You know what? I've never edited before.

At least, not really.

When I write, I have a strict process.

Step One: I think up everything I can.  I write character bios, personality traits, and look under those rocks for any little bit I should know.

Step Two:  I write the basic story out of paper.  It is basically the novel, but without some added materials.  As I think up stuff I should've added in two chapters back.  I write it as a margin (You can imagine how messy my notebook would look once I finish the book!).  Once I complete the book, or come close, to have nothing else to do, I start step three.

Step Three:  I transfer the writing over to a word document.  There, I add more description, polish off characters and dialog, add in those should'a-said-two-chapters-ago things.  Once finished there, I can only speculate process four. I have never actually finished Step three.  Normally, I get there, realize the story has way to many holes, or I just need to set it aside until further inspiration hits.  Or, maybe I never pick it back up.

I suppose real editing would be step four.  But, as said, I've never been there.

But I will, someday.

P.S.
Ellyn, I think this is a really grand idea, I can't WAIT for the next topic!

RE: Editing

How do you edit?      
Well, I usually start with reading through all the way once without a pen in my hand. Then I make a 'shopping list' of what was impactful about the book. Anything that stood out as distinctive, lacking, meaningful, or meaningless. Then I make a list about what I want my book to do. I compare my shopping list and my other list. I search for my red pen.  I take that book and I red pen EVERYTHING. After that,  I usually give it to Ellyn and she makes it better. I repeat this until I think it's finished. When I think it's finished, it probably isn't. I repeat it again. 


Do you edit at all?
I really don't understand how you could not edit. Editing is necessary to writing. Writing is rewriting, as someone once said. It's like continually drinking water but not going to the bathroom. It will not lead to good things. Your bladder will end up exploding, metaphorically speaking. Your literary bladder WILL explode. You NEED to edit. If you don't, then you can't expect anything to ever come of your novel, or perhaps your entire literary endeavor. 



Is editing hard for you?



Oh yes, easiest thing in the world. 


Just kidding. It's the worst thing in the world


I'm not sure why editing is so hard for me. Really, it's just tremendous amounts of paperwork, you never feel like you accomplish everything, you constantly over think yourself, and you have to readjust your idea of your own talent every single day. I consider editing the worst part about writing and rarely find anything I enjoy in it. 


What does the word "editing" mean to you?



Hell on Earth. 


Math's cousin.


As much fun as an emergency appendectomy in 1642. 




Where did you learn to edit?



I learned to edit the same way I learned to write; by reading tons of articles about how other people do it, and then by trial and error myself. Ultimately, I just figured out the most common way to edit then tweaked what worked for my by editing things myself. 


What are you currently struggling with in the editing 
process?


The constant over thinking. The paperwork. The readjusting of your talent daily. 


Editing is like having braces. Braces move your teeth so they are in a different spot everyday. Everyday you have to relearn how to talk and eat. It's very annoyed. Editing does the same thing to me. One day, I'm a genius. The next, I cannot write anything. 


Currently, this super strange style I created where I only write in comma splices. Therefore every other sentence is a comma splice. I'm constantly trying to have to figure out which to put a conjunction in, which to leave, which to add a semi-colon to, and which to break apart. It's really annoying.