Well, I’ve hit a bit of a snag with this.

Unfortunately, not all crossroads in life are clearly marked. That's deep that. Image courtesy of Mark Smallwood

There are dangers to this kind of writing.  Both Matt and I have discussed this before, but I’d like to take a direct look at the dangers myself here (since I have recommended freeform writing in the past) 

The Dangers

Danger One of course is ending up with a hulking great brick of a manuscript – a tangled mess of various ideas which don’t really gel together and require massive amounts of redrafting.  This is obviously where having a plan comes in really handy.  Even if you have just a most basic outline, then it can help.  I discovered this while thinking about my first book.  Now this I have completed, and have redrafted many times.  But I have fiercely kept some material which I liked almost from draft one, and since the project has evolved, it doesn’t really fit together.  Now, do I work some magic and smooth it over, or do I amputate the (admittedly less mature) material in another huge overhaul?  I can’t even bear thinking about that.  But I’ll go into that more in danger three.

Danger Two is that you may get to a certain point and not know how to progress.  This is the danger that has hampered me with my newest project.  It’s the new book I was writing, which inspired me to write about improvisational writing in the first place.  Yes, I had a vague idea of where the whole story was going to end up, but having completed part one, I’ve stalled.  I have to get the story from point A to point D, but I have no idea where points B and C are, or what happens there.

So how to remedy this?  Brainstorm?  Come up with a plan?  Some writers would suggest that you do the latter option even before you start the project.  But what if, like me, you have all this material already?  You have the start, and you have the destination, so take some time out and plot out the journey.  Yes, that is the sensible option. 

But how about something more radical?  More out there?  More… foolish?  This struck me while thinking about it.  How about scrapping the destination altogether?  Yes, I knew where this was going, but that was when the journey first started.  Since I started writing, and new plots and characters developed, this ultimate destination seemed to get further and further away (which results in Danger One of course).  So screw the original plan and pick a new destination. 

As I said, very very foolish. 

Danger Three is multi-booking.  How do you see this project working out?  Now, I’ve never been a fan of trilogies for trilogies’ sake.  That was of course until I dove into my first book and yes, I get it.  Spending so much time, effort, energy, blood, sweat, tears and other less mentionable bodily fluids mapping out characters and situations, you can get attached.  And obviously, once you’ve gotten attached it can be hard to let go.  ‘Hey, I don’t need to!’ You might say, ‘I’ll just write another book with these characters.’ 

Which of course can be a blessing and a curse.  Obviously, if your aim is to get published, then it’s good to have ideas for more books down the line.  And let’s face it, its easier to write a second or third book in a world you’ve already mapped out, with characters you already know.  Publishers like this too, because if the first book is a success, then there is a pre-built fan-base for the second and so one.  But the curse of it?  How much do you plan out for the series?  Now this depends on genre.  With crime fiction, I’m guessing it’s a little simpler.  Establish your detective/detectives, then throw new cases at them every book.  I don’t think like that though.  Unfortunately, I’m all about the bigger picture.  It’s the one area where I will plan out in advance. 

So you have an idea for a multi-book storyline.  How much of it do you throw in to that first book?  If I can briefly divert into film territory here, film trilogies can do this a lot.  The first film in a trilogy can essentially act as stand alone (Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Back to the Future), while films two and three will often be one story split across two films, which you can’t really watch without having seen the others.  Can you do the same with books?  Well it’s a different medium isn’t it?  A film you digest in a few hours, a book can take anything from a few days to a few weeks.  So there is less room for (seemingly) extraneous material, especially in that all important first book. 

So how do you deal with this?  Personally, I have tended to map out the story for book two in a series (and even begun writing it) before the first book is even finished.  Yes, this is stupid, and pointless, and can definitely hinder you if you want to go mad and ditch the destination as I suggested in Danger Two.  But really, if you do have a multi-book idea, then you do definitely need to chart it out.  In detail.  Have an overarching plot that runs through all the books, and then introduce smaller plots that emerge in a book by book basis.  You cant just freeform a multi-book plot.  Trust me, I’ve tried in the past and it blows up in your face. 

Cul-de-sacs

Sometimes you just have to throw things out. Image courtesy of Sharon Drummond.

