One of the reasons why writers don't want to extensively edit their work because it's SO HARD. I'm serious. Some editing, for me, is easy to do, but to rewrite? Wow. I have to kick myself in the butt before I would do that.
The reason for this? When I write, usually I have a direction to go in and everything's fine. I just write. But when I look back, OMG, the errors pop up. I see bad characters, bad dialogue, and it's hideous. So what do I do? Yup. Editing...
The problem is, especially when you have to rewrite certain sections, the story begins to suck. Like, horribly. Anything good you thought you have begins to look horrible and you want to stab your work until it dies in some horribly painful way.
You're probably experienced the horrible trauma of a rewrite before. Now, for me, I know I have definite conflicting emotions. Sometimes I think I'm the most terrible writer of them all because my rewrites suck. Other times, I want to give up and just stop trying. Still other times, I want to revert to the way it used to be. But, usually, I just trudge on, like a moron, to finish it.
But then something special happens. A new plot twist comes up, a character does something, and then suddenly things start falling into place. It's amazing what desperation can do! But, in the end, the edited piece isn't simply as good as the first draft. It leaves the first draft in the dust, writhing in humiliation.
And yes, it takes a long time, but it's well worth the effort. Happy editing!
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