Clean up, Clean up...Edits, Edits EVERYWHERE!

My son just a couple years younger...but still a pouter!

“I can't clean up all of this by myself!”

Pout.

“It's too hard.”

STOMP!

And my six year old throws himself to the ground. I pick him up gently, with a smile on my face, and calmly say (through gritted teeth), “just one piece at a time.” And I sing the clean up song while he rolls his eyes and attempts to pick up a lego like it matches his body weight.

Although I am talking about a kindergartner (yes, he STILL hasn't grown out of this!) unfortunately, I can relate—as a writer (and a mom with mounds of laundry, piles of dishes, and legos in every nook and cranny).

On Flickr by BenSpark

I am in the middle of rewrites and came up with a fabulous twist that will give my characters motivation, my scenes raison d'etre, and my overall plot, cohesiveness. But when I think about actually putting my fingers to the keyboard and opening up the manuscript file to begin my reconstruction, I clam up!

Ugh! How can I even manage to do this with two hundred plus pages already filled with words, and colored with characters already active in my story? It's daunting to say the least.

But...just like I told my son, “one piece at a time”...if I focus on one scene at a time--how I am going to redefine the motivation, reconstruct the scene so it pushes the story toward the new twist, and focus on maintaining and deepening the characters WITHIN that scene--it becomes less overwhelming.

It is less of scooping up several bricks at once and losing some in the process,
but more of placing the tiny pieces in the bin one at a time while anticipating the potential of a whole new creation later on.

On Flickr by Oskay

The great thing about legos, is you can construct and reconstruct. You can set aside old creations for later use, or recreate to build something completely new.

My son is mighty proud when his mess is finally clean. And the next day, when he pulls out the lego bin and builds something from the pieces of an old aircraft or township, he holds his perfected creation up with pride and says, “Look what I made!”

One at a time. Clean up those manuscripts one edit at a time. Don't look at the giant mess on the floor, but look at the building blocks you have created and continue to edit with patience and focus.

Soon...you might just have a tidy draft of great potential!
***************************************************************************

Angie Dicken first began writing fiction as a creative outlet during the monotonous days of diapers and temper tantrums. She is passionate to impress God's love on women regardless of their background or belief. This desire serves as a catalyst for Angie's fiction, which weaves salvation and grace themes across historical cultures and social boundaries. Angie is an ACFW member and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.