Seeking a New Approach to Editing

I have now passed the 2/3 mark in typing up my book. I am filled with both anticipation and "dread" about the editing process that is soon to come. Typing it up has been a daunting task in and of itself. Editing promises to be even more so.

I have a love/hate relationship with editing. Perhaps even more so than with writing. Most of the time, I enjoy editing because I like to make my writing flow better and look neater. I like taking the time to test one word against another to see which one truly captures the mood or emotion I want to convey.

Editing is great...in small doses.

Yet editing a big project can be completely different. Even if I only edit a page or a chapter at time, the entire process wears on me after a while. My nerves become tight and frazzled. I long to do anything but sit down and tackle the "headache" in front of me.

There is some wisdom in letting one's work sit for a time, without looking at it, so that you can approach it again with fresh eyes at a later date. With editing, however, this can be a double edged sword for me. Sometimes the break from the editing process makes it all the more hard and daunting to pick it up again. The road to completion feels even longer. The project seems like it will never end.

This time I will try a new approach to my editing process. I will take the time, after I finish typing up the book, to develop an editing method that will hopefully make the task faster and less daunting.

Any ideas I can incorporate are vastly appreciated.