly writing this to get my head around where I'm at, but why not shove it on Tumblr while I'm at It.) Started review on 18 Nov with the original 106.5k hot mess that's already on A03. Total word count has increased by 73k in the last three weeks. Chapters 1-6: Overhauled, edited, reviewed and then gone over line by line in a seperate document in a new font and read out loud. Which hopefully means there are no mistakes. I hope. I pray. Muses, please be kind. 48.7k became 82.6k. Chapters 7-11: Overhauled and rewritten. Waiting for line by line edit and review. Currently, 50.2k has become 83.6k. I am really hoping I don't find more things to add because some of those chapters are getting much too chunky. Chapter 12: Halfway overhauled. Half the Zoe scene and the entire Apollo scene are still patiently waiting for me to get back to them. 7.5k is now 10.6k, and it'll likely increase by 2-5k. New Chapter 13: *redacted* outro scene is written. Fluffy-ish epilogue of 8yo Clarisse, 8yo Annabeth and 7yo Percy still mostly in outline form. Prob be 5k-ish when done? Which means the current word count of 179.4k is prob going to be more like 190k when I'm done. I'm insane. Completely insane. I see fic authors talking about betas and then I remember I did this to myself, bc no-one wants to edit shit at the speed I write it. *I* do not want to edit shit at the speed I write it. I don't even read fic at the speed my brain writes this shit. As much as I'm loving discovering this New Weird Talent™ I'm really wish it came with the ability to read and edit stuff? It's like opening a new toy on Christmas and seeing the 'Batteries Not Included' label. I got the box that says 'produce mass amounts of word in very short time', with the tiny disclaimer 'reading and editing not included'. You know, I frequently avoid fics on A03 over 300k, and series over 400k? Because that's a lot of time and effort to read and brain says no unless it's in a really really good headspace. The same brain that writes mass amounts of text for a fic series that is so long I would never so much as click on it if not for the fact I wrote the thing.

And now I'm ranting at myself instead of writing a to do list for what I need to next in the prequel. Cool. Tumblr counts as a journal, right? /sar

[f-imaginings]

The downside to binge watching letterkenny is that I'm trying to review/edit my fanfiction and I keep seeing/reading everything in the typical letterkenny patter which means every fast talking wise guy character suddenly becomes a hick from Ontario on the reread.

[everfascinated]

WIP Tag Game

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it. 

Tagged by @eddiethehunted​ - thanks for the tag! :D Get ready to be confused lmao

I’ve tried to group them by fandom so people kinda know what they’re in for if they request it

Stranger Things

Parasocial Relationship

My Dear Princess

Something (In)Human

No Hesitating

This Old House

Hunted

Stable Environment

Running Down a Dream

[Hand written, untitled]

Teen Wolf

An Enthusiastic Yes

It’s About Time [hand written, titled]

Sequels to

Lightning!Stiles

Girl Genius Spark!Stiles

Prequel to KTKM

Star Wars

Just a Dream Away

Teach Your Children Well

DC - Batman

King of Crime

FE3H

Loop

One Piece/HP

It’s Written All Over (Your Face)

God that’s just way too many, I need to finish and post things help

Tagging @batsutousai (I can’t tag? Bats, it’s you, I can’t spell I guess lol) @aonorunic​ and @twothumbsandnostakeincanon​ - I’d love to see what you’ve got if you’d like to share

[three--rings]

I’ve reached the point in editing my bang fic where the only comments I need to reply to on the doc are my own yelling at me for being terrible.  “Get your shit together” says one. 

I still don’t know how to fix that contradiction tho.

This is progress.

[urdnotflexthejedibard]

My muses - Hey. Get off your ass. Your next chapter needs to be edited so you can post it in a timely fashion.

Me -

[deanmoth]

You know what I miss the most right now? Seeing Aaron's ring on his finger, that truly makes me sad in an instant...

[chocolatequeennk]

I'm editing an extra scene in FANA, where the Doctor and Rose have taken Donna to a royal ball on an alien planet. Gorgeous dresses? Check. Rose and Donna dancing? Check. The crown princess assuming the three are in a polyamorous relationship? Check. The crown princess wanting to marry Donna herself when she learns she's single? Check. The Doctor, Rose, and Donna running back to the TARDIS? Check. I really love this scene.

[chocolatequeennk]

Beta shout-out

With rare exceptions, truly excellent stories are not well-written--they are well-edited. The longer and more elaborate a piece is, the more likely that fact is to be to true, and the more likely the author is to need help in the editing. I can pull off a solid short story with only my various self-editing techniques, but just the thought of working on the Timelessness ‘verse alone gives me heart palpitations. 

I’ve been lucky to have a truly stellar team of betas work with me on this series. As we start work on Forever and Never Apart, this seems like a good time to thank them all publicly.

The original three: @quakerhobbit, @ascballerina, and @rudennotgingr. You’ve been with me since the beginning of To Make Much of Time, and walked me through a lot of the growing pains as I figured out my headcanon regarding Bad Wolf and telepathic bonding. 

Mid-season additions: @veritascara, @perfectlyrose and @lastbluetardis. VC and Ashely, you both came into betaing in the middle of a story and jumped right in with both feet. You switched from seeing the story as a reader to seeing it as an editor flawlessly, and your added insight has been invaluable. 

Kelsey, you were the perfect person to beta But Being Spent. I needed your ear for angst and for Eight’s personality in that story. I’ve had many people tell me it’s their favourite of all my stories, and that’s largely down to your assistance. 

The newest player: @jabber-who-key. Thank you so much for saying yes! When I knew I needed a new beta for this story, I remembered the few times we’ve worked together on other stories and I knew you were the right choice. 

And then of course there are the myriad of readers who have been there when I’ve need to bounce an idea off someone. I am not a writer who works in solitude--I’m too extroverted for that. Getting your thoughts and opinions on various story ideas helps more than you know. 

Thank you, everyone! The story might belong to me, but you help make it shine.