Thoughts about editing with yWriter
84 views
Skip to first unread message
Janna Willard
Dec 5, 2010, 10:48:50 AM12/5/10
to yWriter
Hi everyone! I have a few thoughts/ideas, and I am looking for others' input.
First, my personal process, for reference:
Now, the thoughts I have for working on others' novels and short stories, since I am wanting to begin working as a freelance fiction editor. I have been editing reports for a company in Calgary (my former stomping grounds) for the past two years. They e-mail me the reports and I edit them in Word and send them back on or before the deadline they set for me. I get between two and six reports per month. I also work on special projects here and there, depending on their needs. Of course, my first love is fiction, and I want to help other authors get their work to that submission-ready stage!
My first client is going to be my youngest brother, who only has a couple of chapters to go to finish his 2009 NaNo novel. I would like to use yWriter to help with the organization of the book, which is a high fantasy quest story of probably at least 100,000 words (if not more). I expect that it will need little line-editing (proofreading), as my brother is a voracious reader and is already an excellent writer. He is currently in Edinburgh, working on his second Masters degree before doing his PhD. He is a Classicist.
I don't intend to import his work into yWriter at all; what I want to do is use it to keep track of the characters (e.g., their descriptions, their appearances, their roles) and the plot. I thought that first I would read the entire MS, making notes in a separate document (e.g., questions, ideas). Then I plan to open up a new yWriter project, insert the correct number of chapters, and then start populating scenes, characters, objects, and locations. I'll use the scene description to summarize what happens, and I'll note which characters appear, which objects appear, and the location. I think I will also use some of the other options in the Details tab, but I need to really examine that as I don't use it much (if at all) for my own work. I think I might use the scene title line to note which plot line the scene goes with.
The idea is that I can then use yWriter to generate a report that lists all of these things, or a few different reports that emphasize different aspects of the novel. I'm sure I'll catch glaring continuity errors on my first read-through, but it's the little things that could escape my notice that I'm mostly concerned about here. You know, the little things like someone's eyes changing colour halfway through the book, or an item that has been associated with Character A suddenly stops being mentioned without any known reason. Then I can go through the actual MS and make notes based on the report(s), and even format the report(s) and send it to my brother along with my notes on his MS.
Those of you who work with other writers, either as editors or as Beta readers, do you think this process could work? How do you use yWriter to help your fellow writers? I don't want to tell my clients that they have to use yWriter or anything like that, I just want to use it on my end to help with my organizational and feedback process.
Thanks, everyone! If you made it through this whole message, you deserve an internet cookie! ;)
-Janna
"Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal." Albert Camus
"I want to remake the world; anything less is not worth the trouble." Karen Cushman
First, my personal process, for reference:
- Write first draft in yWriter.
- Export to RTF.
- Fix formatting in Word.
- Send RTF document to Beta reader.
- Use Word's comment feature to make personal notes in RTF document; incorporate feedback from Beta reader.
- Pieces that I'm working on that I started pre-yWriter get dropped into yWriter once I've gotten some feedback. Yes, I am working on pieces I started several years ago.
- Sort out plot points in Excel.
- Reorganize scenes in yWriter.
- The novel I'm currently attempting to restructure has all of the chapters that will stay in the book, and then there is one chapter with all of the scenes I want to keep but haven't chosen a spot for yet (i.e., they are scenes which aren't directly applicable to the main plot or either of the subplots but they are important scenes for character development) and one chapter with all of the scenes I won't be using in the end.
- Write new scenes in yWriter.
- Research the things that need to be factually correct.
- Rewrite scenes using new information.
- Edit for flow and continuity.
- Repeat steps 2-5.
- Make any needed edits/rewrites.
- Repeat steps 12-13 until it feels properly done.
- Repeat steps 2-3.
- Start submitting.
Now, the thoughts I have for working on others' novels and short stories, since I am wanting to begin working as a freelance fiction editor. I have been editing reports for a company in Calgary (my former stomping grounds) for the past two years. They e-mail me the reports and I edit them in Word and send them back on or before the deadline they set for me. I get between two and six reports per month. I also work on special projects here and there, depending on their needs. Of course, my first love is fiction, and I want to help other authors get their work to that submission-ready stage!
My first client is going to be my youngest brother, who only has a couple of chapters to go to finish his 2009 NaNo novel. I would like to use yWriter to help with the organization of the book, which is a high fantasy quest story of probably at least 100,000 words (if not more). I expect that it will need little line-editing (proofreading), as my brother is a voracious reader and is already an excellent writer. He is currently in Edinburgh, working on his second Masters degree before doing his PhD. He is a Classicist.
I don't intend to import his work into yWriter at all; what I want to do is use it to keep track of the characters (e.g., their descriptions, their appearances, their roles) and the plot. I thought that first I would read the entire MS, making notes in a separate document (e.g., questions, ideas). Then I plan to open up a new yWriter project, insert the correct number of chapters, and then start populating scenes, characters, objects, and locations. I'll use the scene description to summarize what happens, and I'll note which characters appear, which objects appear, and the location. I think I will also use some of the other options in the Details tab, but I need to really examine that as I don't use it much (if at all) for my own work. I think I might use the scene title line to note which plot line the scene goes with.
The idea is that I can then use yWriter to generate a report that lists all of these things, or a few different reports that emphasize different aspects of the novel. I'm sure I'll catch glaring continuity errors on my first read-through, but it's the little things that could escape my notice that I'm mostly concerned about here. You know, the little things like someone's eyes changing colour halfway through the book, or an item that has been associated with Character A suddenly stops being mentioned without any known reason. Then I can go through the actual MS and make notes based on the report(s), and even format the report(s) and send it to my brother along with my notes on his MS.
Those of you who work with other writers, either as editors or as Beta readers, do you think this process could work? How do you use yWriter to help your fellow writers? I don't want to tell my clients that they have to use yWriter or anything like that, I just want to use it on my end to help with my organizational and feedback process.
Thanks, everyone! If you made it through this whole message, you deserve an internet cookie! ;)
-Janna
"Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal." Albert Camus
"I want to remake the world; anything less is not worth the trouble." Karen Cushman
Michelle Norton
Dec 5, 2010, 3:04:06 PM12/5/10
to ywr...@googlegroups.com
The process is different for every writer. For example, my process:
Write charcter bios,
Outline novel and world build
Write novel and track timeline characters items and locations (ywriter and excel)
Send to beta and critique group
Revise
Export to rtf and format in word
Send out.
This is how I approach both fiction and non. I've applued it to short stories
Michelle
http://michellejnorton.com
http://denverfictionwriters.com
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "yWriter" group.
To post to this group, send email to ywr...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to ywriter+u...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/ywriter?hl=en.
Michelle Norton
Dec 5, 2010, 3:05:58 PM12/5/10
to ywr...@googlegroups.com
Urgh bad thumbs
I appy that process to short stories, novels and articles...works well for me.
Also, just a friendly note as a freelancer. Don't freelance for family.
On Dec 5, 2010 8:48 AM, "Janna Willard" <janna....@gmail.com> wrote:
Michelle Norton
Dec 5, 2010, 3:10:55 PM12/5/10
to ywr...@googlegroups.com
Had another thought. I would never pay an editor for anything more than line edits. My betas and critique group catch any holes I have to fill and I can do line edits myself. Yog's Law money flows to the writer.
On Dec 5, 2010 8:48 AM, "Janna Willard" <janna....@gmail.com> wrote:
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages