Editing.

I recently stayed up for three nights in a row, writing like a demon. My progress on my WIP went from casual to intense in just one weekend. I relied on hot chocolate (with a spoonful of coffee), sheer will, and my Sony stereo headphones to drown out the sound of my cousin snoring.

And then it all turned to shit when I realised I had come to the Halfway Point of No Return. Somebody please go back in time to get my past self to explain why she thought it was a good idea to write "GO BACK AND EDIT ALL PREVIOUS CHAPTERS BEFORE MOVING ON, TERRI" in my plan? It's not as if I can just ignore the advice because I know it needs editing. The thing is a mess. For some inexplicable reason (I'm an idiot), I didn't edit each chapter as I went along like I used to do when writing a story so now I have a huge chunk to go through. Oh joy.

"These hands have to edit? Noooooo!"

Talk about messing with my flow. I was on a roll, dammit! I guess it serves me right for not sticking to my usual method of editing after each chapter and just bulldozing through the story. When I think about it, nothing about this story has stuck to my usual methods. I spent AGES planning it and then scrapped the original idea. I upgraded myself from planning on paper to planning online. Then I dithered about what person to tell it in. Before I ever wrote a single word for this story, I felt overwhelmed. Now I'm probably just whelmed - but in a good way.

I'd like to say that between essay deadlines, the complexities of managing a social life and having a part-time job, I just don't feel motivated to edit. I'd like to say it, but it would be a lie. This is FUN. This is something I'm doing for my own benefit. How could I not enjoy every minute of it?? It's a good practice and educator. I'm happy to have the excuse to read the oh-so-wonderful first half of the splurge of story. No, really. It gives me a real sense of nostalgia. Even if I am basically looking out for typos and awkward phrasing.

Also, another helpful thing about editing at the halfway point? I now know I need to cut a character from the story. They die in the original plot but I don't even care. The main character doesn't care. The second main character doesn't care. Why the hell did I want her in my story again..?

I can just merge her personality with another character and have THEM die. Maybe. At least it would give the character a more complex make-up. I can't imagine if I had only figured out at the end of the first draft that the character was basically useless. So much re-drafting and re-working would have had to be done. I still have a fair amount of work to do to erase all signs of this unnecessary character from my WIP but it's only 28,000 words. No biggie.

This is the part where I tell you the "halfway" point isn't exactly halfway. It's more... 40% in terms of word count. However, in terms of a specific plot point then yeah, it's halfway.