It has been a while since I talked about writing on the blog. I don’t know if you remember it, but I mentioned, in my October Wrap-Up, that I would try to edit the WIP I finished writing in September. It’s now November 26th and here is what happened.
I opened my Word document one time. Read the first couple lines. Closed the Word document, turned off my computer and went to find some chocolate to eat. The Word doc hasn’t been opened since then. I haven’t written any single word, nor have I managed to open the Word doc again.
I have never edited a single thing and I think I am paralyzed by fear. Of not knowing where to start, of it having no sense at all, or just of… well, not knowing why I should bother. Would anyone want to read this story, even when it’s edited. It is worth the trouble? Am I even a real writer if I can’t edit anything?
I think I ask myself too many questions and put way too much pressure on myself. Also, maybe I wasn’t, or maybe I am not quite ready to edit just yet. A couple days ago, on the train back home from work with nothing left to read, I let my fingers hover on the PDF file I put on my e-reader, strangely titled “Unknown”. It was my WIP and I didn’t open it. But I felt like I WANTED TO and like it wasn’t too much of a massive thing to do. Just try and read this thing.
To this day, I still haven’t read my WIP and I still haven’t edited a thing. Yet, I did a thing, WIP-related. A little while ago, I did my WIP aesthetics and it reminded me of how much I love my story. The past couple weeks, I have been working on my main characters’ aesthetics, in the hope that this will give me inspiration to get back to it all.
Today, I wanted to share these with you, hoping you’ll love them at least a little bit. There are four main characters in this story, they are my little gang of favorites. Also, I know Keely’s one is bigger, it’s just, she’s my main character.
All of these pictures were found thanks to Pinterest and Tumblr.
Keely
Lyna
Jamie
Noah
What do you think of my aesthetics? Do you do characters’ aesthetics, or just general aesthetics for your WIP?
Did you ever edit something? Does it take time for you to get into it all?
If you did NaNoWriMo: how are things going?! Let me know in comments!!
Ahh this sounds like the worst thing ever. HHaha, I’ve never finished a novel (but hoping too this November!) and right now I have a massive urge to just EDIT EVERYTHING. because my WIP is messy as heck! But I haven’t finished yet so i know I have to keep on writing. I’m planning on leaving my WIP after it’s done for about a month and then in 2018 I am planning on edits. Becuase I’ve never editied, I have no advice apart from wait until you think you are ready. PLUS I LOVE THE CHARACTER AESTHETICs
I’m rooting for you!! I hope you’ll manage to finish your novel and edit everything in 2018 🙂
Thank youuuu SO MUCH, I’m so glad you liked the aesthetics, I spent way too much time on these hahaha.
Okay, I can completely relate to this. I wrote my first full manuscript last November and I basically didn’t look at it again until JUNE—the thing that finally made me open it? I (crazily) bid on a charity auction to have my book read by an editor at Penguin. It was the scariest thing ever but it was just what I needed because it FORCED me to open that darn WIP and actually work on it! I ended up getting some fantabulous feedback—but now I’m avoiding again and wrote a whole other book instead of editing. Um, oops! I’m going to get back to it in December, I swear! 🙂
Oh THANK YOU, Nicole, your comment made me feel so much better, ahah. <3 I think I maybe need that as well, someone to just force me to get back into it. Alone, I feel like I can't do it ahah. <3
Also, you managed to write another boooook so that's pretty cool, you should be proud 😛
thank you so, so much for sharing your thoughts on the topic! <3 <3
I can 100% relate to this – I have also never managed to edit a novel, and I genuinely don’t know where to start! It’s so terrifying D:
I’ll let you know if I do manage to find some way of getting started – but for now I’m stuck at the “determinedly refusing to open the word document” phase 😉
Ahah thank you, I’m glad I’m not the only one 😛 We might need a little push, just… someone to scream at us to just open the damn word doc and get started 😛
Your aesthetics are just beautiful! <3
I have edited quiet a few things and just starting is the hardest part for me. Once I start editing something I just keep pushing on until I'm finished. But having a complete work unedited in front of me intimidates me. So when I start I feel better about it, though getting the motivation to start is the hardest part of it.