So this is where I am.  I am hitting dead ends everywhere, and am failing to see a way to progress.  Part of me deep down (a sick twisted part of me that I really shouldn’t listen to) is telling me that to take a time out and do some actual planning is dumb, because it’s time being wasted on planning, when I could be using that time writing.  But then, if I’m not doing the writing in the first place… 

Another part of me is telling me to just bin everything and start from scratch.  It’s all well and good moving chunks of text around to try and get them to all fit so you can open up a way forward, but it doesn’t help in really pushing me to progress.  Whereas if I got rid of all of those blocks, I might be able to see a path. 

A third part is telling me to take a step back, breathe, and next time I start a new project, make it something small and simple, two girls sitting on a beach or something.  No aliens, no government plots, and no multidimensional creatures intent on destroying the universe.

Is this a writer feeling self-doubt? Image courtesy of Alex E. Proimos

Now, what happens when you think this about all your work?  What happens when you look at the whole body of your writing work and think ‘my god, it’s all worthless.  I’m worthless, what right do I have to call myself a writer?’  This is usually followed by a fainting like action onto the chaise lounge followed by bitter, bitter weeping.

It can happen.  It is a similar beast to writer’s block.  I would like to think I’ve been fortunate enough to not suffer from this.  No matter what, I’ve always felt that I’ve had something to write about.  But occasionally, malaise can set in.  I think this can occur more often if you write longer fiction.  You have to become entrenched in what you’re writing, long haul, and there can be long periods when you don’t actually write anything new, and just edit.  I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with editing, but sometimes you just want to write. 

Maybe that’s what’s up with me.  I have editors block.  I know I have stuff to edit, and it isn’t even heavy editing, but I just cant bring myself to do it.  The task itself is too much for me to contemplate.  Even though I have the documents open all the time on my net book, I can’t bring myself to look at them.  And this is when the self-doubt came crawling in, insidious, malign.

So how to get over it?  Well, the best way I guess is probably to just knuckle down and do it.  Set yourself a goal.  Or even a punishment.  ‘No food until I finish another chapter.’  Of course there is no way for you to monitor this.  Unless you literally chain yourself to the desk.  How else to beat the rut?  Any suggestions?

That’s right, because I’ve been going through my old files again.  Mainly this was to make me feel like I was actually doing something writerly, to get myself some motivation.  And I found another of my old projects.  And started reading through it. 

I know that last time I advised against this, but there was something about this project that just seemed… well, like its time had come.  There are I think, several factors involved with this project that didn’t make me want to delete it/never write again/throw myself off a building.

Image courtesy of Sparticus at Flickr

Collaboration

 
This is I think the first factor.  This project was originally a kind of collaboration.  Collaborating on a piece does have its pros and cons, Matt has also covered this previously.  While different writing styles can clash and ideas can lead to places that you might not want to go, it does give you some kind of motivation to get that next section done. 

This project I discovered was something like that.  At the time, it was something I was writing with, or rather on behalf of, a friend of mine, who isn’t a writer.  He had some ideas for a film, and I had some similar ideas and somehow we fleshed them out and I got them down on paper.  I do run my ideas by him occasionally, since he epitomizes the general demographic of moviegoers. 

So I guess part of it was at the time, I didn’t really take the project too seriously.  It was something fun that I didn’t have to worry too much about, just something to keep the motor running. 

Finding Its Time and Place

 
Sometimes you write something and it’s ahead of its time.  My last “new” project was like this.  I had the character mapped out but didn’t have the story for him, so I put him back in the ideas bank to gestate.  And sometimes ideas can be like this.  That’s why you should keep all your notes and older projects.  Granted, a lot of them will end up in the trash, as I said in my last post on this subject, as they may never find their time.  But sometimes a project will just click into place, it’s right for the mindset that you have at that time. 

And that’s what happened here.  I’d been to see The Last Airbender, and yes, it was truly appalling.  From a production standpoint.  The script was dire, truly amateurish, and there was no pacing, no momentum and it was very weakly structured.  It had just so happened that this was the same weekend when I’d been looking at this file and it prompted me to try and rework it. 

Slice and Dice

Yup.  The thing about old ideas is that there is a lot of stuff in there that will not be suitable.  Rather than try and work it in, just cut it.  I had two major plot lines and they were far too big for one story (yeah, because that never happens with my writing!)  And far from being reluctant to cut the crap, I actually felt liberated.  I didn’t have to have all this extra stuff in there.  This whole subplot about these other characters wasn’t needed.  So off it went.  This can be very useful, because developing this skill, this ability, to painlessly cut stuff that weighs a project down is essential. 

