editing/writing--goin nuts

[chief4db]

not sure where to put this so if wrong let me know please.

im not a full time writer by anymeans but I do write. my question is on editing process. when I book goes to get edited is it just for corrections like a period here, spelling ofcourse etc. reason I ask is bc my writing is sopoor. .

I was business major in college so I never took creative writing or anything like that. besides the mandatory college English my freshman year that was about it . so I guess my question is if I ever turned anything in(which I have no idea how that works either) and my writing sucks and they had to literally make corrections on every sentence does it get tossed for that reason. I mean they would basically be re writing the book. don't get me wrong im not an idiot but I have no idea correct writing as far as pluralism, grammer, run on sentences, apostrophys ( no clue) ect ect. I here things here and there like prose, and skill writing ect. no clue what that stuff is. I just write whats in my head and that's it. I like it and my wifes says its absolutely awesome stuff but she is biased for sure. its not like its some goal of mine or not submitting anything cause afraid of failure. its just if I ever do anything I would like to at least put something in that I believe it. I write bc its fun. not as fun as reading for me but still fun.

ive written things that I never even finished but didn't care cause I had a blast for a few months writing. didn't even save anything. then its not like the next day I sit down and start thinking what to write. might not do anything for awhile then something will pop into my head or see something and then I go with it. like for instance, and please someone needs to tell me to shut up if this what im about to say doesn't belong here or even anywhere in the forum. im not saying next to get anyones opinion but to hopefully get across what I sucked about communicating on my problem with editing and the purpose of the post.

my first love back from highschool to age 20 just recently contacted me. anyways for no reason at all or why I started writing a murder book. basically the guy would never ever leave his wife. the first love never got over him and plots his wifes murder. she is a top rated lawyer in the state of California. so months in planning of murder. then the murder. then the book goes into months of planning and actions leading up to the MURDER DAY where there is enough to implicate him. but if she wants him why would she want him implicated. but for months ahead of murder day she makes things occur where she knows she can get him off if she represents him. and if represents him that's a ton of time spent together. lots of clever (sorry for being so humble) and interesting things occur for his freedom. some court room chapters ect. so key is to establish some sort of relationship and plant the seed whithout getting to close bc ofcourse he is married that when it goes down with her persuasion he actually hires her which she cant guarantee going into to all of this. then depending on that his loss/loneliness/tons of time spend together while working case/ helping with kids and relationship that she can win him over is the other non guearentee.

the twist is that with some weird happenings, clues, situations and some revelations thru his wifes diary and other things he discovers that the exgirlfriend/lawyer/ started to fall for her woman is the murderer of his wife. big shocker point in the book opon this discovery. then he goes into deep thought on how to handle it. he decides to play along, gets off and then heads for a very creepy and unsuspecting ending. my wife read it and its not just how brutal my writing is its the fact that bc its so poor im making a good book bad bc im missing so much in words that could actually be a good book and its not going to grab any readers bc its just not interesting writing even though the overall plot and how I describe it to her is. I cant have the editor write the book for me and even though they might know where im going with it or what I want to say they cant add words or sentences to make it good.

so does the editing process just do the grammactical. or can they actually add or subtract words and sentences. also correct errors , even though its fiction correct obvious errors on events, court room entities ect. I just re read my post and it was way tooooo long. so I deleted a lot of it. and its still waaaaaay too long so I apologize. lastly besides above issues any ideas on how to solve this issue that i don't know about. it is allowed to actually hire someone to fix it. but then would that be plagerism bc its not mine. should I take a writing class. any ideas, brainstorming ideas or out of box ideas welcome. very desperate so please no matter how outragios please let know.

thanks

 

[Dana Jean]

There are writing programs you can put on your computer that can help you with spelling, punctuation, sentence structure -- things like that. I'm sure someone will know more about those.

A class would never hurt. And yes, you can hire an editor, and it is still your work. They just focus you on the parts that are important. What to leave out, what needs to be added that isn't there to make the story smooth.

Keep writing. The story is what counts most, the rest is window dressing and that can be fixed by good first readers or a hired editor.

 

[SHEEMIEE]

And save your work.

You never know when nostalgia will bite.

Ps why is bc the only word shortened here- curious. Is it a clue ??

I write non stop, every evening, for days- then just put whatever i have written away and begin another. I like writing action, something has to happen every 2000 words, or i get bored. This is great for me- not so great for the characters. I have three on the go now, and my head is becoming a dream silo full of junk and what ifs.

Good luck finding your path

 

[chief4db]

And save your work.

You never know when nostalgia will bite.

