The Editing Process

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To continue with the theme of editing this month I came across an excellent video on YouTube where writer David Farland gives a talk that describes his editing process.

Farland breaks his editing down into 6 separate processes/types of edit:

1. Triage
2. Voice Edit
3. Descriptive Edit
4. Shotgun
5. Syllabic
6. Line Edit

It’s a very interesting talk, and yes, it is long. So grab a coffee, your notebook and pen and enjoy. A lot of what he said made total sense to me, although the idea of editing my MS 6 times is a little daunting! Lol

I think I’m beginning to know where to start now. How about you?

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31 thoughts on “The Editing Process”

  1. If you liked the video, you should sign up for Dave’s Daily Kick newsletter. He has some really good tips. Plus he just released an ebook for editing.

    And 6 times is daunting, but I’m probably on edit number 12 (story has changed drastically from the very 1st draft). Don’t give up!! It will be worth it.

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  11. Thank you for posting this video, Vikki! I read this guy’s book and absolutely love it. As I am doing the final edit for This Broken Earth (the compendium edition) I am reading his book again. Great advice.

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  13. Reblogged this on Pat Fitzhugh and commented:
    I’ve been laughed at, giggled at, snickered at, and even received obscene gestures for what I’m about to say, but it’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
    Ready? Ok. “Writing is 30 percent creating your story and committing it to paper (or digital media), and 70 percent revision–editing.”
    Much has been said about editing, but not enough. This David Farland video says a lot. Check it out.

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  15. I’m going to make some time to watch this. My current editing process involves even more passes than that … so this could really be helpful. I would love to Finish editing someday!

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