Keep a hold of that stuff though, put it in the ideas bank, because who knows, a few years down the line, it might fit in somewhere else. 

In Conclusion

 
I’m not saying this project is going to go anywhere.  I cant really decide on a format for it, but I’m sketching out the whole story outline, which is something I’ve never really done before (it’s the essential opposite of winging it, like I normally do), which I guess is another valuable skill to learn.  Winging it can be more exciting, not knowing exactly where a project is going, but unless you’re very good at it (I like to think that I am) then you can save yourself a lot of time by mapping out the story.  It’s fun, because this is the first project that I’ve written that I actually know definitively where it ends, and what happens there, and even how I get there. 

Just going to have to run it by my demographic to see how he likes it…

Image courtesy of Markus Rödder.

Now it could be that I’m just tired if the thing. It could be that I don’t have enough material in my head. It could be that since I decided the point where I was going to stop, my brain has taken the cue and gone into early shut down.

It could be all three.

In any case it seems pointless to bash my head against a brick wall for now, and while I’m kind of in the middle of a section, it’s probably a better place to stop anyway. Besides, if I don’t write anything else until this novel’s finished my portfolio will look rather starved.

So, decision made, I’m settling down to thrash out a short story I’ve had gestating in my mind for a while and now feels ready for birth. I’m really going to go for it! Hack away ’till done. Edit ’till done. Boom! It feels refreshing just thinking about it!

Then, rather than dive straight back into the novel, I thought I’d do a little bit of world-building. I’m thinking specifically of the characters. These guys aren’t exactly writing themselves here, and I don’t think I’ve got to know them yet. Rather than wait for the second draft, I’ll get a better understanding now, and apply that going forward.

I’ll update with a post about exactly how I did that when I get round to it.

For now, I’m hoping that a change really is as good as a rest, and the shift in scenery will see my writing instincts wake up again.

What do you do when you feel yourself flagging?

OK, well now that that advice has been readily ignored, allow me to explain.

I was idly going through my files recently, and made the horrific mistake of looking at some old projects. And when I say this, I don’t mean some half written notes or random ideas, I mean I was looking at two projects which I have dedicated a hell of a lot of time to. Not just in terms of physically writing, but also into ‘thought time’, creating ideas, plotting out storylines, dialogue, character depth and so on. One was an idea about a TV show I had, and the other was another book.

Lets leave the TV show for now, and focus more on the book, because this is something I dedicated more time to. Now the idea I had concerned a lot of smaller stories, taken from a particular person’s point of view, that all interwove and overlapped. Due to the nature of the backstory I’d built up, I could – in theory – write this project for the rest of my life.

Unfortunately, I revisited it, didn’t I?

And I was appalled. This writing was terrible. Simply terrible. The characters were two dimensional (hell, not even that), the storyline had no cohesion, the dialogue was risible and then I got to the bit I’d almost forgotten about. The horrifically written lesbian sex scene. Jeez, am I not over that already? I actually found myself ashamed to have written this.

But before this turns into a major moaning session, lets turn to how this can help you write. OK, so revisiting old work can be demoralizing. But it can also be very helpful.  This is what I found when I read this piece.  I think more than anything it was just how clumsy it was. Obviously, since it had a lesbian sex scene in it. Any writing that falls back on that is doomed.

But after my initial shock, and despair, and strong desire to never write anything ever again, I looked at the situation pragmatically. ‘OK, so this writing sucks. How do we make it better?’

It can be a very useful writing exercise. Keeping a few of those old projects floating around just to remind you of how much your writing has progressed. Because my main project – my book – has undergone the same kind of evolution. I have, in the past, looked at sections of that and thought how bad they were, but I pushed through and improved them. This is what you can do with the older, less developed work.  I should probably also add that this ‘older work’ isn’t from when I was a teenager either, but from only four years ago. That’s right, this is probably my newest idea, and yet it doesn’t stand up.

