Editing is Your Best Friend
It’s not pretty, but it is incredibly necessary
I’m working hard to increase my output with my writing. I’ve taken some steps to help better understand my process and to make sure I’m using my time effectively and making the best use of my writing time.
Of all things, I’ve started using project management software to manage my writing — it might seem like overkill to some people, but it is also software that I use to help track my time at work and for personal consulting gigs too.
It’s a personal subscription, not something through my employer, so I have to be careful about how much detail I put in there. That being said, it’s mostly high-level descriptions like “Writing {PLAN NAME}” or “Meetings”.
One of the statuses I use in my writing is “Editing” — a process that I haven’t always taken advantage of. A lot of the time my stories come out mostly formed, without the need for a lot of polishing. That being said, I’ve been lucky enough to get some feedback from the wonderful Kelly Carmichael (Editor of Bouncing and Behaving Blogs) lately that has helped my writing.
So, I’ve started to take editing a little more seriously — which is why, when I found myself writing an unfocused and chaotic story today, I just stopped writing.
