Editing: The Labor in the Love

Post date: Feb 05, 2020 10:15:51 PM

Recently, I've had the expression "Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life" running through my head. Have you heard it? Something similar? I don't think it's 100% true. At least not for me.

Don't get me wrong, I love writing. It's one of the most fulfilling things I do. But I don't love every part of it. I enjoy writing, researching, creating new worlds and characters, even imagining how characters might react to everyday situations I encounter, but I don't like editing.

That doesn't mean I don't do it. I just need to force myself to sit and do the work.

I can spend hours writing, researching minute details, or scouring through old ideas for fresh takes. But every minute spent editing feels like a chore. I'd almost rather stare at a blank screen with writer's block. Almost.

Even when I get great feedback and critiques from readers and fellow writers, I'll take a few days to process and then sit down to edit. I'll get a few pages or chapters in but then I'll pause and work on a story that's nudging my brain or write a scene for a character who's begging won't leave me alone.

I know that the only way my writing will improve is to polish it. So after letting the procrastinating happen--instead of fighting it, I allow it its moment--then I buckle down and work. Only through persistence and perspiration will I make good writing great, great writing excellent, and excellent writing a world that leaves a lasting impression.