When editing

I was commented on the other day that I spend too much time on twitter when I'm editing my work.

I'm currently ironing out Toxic City Volume 2 Walkers In The Mist. It took a few days to write 90k words, with an average of 8k words written a day. This is not hard for me as I shimmied out of the habit of stopping after each chapter to spot check my work.

This is beneficial because it helps me focus on the flow of the story and not on minute details as I know any errors made can be picked up in full edits.

It does tend to mean I edit the manuscript  a good few times. For example I just finished my eighth edit of Toxic City and will embark on the ninth tomorrow.

But why do I regularly pause editing to bother with twitter?

The reason is to inhibit monotony. After ten minutes or so, I'll start to rush the edit. Even when I'm reading out loud, I find myself skipping words because I know them so well.

Taking a minute to tweet or to blog allows me to come back with fresher eyes and it also tells me if a scene is taking too long, or if it's even that interesting.

It has its ups and downs as, like I said, I know the words so well by now. It'd be nice to put the book away for a month and come back truly refreshed. I do plan on that, but only when I'm certain enough has been done to warrant that rest.

I'm a self taught writer and I take advice where I can. Let me know what you do when editing.

And keep your eyes peeled for Toxic City that'll be community funded in a few months time.

Cheers guys.