Editing Is Hard

My name is Scott, and I am Chris's longtime friend and brother-in-law. Chris invited me to contribute to this blog, so here goes.

I've done a fair amount of writing, and now that I've finished my first draft of this book, I'm finally, for the first time, trying to edit one. Let me share a few things I've learned over my long minutes of toil.
  
1. Editing is hard.

One of the skills I've learned in writing is to get the words down on the page. You have to shut down that voice in your head that says, "You can't", "Your writing is stupid," or "Your laptop battery is at 5%." Okay, you need to pay attention to that last one...

But with editing, I have to let that voice out, and he kinda hates me and my book. Also...

2. I have no idea how to edit.

When I was writing this book, there was a lot of stuff that didn't work, but I put off fixing it because a) I only had a month to write the novel (National Novel Writing Month, check it out), and b) even the stupid parts add to your word count (seriously, check out National Novel Writing Month).

But now I'm stuck with all that writing, the good and the awful. Anything I cut out, I probably have to replace somehow. Do I correct the spelling and the grammar or completely rewrite the scene? Should the hero turn left or right? How does the love interest have a peg-leg in Chapter 2, but run a marathon in Chapter 8?

So that's where I am. Do I have a point? No. I'm saving all my cogent points for my novel.

But if anybody needs a peg-leg...