I can write 50 000 words without a problem. Not in one sitting, but probably over a couple of weeks, a month tops. Then it takes me the next four weeks to edit.

Am I exaggerating? Maybe a little. I noticed it more this time, as I was working with a manuscript I started a while ago. Back when I first began to get serious about writing. I had a lot of wordsmithing to do to fix it up. Honestly – I’m not sure it’s working perfectly yet, but it will have to do. I think I’d go crazy if I kept editing it. I have new stories I want to write.

Editing can mean lots of things. Fixing punctuation, adjusting past and present tense, making sure I have a mix of short and long sentences, that the commas are in the right place, and making sure I don’t repeat myself over and over.

Author voice, show and not tell, making the words flow quickly, or slowly depending on the scene, are skills I am slowly learning. It is tricky, as a new author, to get all these ducks aligned in my first draft. By my third edit, it slowly feels like its coming together.

I even go through the manuscript looking for errant words. How many times have I used the words – actually, really, like, very, absolutely, then, someone, that, was, just…there is a long list of words like this. It’s about rethinking the sentence structure.

Learning not to use long wordy descriptions or including a lot of background is another skill. Start and end each chapter with action, especially at the beginning of the story.  Use the characters and conversations to fill in the gaps and provide reader information.

When to use italics, not to use sentence fragments, how to demonstrate character motivation, are a few examples of what I think about as I edit. I’m thankful to an author friend and an author group who taught me a lot of this.

Editing my children’s books is the same, and different. There are less words, but all the rules still apply. Formatting the books for publication, spacing the words and the pictures, making sure the story flows.

This year, in my next few books I want to develop the characters – give them more depth. I’d love to change up how my stories flow. Add more plot twists, more mystery. Will I succeed? Time will tell!