Ps why is bc the only word shortened here- curious. Is it a clue ??

I write non stop, every evening, for days- then just put whatever i have written away and begin another. I like writing action, something has to happen every 2000 words, or i get bored. This is great for me- not so great for the characters. I have three on the go now, and my head is becoming a dream silo full of junk and what ifs.

Good luck finding your path

no, no clue. I just use that for the word because sometimes. no rhyme or reason. man that's some heavy writing. I have you ever turned anything in. if too private I apologize.

 

[SHEEMIEE]

Just starting to submit short stories after 5 years of dabbling.
The editor tidies them up and puts a bow on them for me.
I gave up worrying about the mistakes a while back, and just post to my blog.
Its all about the story for me.

 

[Arkay Lynchpin]

I’ve found that what could be a great story is often let down by depth of character.

My first exercise in writing was learning to describe something simple, like a mineral.

What size is it? If a pebble then compare it to a marble—is it as big as a common swirly or a tom-bowler?
(Marbles make a good comparison because of the myriad names, composites and colours used throughout the ages of the game.)
Maybe it’s a stone that fits neatly in your palm, or a rock the size and weight of a baseball, a 6v lantern battery, the cast-iron electric frypan you received as a wedding present from your out-laws; maybe something much bigger.
What’s its shape? Is it flat, spherical, multifaceted?
What’s its colouring? One flat colour, multiple striations, flecked with an almost celestial glittering of magic dust or dappled with a different hue (perchance iridescent lime green with hot pink freckles)?
What’s its temperature? Does it feel like a lump of ice that won’t melt, or a burning ember snatched from the heart of a fire, maybe something in-between?
What's its texture? Smooth, rough, crumbly, slick, the raspy texture of a desiccated cadavers verruca immured foot?
Maybe it feels like nothing; no weight, no texture—the only sensation you feel is in your head, or heart, or stomach.

You also need to place your bit of mineral where it was discovered (arrange your theatre).
Was it found poking from a drift of snow, in a stream, under a pile of autumnal humus, resting on your boss’ mantle?

When you can successfully give substance to the banal, it becomes a little easier to bring living things to life.

 

[Arkay Lynchpin]

I forgot to mention—trying not to be too orphic—that even taste, smell and sound are applicable to a humble chunk of unrefined earth.

 

[skimom2]

If you're writing for your own enjoyment, blast away. Have a great time!

If you're writing for publication, it's a different story. You might find an editor who is willing to take a story wherein the writer has only a slim grasp on the foundations (spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, grammar, paragraph structure, story and character arcs, etc), but I wouldn't count on it (not a decent, qualified editor, anyway). LOTS of people will take your money, though, and never tell you there isn't enough story there to fill a teacup. A good editor might do that, or they might just toss a job that is too huge to be called 'editing' and is actually 're-writing'.

If you're serious about publishing, invest in at least a class or two in the basics. Good writers follow all the rules; great writers break the rules creatively. What is important in that sentence, though, is that you have to know the rules to know how and when to break them for maximum effect. Get some good style manuals. Read good writers (this is very important). And write, write, write.

Once you have a foundation for your words and you think you can recognize some gleam of gems through the word muck, then you can start thinking about an editor. There are different levels of editing, and you pay differently for each one. If you're serious about publishing decent work, you will pay someone to do this. A writer is too close to his or her own work to be completely objective when it comes to story or character issues, especially (you can't really argue about misspellings, etc.). A very good (and successful) freelance editor friend of mine put it this way: if you're just out to make a few dollars on a self-pub, throw your money into a cover. If you want to be successful as a writer over time, put money into a decent editor. There are developmental editors, line editors, copyeditors... This is a pretty good, general overview of 4 different types--ignore the sales push, as I'm not familiar with this service's work: 4 Levels of Editing Explained: Which Service Does Your Book Need? by Corina Koch MacLeod and Carla Douglas If you are signed with a publishing company, the choose-an-editor headache belongs to them; however, once you establish a relationship with an editor (and you might go through a few before you hit the right fit), see if you can stick with them.

Keep in mind, too, that not everyone wants to, needs to, or should have their work published. I've known people who've grown to despise something they once loved to do--writing--because of the stress of publishing. Think about whether you just want to tell stories and have fun, without pressure. There is no indignity in that, Chief.

 

[chief4db]

Thanks for all the info. Kinda of dizzys me in how much I don't know. I wonder if accomplished writers do all this and know the rules or did they just write and so naturally talented it just came them.

 

[skimom2]

One of my favorite quotes from Mr. King goes like this: "Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work."

Pretty much says it all.