So, I’ve been talking about revising Touched since, like, October. Various other things came up (ie, I wrote TATTF and, following that, immediately started on DATD) but if I want that story to shop, at some point I have to give it some attention.
The question (well, a question) is: On screen or off?
The advantage to on-screen editing is that I can make changes right then. Little nitpicky changes that would annoy me too much to note if the manuscript were on paper. Or big changes–if I want to rewrite an entire scene, it’s right there in front of me in editable type. I just have to highlight all, click delete, and set my fingers to the keys.
The advantage to off-screen editing is that I’m one step removed from the story. I’m not distracted by red squiggly lines or word choice tweakage or, lets be honest, the allure of email and instant messaging. On-screen, I get too bogged down with trying to fix stuff as I see it which prevents me from reading the story as a story in order to see a big-picture view. When I’m looking at the story on paper, I have no problem with putting a red X through an entire scene or covering every page with sticky notes that say “Move this here” or “Add description there” or “WTF, Erica? Do something with this scene!”, etc.
So, as I type this, it’s looking to me like I need to do both. (*groan*)
Which do I do first? I hesitate to print out all 400 pages if I’m going to make extensive changes because it seems like a waste of paper/ink/money. But then again, if I don’t print it out, I’m afraid I will get so bogged down with tweaking squiggly lines that I won’t see the forest for the trees. No sense layering sensory detail into a scene that really needs to be axed completely, right?
YOUR TURN: I beg of you, share your secrets! Do you revise off screen or on? Does it depend? If so, why? Do you read the entire manuscript as a reader first, before you do any major surgery? If so, how do you turn off the internal editor? Or do you even bother?
Off-screen – no doubt about it. There’s something about seeing the words on the printed page that helps to give them a concrete reality, as opposed to easily-altered pixels on a screen.
Which means you have to deal with said words in a concrete fashion. Are they placed correctly? (You’d be surprised how often I move words around in a sentence to improve the flow and/or meaning – nothing is added or subtracted, merely moved.)
Are they spelled correctly? Again, what may look OK on the screen can look very different on paper.
What about punctuation? Often I find the tiny on-screen pixels that I thought were a period turn out to be a comma, or vice-versa.
What about paragraphing? When I’m on-screen, I can sometimes ramble on for pages in a silly attempt to save pixel space (who the heck cares?!). Looking at stuff on the printed page immediately lets you know if you need more breaks, or perhaps fewer.
And yes, there’s nothing like making edits on the page with your pen. Sometimes I’ll change something, and later decide to let it stet, as it were. If I made the “correction” on-screen, the original and better choice would be gone forever.
But then, I’m very visually-oriented. I need to see something written down before it starts to sink into the fleecy white tablets of my mind. And so for me, it’s print, print, print, every time.
Mornin’ Bill!
All are exceptionally good points. Hmmm. Maybe I should suck it up and hit the print button quick before I waffle some more…
I do both and every time I have to sit down and type my edits in I want to pull my hair out. But I don’t get the flow of the story very well when I do it on screen. I definately do my very last edit on paper because I don’t expect there to be a lot of changes. I also do the first edit on paper because I want to make sure the story flows. Then I send to CP’s and I make their changes on screen (because generally it’s a accept/reject change thing).
I also tend towards paper when I need the portability – like when I want to spend lunch at work editing. I have a laptop and it has a decent battery, but I just hate lugging it around (esp to airports).
Of course, maybe this is why it’s taking me so dern long to edit my current WIP!!
The pro-print reasons are stacking up against me! *g
Portability is another excellent point. I have an excellent laptop but, like you say, oftentimes it’s more hassle than it’s worth. Especially if I only have 5-10 minutes here and there. It’d take that long to turn it on, wait for Windows to load, scout out an outlet to plug it in, etc.