But there I am back to the moaning again. How to use this? It’s all in the editing. A piece of writing may be clumsy, it may have few merits, but its all part of the process, isn’t it? As painful as it might be, all of us – as writers – face that point where we may need to scrap large sections of work – maybe even whole projects. I know I’ve had to do it in my book. I had to scrap a three chapter section, which I quite liked, due mainly to the fact that it no longer fit and made the whole thing too long. So I applied the same logic to this ‘old’ idea. Let’s get serious now. I had to ask myself these very important questions:

1. What is the overall aim and purpose of this piece?
2. How does it fit into the larger structure? Is the overall structure working?
3. Is there a definite aim? Am I  procrastinating too much?

This last one is probably the most important one of all. As I’ve said in previous posts, I don’t mind a story that takes its time, as long as its interesting to read, but there is a massive difference between building up to a solid momentum and simply procrastinating for the hell of it.

So what did I tell myself? I have to get on point and stay there. Cut the superfluous characters, the pointless tensions which add nothing to it, solidify the setting, do some research and for god’s sake, get rid of the lesbian sex scene!

Yes, in order to grow as a writer, you do sometimes need to look back at where you’ve come from, in order to drive you forward to where you’re going to.

…About Running is, I feel, an absolute must read for aspiring writers. The book itself is a journey through Murakami’s training for the New York marathon, and as the title suggests, it’s partly about how you train yourself to run long distance. However, the parallel’s he draws between training to be a runner and training to be a writer are highly appropriate.

Because this is what I feel I need to do. Of course, some people just have the talent to write, and can do so easily. But as Murakami notes, there is a difference between natural talent and developing the skill. You need not have a vast amount of talent to write as long as you develop the necessary skills. You can train yourself to focus, to concentrate, and to build your endurance. In essence, it’s a lot about what this site is about. I myself feel I have some degree of talent when it comes to – not necessarily writing per se – but in generating interesting material. Of course, its fine being able to generate the material, but it’s pointless if I can’t get it down on paper (or more rather, in my hard drive)

This is where the training comes in. Dedicating a set period of time each day to writing, to focusing solely on the act of getting things written down is essential. Especially for longer works. Writing a longer fiction is a lot like running a marathon. It can take months, perhaps a year to get through a complete draft, and when you look at it in terms of that, it can be daunting, a lot like a runner standing at the starting line and looking to the finish 26 miles away. How can I do this?

It’s all about the training.

I won’t even pretend that I can explain it as well as this book does, but a few major points I took away from what I’ve read thus far concern techniques that Murakami utilises, that were also utilised by Hemmingway and Raymond Chandler.

Firstly is dedicating the time to writing, sitting down at your desk (or in your private writing space) and focusing. Even if you don’t write anything, just dedicating the time, building up your stamina and concentration for writing will serve you well, especially for those longer projects.

And secondly, once you’ve developed this focus and concentration, and you do write, and then always leave your writing at a place where you feel you can continue on. In other words, stop writing before you run out of steam. That way, the next day, when you set out to write, you’ll be itching to continue where you left off; you’ll develop a flow and a rhythm to your writing which will make it much easier.

As someone who used to train extensively at the gym, and get into a set routine which improved my fitness, built my energy and shed the surplus weight, I can’t believe that I never thought of writing in the same way before. I guess it was an unconscious thing, I just wrote, and did so daily, or if not daily, then at least once every few days, but I managed to get through it. But like my training at the gym, my writing regimen slipped, so it feels tough for me to get through a few pages, just like I can slide off a treadmill sweating and panting, because I’ve let it all slip.

Anyway, I highly recommend this book; I can honestly say it has inspired me to concentrate more on my writing…

If I can find the time…

No big drama here; no tragedy in my life (thankfully); no excuse. I simply fell off the wagon for a week. And at the beginning of a new project, too! It’s true that I have been particularly tired and grumpy this week, but the sad fact is that when I got on the train I just couldn’t (wouldn’t, rather) be bothered.

Not wanting to analyse it too much, there are a couple more contributing factors. I’ve been working on the principle that writing begets more writing. I think that’s true. The more practice you get; the more you keep to a routine, the easier it becomes to just fall into that rythm. But I also think that not writing begets… more not writing (there is, undoubtedly, a better way of saying that).

It’s that old formula of, “the longer you leave it, the harder it becomes,” in microcosm. Simply put, if I don’t knuckle down and do something on Monday, I greatly reduce the chances that I’ll do something on Tuesday. And so on.

Of course, the only cure is to just get on and bloody do it. And perhaps it is worth remembering that how I start the week is just as important as how I finish it.

