Editing is the same as refurbishing a writing desk

​No. I am not here to answer the age old question as to why a raven is like a writing desk. Simply put, I don't know. Do you? I have heard the theories. But I digress. Today I would like to discuss:

Editing is similar to refurbishing a writing desk.

Late last year I decided that I needed a new writing desk. Being on a tight budget, I looked around in the local op shops and finally found a timber desk with bookshelves for $10. Yay! I was so excited. It had good ‘bones.’ I could imagine what it would look like with a new stain and varnish; the drawers with fancy new handles; the bookshelves lined with children’s picture books… and one day... my own books. It was all so glistening and shining and looking wonderful... in my mind.

Yes, there were stickers to be peeled off. Lots of stickers. Someone at some point had decided that boring holes in the top of the desk was a good idea, as well as gouging out a nice big hole on the edge of the desk. There were many scratches and imperfections. So I set to work.
 

1. Clean – I dragged out the eucalyptus oil and cotton balls and scrubbed the stickers off. Then I washed the whole desk down with warm water and sugar soap and let dry.
2. My son kindly routered a new shaped edge for the desk to get rid of deep gouge.
3. I filled in holes with wood putty and let dry.
4. I cut off the old drawer handles and drilled holes ready for new ones.
5. Sand – Next I started off with a low grade sandpaper to get rid of the varnish. After that I sanded with a higher, then a higher grade sandpaper until it was nice and smooth. Then I wiped it over to get rid of the dust.
6. Prime – As the desk is made out of pine, I had to prime it; otherwise I would not get the desired look that I was after. (Deep Mahogany red). It would have been a purple red. I know, as I did the drawers first to test the depth of colour.
7. Stain – one coat and let dry.
8. Varnish – one coat. Let dry. Lightly sand. Second coat.
9. Put on drawer knobs. 
10. Bring inside, assemble and enjoy. 

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The desk in place and it looks exactly how I envisaged it. I love the antique style handles I found to replace the plain wooden ones. Such a great desk to write at.

Now to the bit where doing up a writing desk is like editing.

You’ve finished your first draft of your manuscript. You step back and take a good hard look at it. Ahh! There are some plot holes, some characters that need work. And what’s this? The pivotal scene that you thought you wrote is not even in there, or it just doesn’t seem to fit anymore. Whole entire chapters could be taken out and no-one would even know. Some things don’t flow logically. There may be too much back story in a huge dumped on the unsuspecting reader. Point of View is all over the place. Awkward sentences, to many adjectives. Oh boy! There is a lot of work to be to done.

1. Clean, prep and sand back – cut out unnecessary words, scenes and chapters, as well as excess back story. Make sure your Point of View (P.O.V) remains consistent. Ensure that everything flows logically and makes sense. Read out loud heaps. Make corrections. Fix the plot holes and other inconsistencies. 
2. Prime and stain/paint – the Enhancement: Make the most out of the power of the senses.  Use at least two in every scene. What you can hear and see. Smell. Touch. Taste. Have others read it. Send off for a structural edit. Make corrections as necessary.
3. Varnish and assemble – the final going over. Check for spelling mistakes and punctuation errors. In other words proofread.
4. You may have to go through this process a few times but, in the end you will be able to enjoy the fruits of your labour.

I read up a lot about the editing process. I have also been taught different methods. In fact, everyone is different and does different things at different times. I suppose you do what works for you. I seem to use a combination of techniques for different projects. And I am still learning.
 
By the way, I have dyslexia, so I am pretty sure, that, though I have gone over this a few times, there will be spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. (If you find any, please let me know by emailing me).

Here, here, and here are some links to more editing tips that I have discovered. 

​Happy editing!