Moron Edits: Day 1

02-27-09
Editing: Day 1

My editor, MS, emailed the first of the editing notes:
This is your first chapter. I highlighted all the was, were, and hads. I may have missed some. I also highlighted the adverbs. I wanted you to see all of them. You will be rewriting to get rid of most of them if not all of them. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

I was surprised! I try to avoid adverbs, but I was shocked to see how many had wiggled their way in. Plus, I counted sixty-one was, were and had’s in this chapter. Wondering if I still made this mistake, I checked my WIP. It wasn’t much better. I guess I’ll have to go through all my MSS with a fine-tooth was-comb. It’s odd, because when I check the reading level, I always have 0% passive sentences.

LATER:
Ok--so I read the first pages of a bunch of famous, award winning kids books (Tiger Rising, The Wizard in the Tree, Harry Potter, etc.) and you know what I found? Lots and lots of was, were and had. There are seven ‘was’ or ‘had’s in the first paragraph of The Giver. Hmmm. If ‘was, were and had’ are good enough for the Newberry Judges, why can’t I use them?

LATER STILL:
Ok--I’ve decided to take to heart what Linda Sue Park said about her experience with revision requests.
Step One: Listen to the critique. Say “Ok”.
Whether you agree or not, just say, “Ok.” Sometimes, you’ll say it through gritted teeth. Sometimes, you’ll say it loud. Sometimes, you might only be able to nod gently, so as not to dislodge the tears from your eyes. However you manage it, just say “Ok.”
Step Two: Try it.
You might be convinced the advice is the stupidest thing you’ve ever heard. You might think it would ruin your book. You might even think, “I can’t wait to do this so I can show this [editor, agent, critique partner] just how stupid a request this is.” Whatever you think of the advice, try it.
Just.
Try.
It.
Linda Sue said of all the revision suggestions and requests she’s had on her books, she could remember only one time a revision didn’t make the book better.