The second problem is to do with the fact that I am starting something new. I have some anxieties about starting something from scratch without knowing precisely where it’s going. On the other hand, meticulous planning saps some of the joy out of writing, so I thought I’d give the more improvisational approach a go. Craig has written a bit about this, and I’ve added some comments if you want to read more.

So, I’ve written a grand total of two scenes for a new novel, and already the anxiety of not knowing has got to me! They’re good scenes, too. The problem here is not that I don’t know what’s coming next (that’s kind of the point, after all), but that each new section is like starting all over again (I want to use the microcosm word again) – a little journey into the unknown.

The way to make this easier, I’ve decided is not to stop writing when I finish a scene (section, chapter, whatever). The pause I take in between makes that first step look much more daunting. Instead, when I finish a section I must plough on, straight into the next one, and stop at a point where I already know what’s coming next; even if I only know as far as the next paragraph. The point is I can start writing as soon as I next sit down and get straight into a flow. I have even seen some writers recommend stopping mid-sentence, just to keep that sense of flow going, and that sounds like a great idea to me.

So here’s a list of notes-to-self to go with this little review:

• Just bloody do it.
• Work hard right at the beginning of the week and I’ll find it easier to continue
• If I do fall off the horse, get straight back on! Don’t let the cycle build.
• Face the fear and anxiety (then kick it in the nuts)!
• Stop mid-scene
• Stop mid-sentence

I hope these tips for keeping writing will help others as well. I’ll stick to these and let you know how it goes. Any other tips are of course very welcome in the comments.

‘How did we ever get this far? I don’t know.’

The Godfather

Many people have asked me how I came about to get this far with the writing. I love when people ask me that as if I’m polishing my Pulitzer Prize for Literature already. The fact is, I know that this is going to be a long arduous journey. I know that I won’t be published with the next month or even six months. Hell, it could be a year before I see any results, but what I have now is:

• Step One
• And light at the end of the tunnel.

I shall explain why.

Writers are often stuck in a limbo when it comes to actual writing. We have an idea, we think it’s great and so we think, “you know what, I’ll draw up a treatment, write the first few chapters or pages and then shoot it off”…

BUT…

What if they love it? What if they say, “this is great, we want the rest in six weeks!”

So instead you think, “I’ll write the book. I’ll go from page one to page two-hundred and one and get this done. Then I’ll shoot it off”…

BUT

What if they hate it? Then I’ve wasted all that time for nothing!!!

Then comes our own personal Catch-22:To get published, you must have an agent. To get an agent, you must have been published.

Does your head hurt reading that? I know mine does.

The only thing I can suggest for those who are wanting to write is this:

DO EVERYTHING!

When you approach an agent you must have EVERYTHING that they want, from a synopsis to a character breakdown, to chapter analysis to who your target demographic is. If you are able to, post sections of it online (as I am doing now) get some feedback on what people like or don’t like. Find your audience and use that knowledge to your advantage. You are not selling a book, you are selling a product and so you must approach it like you are marketing a chocolate bar or a mobile phone.

• What makes what you have written special?
• Who will buy it?
• How many do you think you will sell?
• Is there an International market?

And the most important thing you should know:

EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT

Those of you who think your first draft is perfect, take your head out of your ass and get someone else to look at it. Fresh, critical eyes, who can say ‘man this needs some work’. There is nothing worse than thinking you have a best seller on your hands, only to find it is riddled with plot holes and half of the time makes no sense! And don’t be afraid of criticism. It only makes us better writers. If you can’t take it, then maybe you should let go of the idea of publishing and maybe just write for yourself.

And of course to quote Yoda, “patience you must learn”.

Don’t think the first agent you contact will want you… or the second or third… I sent this book to twenty-six agents before I was accepted and even then who’s to know whether they can deliver on their promises and I end up being screwed over. (Touches wood!) But if you are determined and you want to keep going then do just that, don’t get disheartened by rejection, just see it as someone who missed an opportunity… add it to the pile of people you will laugh it when you do pick up your Pulitzer or like JK Rowling laughing at publishers like Penguin and Harper Collins who couldn’t see potential in a little book about a wizard at school. (400 million copies sold across the series and counting!)

And above all else:

Believe in yourself… there’s a fine line between confidence and smugness, which is where the editing and the criticism comes in… if you can ride that wave you will come out stronger and more able to take anything the world can throw at you.

I had begun to get used to my routine. What i try to do is write on the train on my way home, just as in the grand plan I had when I  started this blog. My other writing time would be early Saturday morning.

Although I managed to get up regularly every Saturday and sit in front of my computer, the writing part would often come slow or not at all. As I have mentioned before, I would often end up fiddling with the website, or checking my emails and Twitter. Although that was my greatest opportunity of the week for getting my writing done, it was actually my train writing that was becoming most productive. I suspect  it was because this was a more regular event anyway, and I was much more inclined to work on my writing when I was fully awake! But whatever the reason, I was finding it easier and easier to slip into a writing frame of mind every work day. I had got to the stage when 80% of the time I could simply find a seat (and not be too picky about it either), open my laptop, and just go at it. No pondering. No time wasting.

The Problem

Then something happened. I had a week off work. Great, you may think, that’s more opportunity for writing, you can get more done! Well, yes it is. But no I didn’t. My routine was centered around my journey home from work. Without that time to myself and the “mental hook” I’d programmed my brain to hang it’s writing hat on, I was doomed.

What’s worse, since I’ve been back at work I seem to have taken several steps back in terms of the effectiveness of my routine. Now I’m back to pondering, putting off, or just not doing. I have to start all over again!

Lessons

I’m sure there are lessons to be had here. Here are what I think are correct assumptions to be made:

1. Routines do work – I was getting better at writing in my allotted time.
2. Don’t break them unless you really have to. Taking a holiday from work should not have meant taking a holiday from writing!
3. It’s good to have a bit of variety in your routine as long as you’re disciplined. I’ll use an example to explain. Part of my writing routine is supposed to include writing on a Saturday morning. At home, for two hours, rather than on the train for one hour or less. If I stuck to that i would have got more writing done during my holiday (or when trains are cancelled and I have to write at home). But I have not been disciplined enough with that part of my routine, so that particular bit of brain programming was not available to me.

These are the rules as they appear to me, but some people will disagree with some if them. For example, a lot of people advocate having one place, and one place only, where they write. That’s too difficult for me though I’m afraid. I’m out if the house from 8 until 8 most days, so the train is appropriate (though hardly ideal), but not enough.

Still others might take that rule further and abolish a set routine altogether. The idea here is that if you learn to write whenever the opportunity arises rather than boxing yourself into a set routine, you are in a better position to keep on writing when the unexpected happens. I don’t really buy that either. I see the reasoning but I’m sure that would lead to no writing at all for Matt. Plus I think that habit can be a very powerful tool when used for good! And I need all the help I can get!

And right now I need your opinions! What do you think about keeping a writing routine? Is it a help or hindrance? Do you have one that works for you, and what is it? What’s the weirdest writing routine you’ve heard of?

Okay, so your first draft is done. You have written your masterpiece. You’re aware that now begins the honing and chipping to get everything just so. But you’ve read it over and read it over again, and apart from a few tweaks it seems fine. But is it really?

One thing teachers and my mother always told me when it came to editing – leave it for a bit. Of course, then it mostly applied to schoolwork – essays and their ilk, so it was not always practical to leave the work and not look at it for a while, especially if it was a last minute job! But it does help to file it away somewhere for a couple of weeks; a month if you can, and let it simmer.

The problem is you’ve had your head right in it for weeks (or months for longer projects), and you’ve completely lost your objectivity. Ideally you should be coming at it as if it’s someone else’s work (I don’tknow about you, but I always find it easier to edit someone else’s efforts), as if you are reading it for the first time. Now, it may be impossible to reach that ideal, but you can get pretty close. You will find a lot more things to change and it will be a better piece of work because of it.

I reckon the best time to do it is when you think the work is finished. Do a quick round of editing perhaps, to pick up anything obvious, and when it feels like you’re just about done, put it away. It’s not like you’re going to be twiddling your thumbs for the next month – start a new project. Keep reading, keep writing. This may go on for several rounds. I like to do one extra round just in case anyway, but if you’ve made sweeping changes, re-written whole pages, you might want to check that they still ring true after another month.

Who amongst us does something similar? How long do you leave your work for, and do you show people before or after you’ve finished editing? Are there any other ways you can think of to get that objectivity back?