At a recent TARA meeting, JEL showed us this cute little binder (half the size of a regular 3 ring binder) where she’d printed out her WIP for editing. I ran right out and bought just such a binder, and immediately set it on my shelf to collect dust. But now I’m thinking it might be more efficient if I actually used it…
Off screen first. Although I totally feel your pain, because I once printed out four hundred and thirty pages and wound up NOT editing anything off the screen.UGH! It was sooo stupid of me, and even though I had a reason such a waste!
I do both. And yes, I use a huge amount of paper and ink, but I think it’s worth it. Sometimes when I edit on screen, I get too attached to words and phrases, which makes it hard for me to delete anything. Off screen I can slash through text with my red pen and then when I finally go back to the screen, I can play impartial secretary – just fixing those things the boss has told me to change. Off screen editing gives me distance from the work. When I have a whole chunk that needs to be re-written, I put a line next to it with a big red R and a number. If it’s the first big edit spot, I put a one and so on. Then I pull out a handy-dandy notebook, jot the corresponding number and do the rewrite by hand. It makes going back to the computer to input changes so much easier. =o)
I onscreen edit sometimes because when I’m working with 400 pages of paper, I sometimes miss the little things – like punctuation errors. Using both helps me insure I fix everything that needs fixing.
I admit that I prefer to do any editing right in the computer. However, when I’m stuck for some reason (usually when I sense that something isn’t right with the story), I’ve been known to print them. Except when I do that, I ask the printer to print two pages in one page and double-sided too. That way I get 4 pages in one sheet of paper.
Off-screen for me too. That way I can read through and make the big changes. Then after I’m done making the changes on-screen, I can use the spell/grammer check to catch the little things for me.
BTW, it was nice meeting you in Dallas.
God, this is precisely what I’ve been struggling with too! I ultimately decided to do this pass on-screen because I hadn’t worked in the Mavens’ excerpt crits. But, I know I have to read it off-screen too. Grooooooaaaaan.
I edit on the computer as I go, but then when it’s done I do print a copy and mark the heck out of it. It’s amazing how many things I notice in print that I don’t on screen–a few homonym mistakes, but mostly heavy story stuff. repeated phrases or facts, stuff that slows the pace down. I don’t see it onscreen but I definitely do when it’s all printed up.
I do both. That said I truly do off-screen more.
Bill speaks to this perfectly. I find more things when I’m holding the paper.
I love track changes and do use them in critiques. Still holding the paper, pen running across every word seems to work best for me.
Erica – when you say half the size of a regular 3 ring binder, what do you mean? What size paper does it hold?
And I forgot to mention that I don’t print with my own ink/paper nor do I pay for printing so that definately goes into my calculations for when to edit on or off screen.
Carrie: It holds paper that’s 8.5×5.5 (8.5×11 cut in half) So if you printed your MS in two columns, landscape, and cut all the pages in half, it would go in like a “real book”, so to speak. Like this (except mine’s white)
I do both. First an on-screen run through, then I print it out and read. I always catch things both ways that I wouldn’t have the other.
Off screen – always off screen.
It’s a fact you read differently on paper than you do on your computer. You also can discern plot holes a lot easier on paper, since you are actually reading slower.
I also don’t work in TNR font, but prefer Courier New – it makes those pain in the butt punctuations a bit clearer for these old eyes. I merely reformat when I’m about to send it out, or if I’m lucky, I actually find a publisher who takes Courier.
I always print out my final revision like a book. That means on both sides of the paper. Then, amazingly, it feels like a book. I can also see how it flows.
Even if I’m targeting ebook publishing for the story, I often think print. Many of the ebook publishers now a days give you an option of print. It might cost you a set-up fee or they take their best sellers and do so for free.
No matter what – take your time with a revision. You may read it three or four times on paper before you have it just the way you want it.
1. read it for flow and stupid errors – like you spelled ‘our’ as ‘are’
2. read it for clarity – all characters are dressed, eye color hasn’t changed, fine tuning.
3. final read to make sure it is really good – drag has been removed, punctuation is correct, all that good stuff.
Hope this helps,
TJ