#u lose reblog privileges GOOD DAY SIRS

[definitelynotshouting]

[Image ID: a screenshot of tumblr user yellowsomethings' tags. They read: #PREV NORMAL PEOPLE MAKE SMALL EDITS TO THE TEXT THEY WROTE THE FIRST TIME #NOT REWRITE THE ENTIRE FIC LINE BY LINE. End ID.]

Im feeling sillygoofy and this got a small sudden resurgence of notes so let me actually explain my process in more detail. Bear with me guys this is gonna be long.

What im doing each time i self-edit (and this is not my editing process AT ALL for other people's work btw, this is just for me) is:

Rewriting the entire fic sentence by sentence, line by line, but in chunks of paragraphs and with different Stylization Rules. It's a little hard to describe these personal rules (i call it my "fancy writing") but on a technical level, im first considering how the individual sentence sounds by itself vs how it sounds within the entire paragraph, and then challenging myself to go deeper-- to write it again but with more detail, more vivid imagery, to bring in a better and clearer picture of what's going on.

But as i do this, im also avoiding and writing around 99% of any adverbs previously used in the rough draft. Im cutting out filter words entirely (feel, see, hear, taste, feel, realize, etc.) and instead describing in detail the actual actions surrounding them. Im avoiding sentences that start with "the," "there is," and "he/she/they/it (etc)" and keeping a mental tally of exactly how many i've used, how long ago i've used them, and how many more sentences i feel i can go before i can use them again (this is generally situational and intuitive for me). Im looking at my individual word choices for each sentence and asking myself if there is a more sophisticated, refined word for this, that is still applicable while achieving the imagery im trying to get across.

Im making sure i have my characters positioned clearly and that there's continuity to their actions (if someone has lifted their arm, i need to write them lowering it again at some point. If a character is making tea, i need to interject the narrative and dialogue with their process as they make it, to whatever degree of detail im aiming for). Im refusing to name emotions and instead using a combination of setting elements and physical reactions to convey how it actually feels. Im keeping another mental tally of how often i've used any given specific word (invisible words that connect and bridge the gaps between other words and clauses dont count, nor does the beloved word "said/says," of which i feel Very Strongly about), and only using it again if absolutely necessary, after a certain amount of paragraphs have passed. Im checking the flow both within the sentence and how it connects to the rest of the paragraph, making sure its smooth and that the whole thing is interesting, rhythmically speaking, to read.

And, of course, i'm keeping an eye on my pacing, constantly going back and forth to reread what i've already rewritten and making sure it fits well into the greater narrative.

This is how i turn rough draft paragraphs like this:

[Image ID: a screenshot of a single paragraph on a white background. It reads: Grian's moving before he even thinks about it, fingers clenching around the handle of his fallen axe and passing it over without a moment's hesitation. There's trust, there, in the ropes of his tendons. Trust that's hard-pressed to stay wound tight beneath his ribcage, like a ball of yarn being teased out by a particularly persistent cat. For once, Grian can't muster up the energy to be upset about it. End ID.]

Into final draft versions like this:

[Image ID: a screenshot of three paragraphs on a white background. They read: Trust, Grian has discovered, lies in the tendons. Roping, strained, an aberration of his fingers stretching over each bruised knuckle, mapping the valleys in between. It lingers the way blood cloys– tacky, stained, scarlet. Nothing truly washes it clean. When trust winds beneath your ribcage, the inevitability is that, at some point, it tangles; a helpless snarl of red puppet threads weaving through ventricles and veins.

And as much as Grian has tried to tease it out, claw for relief, it remains; stubborn, unyielding, a tree unbowed to the storm. The ship in a bottle. A butterfly, frozen in amber. His own two battered hands.

He passes Scar the axe without hesitation. End ID.]

Now these aren't all the Stylization Rules i use in my "fancy writing," but its the gist of them. And i adapt some of them as i need to, depending on tone and genre and whatnot. Also as a disclaimer, im not claiming this is the way anyone should write. This is just my own personal process, for my own very specific style that i've cultivated over the years. As a matter of fact dont do all of this to yourself it takes for-fucking-ever to produce anything /lh. I like it though because im insane and if im not painting with my words then im just not satisfied with my art

(apologies for the length of this addition and if the ID tags are not properly formatted; ive never done this before but i wanted to make the screenshots more accessible to everybody. Please shoot me an ask if they need to be adjusted!)

My favorite activity recently is telling my writing friends the fucked up way i self-edit my fics, re: