How do I edit…as a not super systematic pantser?

By Cassandra O'Leary

How do I edit as a panster? I'm glad you asked, dear readers. I'm currently in the final throes of editing a single title romantic comedy manuscript (currently 96,000 words long) and it's been a saga. For starters, I began writing this novel in 2015, then left it halfway done for at least a year before finishing the first, messy draft. Then I sat on it again for about another two years! Note, I do not recommend this method...I only remembered the bare bones of the plot by the time I got back to it.

But a lot happened in the intervening time. I got my first book published with HarperCollins UK (not my first manuscript though, that's also put away and will never see the light of day), I wrote some shorts and novellas and nearly an entirely different book. So I guess I've learned a little since then.

From the first draft to something book-like

Coming back to the draft, I was pleasantly surprised it didn’t completely suck. There were some interesting characters (hello, I remember you!), funny dialogue and a setting that I think it a bit different. Then I struck the problems, and oh boy, they were many. Missing scenes and chapters out of sequence were the main issues, and honestly they’re a hallmark of my writing because I’m a real panster (I write by the seat of my pants, without an outline). I often open up brand new documents to write single scenes when I feel the urge, or when I get stuck. Then, I have to work out where to slot-in the new content, and smooth out the rough edges so it matches the preceeding and succeeding scenes.

I’ve re-jigged the structure of this manuscript quite a lot, so it’s book-shaped, has chapters that are roughly the same length, alternating point of view scenes, and hopefully with chapter endings that have a hook or at least an interesting last line.

Continuity—or where did that character go?

So, continuity is the first thing I look for. My heroine was apparently getting test results from the doctor before she even made an appointment! Also, I look at how my characters’ dialogue has changed—I notice if I’ve added in more slang or different speech patterns as I go along. This is me as a writer, getting to know a character’s voice. Then there is the problem with disappearing secondary characters. I’m just thinking of writing a new scene with my hero and his best friend, because poor Sam the mechanic was only in one scene, and has apparently evaporated.

Nuts and bolts

Next comes nuts and bolts stuff like fixing spelling errors, missing words, excessive use of some words (that, but, just, only—these are my worst offenders as repetitive words) and short sentences versus longer. I tend to write sentence fragments and direct thoughts as a character would speak them. This is a stylistic choice and not an error as such, but it can become annoying if the same type of sentence is repeated e.g. Oh. My. God. I have a character that would say this, but we don’t want it ten times on the same page! I’ll do another check for all of these things when I get to the final draft.

A special note on sexy scenes

I like the sexy times on the page…too much maybe. My sex scenes tend to be overly long in a first draft, as I get them out in a big, long, hard, marathon session (I love double entendres, LOL). This means, analysing a sexy scene like I would any other scene—where is the pace too slow, where is it all action, no emotion, or where is it out of character or lopsided, from only one character’s point of view (when writing in both main character’s POV).

If it’s all he-did-this-to-her, then he-did-this, it’s a little boring. And because I write romantic comedy, I like to add a little humour in the bedroom (or car, or office or whatever) when the characters get together. Maybe the heroine blurts out something completely inappropriate at a vital moment… This is where I also examine dialogue to see if it’s doing its job in the scene.

Hard copy for a close-up look

Once I have a second draft that mostly hangs together, it’s time for me to print out the manuscript in its entirety and mark-up edits on the printed page. Time for red pens and highlighters! This helps me see outstanding issues with repetition, the balance of dialogue versus narration on the page, plus I tend to notice stand-out expressions in print.

I recently attended a writing workshop with the fabulous author, Stefanie London, and she reminded me about something I’d learned a couple of years ago. Each author has their own literary techniques that they can amplify in editing e.g. alliteration. I LOVE ALLITERATION! Sexy, sensational scenes start slow…you see what I did there. The repeated ‘s’ sound gives a poetic sound to the line. I naturally write some lines like this, but it’s worth spotting and improving these patterns in edits.
Once I’ve marked up all of these handwritten notes, I edit the main document on my laptop again. We’re nearly there!

Finally, the read through

A great idea I picked up from a friend, is to send your completed manuscript to your e-reader or tablet, and read it like a published ebook. Don’t edit on screen, but keep a notepad handy to write down any issues you notice as you read. Hopefully by this stage it’s only minor typos that slip through, a quick fix rather than a major re-work.

The End! Except, now it might be time to write a query letter or synopsis…urgh.

About Cassandra O’Leary

Cassandra O'Leary is a romance and women's fiction author, communications specialist, avid reader, film and TV fangirl and admirer of pretty, shiny things.

In 2015, Cassandra won the We Heart New Talent contest run by Avon Books/HarperCollins UK. Her debut novel, Girl on a Plane, was published in July 2016 and in translation in the Czech Republic as “Letuska”. Cassandra was also a 2015 finalist in the Lone Star writing contest, Northwest Houston Romance Writers of America, and a 2014 finalist in the First Kiss contest, Romance Writers of Australia. In addition to her traditionally published work, Cassandra has indie published novellas including Heart Note: A Christmas romcom novella, and short stories.

Cassandra is a mother of two gorgeous, high-energy mini ninjas and wife to a spunky superhero. Living in Melbourne, Australia, she's also travelled the world. If you want to send her to Italy or Spain on any food or wine tasting 'research' trips, that would be splendiferous.
Read more at cassandraolearyauthor.com