As every author knows, editing can be painful. Last week, Mica Kole hosted a #FriDare event on Twitter, daring authors to write a short poem or haiku about their negative feelings about editing.
After an hour or so of waxing poetical about the horrors of turning a first draft into something worthy of publishing, I realized I'd gotten some good material out of my whining about fixing bad material, so I decided to share it with you.
(At least, I hope it's good? *GASP* What if this, too, needed a round of editing? Noooooooooooooo...)
1.
Thought I was better
Than to make a first draft like
This mess on my screen
2.
Laptop arcing through the sky
Edits make you wonder why
First-draft writers even try
When the result makes you cry
3.
Run-on sentence here
And too much description there
Too little action
4.
#FriDare poetry, #amdrawing edition:
After an hour or so of waxing poetical about the horrors of turning a first draft into something worthy of publishing, I realized I'd gotten some good material out of my whining about fixing bad material, so I decided to share it with you.
(At least, I hope it's good? *GASP* What if this, too, needed a round of editing? Noooooooooooooo...)
1.
Thought I was better
Than to make a first draft like
This mess on my screen
2.
Laptop arcing through the sky
Edits make you wonder why
First-draft writers even try
When the result makes you cry
3.
Run-on sentence here
And too much description there
Too little action
4.
#FriDare poetry, #amdrawing edition:
5.
It's the right word
It's in the right place
But it's in in duplicate
My palm's on my face
6.
Spent too much time with this book
I just want it to be done
On 4th consecutive look
Editing's no longer fun
7.
Could swear I changed this phrase before
Now I want to change it more
Will it ever look quite right?
Ten more tries and then it might
8.
Right word, wrong place
Spell-check didn't see
Palm on my face
What if there could be
To my disgrace
Dozens more of these?
9.
Read the phrase again
Didn't register first time
I should go to bed
10.
Please tell me that this is good
Can't see as a reader would
First impression is long gone
What if everything is wrong?
11.
Headdesk, headdesk, what's that sound?
It's the fourth and final round
Editing the same novel
How can there by typos still?!
12.
How'd that furniture get over there?
Because I didn't make note of where
Every item ought to be
Back to editing with me
13.
Fourth round of edits
First two lost by accident
Hate starting over >_<
(This haiku is brought to you by a tragic case of file corruption.)
14.
Three words here
Three words wrong
As I feared:
Phrase too long
There's way too much description
I know better, yet did it again
15.
Wall of dialogue
No action between the lines
Must stop doing that
Bonus haiku!
Complaining is done
The blog post is now complete
Back to other tasks
Which of these poems or haikus was your favorite?
Do you have a piece of poetry to share about your editing woes?
Do you have a piece of poetry to share about your editing woes?
Please share your opinion and poetry in the comments!
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