My Editing Bugaboos

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted.

I finished that edit and moved on to beginning the edit of my November WIP. I admit, I forgot what I had already done until I got into my first review!

So far, I haven't actually changed anything. I followed the suggestion of "read and summarize" as a way to see if the story I wrote matched the one I had set out to write. I'm not sure what value that action is supposed to carry, but for me, reading straight through without any changes helped me see some scenes that seem to be out of order, or are repetitive. I made notes.

As for my "bugaboos"...

I go through this every time. And it's Time. The Time-line, specifically. In an effort to make sure things are happening realistically, I need to be sure that the timing fits together. For this WIP, certain chapters are full of a dense couple days of action, while others might cover a longer period of time. And the season changes during the course of the novel.

Should I condense it? Make it happen in a shorter time? I don't think so. That's what they do for movies. A book that takes place in three months will be one long week in a movie. Now that I've sorted out my timeline, I think the pacing is okay. 

I just have to rearrange some things so that the action follows more logically within that timeframe. And ensure that my descriptions are season-appropriate.

What are your editing bugaboos? What's something that strikes you every time you start a new edit?  

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