The Writer's Guide to a Good Story

Editing

Time for a parable!

Once upon a time, I wrote a story. It's basically a variation of the story I have up on my page right now. When I finished it, I thought it was perfect. I saved in on a flash drive, and I didn't see it again for two years.

I wrote this story when I was eight, maybe nine years old.

When I was twelve, I needed the flash drive for school and decided to open it up to see what was on it. So I found my old story and I think 'Oh, how cute! The story I wrote from when I was eight!' 

I'm sitting there grinning at how I actually wrote whole books at eight, and how they must be pretty good. I opened the document and scanned through it. Let's just say the first ten pages of my 'story' made me want to vomit.

Oh, god. You guys don't get it. The characters were bad, the writing was bad, it was just so bad. 

Okay, maybe I'm being a little too harsh on myself. I was eight, after all.  But you know what? As much as I saw atrocity in the story I'd written, I also saw something else.

Potential.

I didn't throw the story away. I opened it up, transferred it back to my computer, and worked on it. And let me tell you, the 'final draft' I wrote at the age of twelve sucked too. But I put the story away again anyway, because back then, I couldn't see anything wrong with it. 

Then, two years later, I posted this story to Wattpad. I didn't edit it or anything, I just read and posted it.

But after a while, I start thinking about all the things I could do to improve it. My mind literally becomes inundated with thoughts on how to make my story better. It hits me all at once. 

Okay, you guys are probably thinking 'What's her point here? Why is she telling us this!'

Here is the point, young grasshoppers! Although...I probably shouldn't call you young as some of you reading this might be older than me, but that's beside the point. 

My point is, something that you think is good before, won't always turn out to be as good an idea or creation in the future.

For example, you probably thought it was a good idea to throw water balloons at your teacher, but are regretting it now as you sit in detention with your phone under your desk, reading this chapter secretly while trying to avoid your teacher's suspicious glares.

Very, very, very rarely is anything an author ever writes the first time perfect. Even well-known and widely respected authors have first drafts. And those first drafts are not always good. 

One famous author in particular, the woman who wrote "Anne of Green Gables" had her book rejected five times. Eventually she found it later, dug it out of a hatbox,  and sent it to another publisher, who published it. 

What was her secret? Basically she edited it a little and improved it. 

My advice to you is this. When you finish a story, it's finished. At least, for the time being. Put it away for a while. Take a break, work on something else, take a vacation to Hawaii and swim with the Humuhumunukunukuapuaas. (Not kidding, that's the name of a Hawaiian fish, and it took me fifteen minutes to write out).

Take a look at the story in the future. It could be one, maybe two months or even years. You'll be seeing it with fresh eyes. You'll see all the little things. The plot holes, the irrelevant things that should be cut out, the things that seem out of character for your protagonist, and the like. 

Be sure not to edit while you're writing your story. I've made this mistake plenty of times in the past. Constantly going back and checking for errors while writing a chapter gets in the way of your flow.

You know what I'm talking about. It's when you get in the zone. When thoughts are streaming through your head at the speed of light and your fingers are clacking furiously on the keyboard, or you're...writing really fast with your pencil. Or you're using a typewriter, if anyone uses those anymore. 

Here's my process.

I write a story for the first time. I go back and check for grammar errors each chapter, and then when I finish the story. I put it away. That's the first draft.

Some time later, I go back and take another look at it. I go through the whole story and edit, looking for things I didn't see before.

If needed, I go back a third, and possibly even a fourth time before I consider my story as good as I can make it. Because as you grow older or as time passes, you earn experience. 

And you know what? The period of time that you take a break from your story doesn't have to be two years, like it was for me. I think a month, or even two weeks can be enough to make a difference. 

A/N: Just a thought. I'm curious about the methods of writing you all use. How many people write on pen and paper? How many only use computers? And does ANYONE use a typewriter? Do people even still have those?