I hope that you will have inspiration to get back to your story soon! <3 🙂
Oh thank you so much for your words of support, Anna, this means so much to me <3
I guess getting started has to be the hardest part – I just need to find the courage to open the word doc and read and everything. For now, it still feels pretty daunting, I'm hoping the feeling will go away soon ahha 🙂
Awnn courage ma chérie !! ??❤️ I’m sure your editing will come soon ! 😀 I loved your characters aesthetics btw 😀 And dont be afraid if you havent touched anything yet TELL YOURSELF ITS OKAY U GONNA DO A TERRIFIC JOB ?????
TRANG, THANK YOU YOU ARE THE BEST ?❤️?❤️ Your support means so much to me, I need to have you as my official cheerleader ahah ❤️
Goddaaaaaaamn!! I love your aesthetics!! They are so freaking awesome. I have been in a writing slump for a long time and this sounds like a great advice, I have to try it for myself.
Thanks Marie. And I hope you can get back to your WIP soon! <3
Aww thank you SO MUCH, Poulami, I’m SO glad you liked these ❤️ doing aesthetics are giving me a bit of inspiration for sure, I think this might work for you, you should try 😀
Ahh I love aesthetics! They always make me feel super motivated to start writing. 🙂
YAY! They’re so much fun to make as well, even if…well, it takes hours 😛
I fell in love with your characters solely based on your aesthetics, so I think you did a great job with those ? Your characters just seem so loveable and I hope we’ll find out more about them one day! ??
That said EDITING IS DAUNTING AND TERRIFYING. Last week I suddenly decided to edit my draft, which wasn’t even finished yet, and it actually kinda felt good? Though the plot holes and underdevoloped things did freak me out a bit, it also gave me a sense of purpose and made me excited to write again.
Maybe you need to leave your draft alone for a little while longer and write something else in the meantime? Whatever you decide to do, try not to give into your insecurities too much. Maybe it’s not as good as you imagined it YET, maybe there are plot holes and there are still things you need to work on, but remember that it’s a first draft and it doesn’t need to be perfect. From all your blog posts about your WIP it sounds like you really love this WIP, and that’s the important thing. Just put all your love into this book and I’m sure it will turn out great. Just don’t give up because I’m sure all of us here are dying to read your book, I know I am! ❤️
MICHELLEEEEEE what, you are way too sweet you’re going to make me cry, thank you!! I’m so glad you loved these aesthetics <3 <3
You're right – I really think what I need to work on the most, is my own insecurities, ahah. I don't know where I should be going, I don't know what I should be doing, really, and that's what scares me the most. Once I manage to get into it, I think I'll be okay?! I love that you mentioned that editing gave you a great sense of purpose, it's definitely what I want. I'm still waiting to get the…. the little moment to get into it, I guess, ahah. That last little push. THANK YOU for your words of encouragement, this means SO MUCH ?❤️?❤️
Great post Marie, and oh I hope you manage to get started on editing your WIP soon. In my mind editing is just going back through and re-writing what you’ve already written which I kind of do as I’m writing anyways, but I also know there’s more to it than just that so I’m regretting having to do it myself when NaNo is over. 🙂
I LOVE your aesthetics. I think just based on them Jamie is my favourite character at the moment, but I’d probably identify with Noah the most. I do aesthetics for all aspects of my WIPs, I’ve shared the characters one but I also have story ones and world building ones and just everything you can think of. I love aesthetics so it’s kind of any excuse to create one. 😀
I hope creating these helps you get in the mood to do some editing. I’ll wish you luck, and again great post Marie! 😀 <3
Oh thank you so much, Beth! <3 <3 I already have done a whole lot of rewriting with this as well, probably why I am daunting trying to rewrite all the things and seeing where the problems are ahah.
Oh thank you so much, so happy you liked these aesthetics! I couldn't choose, they're all my favorites ahah, but Noah is pretty great 😛
It's so great that you are doing so many aesthetics, I feel like I need to do them more, maybe? It's very inspiring, I love to, even if it takes me AGES to put one together ahah.
Thank you for all of your support! <3 <3
That’s all right! 😀 <3 I guess starting something again, even if it's something you've already written and re-written a few times, is always a little daunting. Just gotta get past that first hurdle and hopefully the rest will be easier.
I love all your aesthetics, I can't wait to hear more about your WIP, if you choose to share more that is.
Most of the time I do aesthetics as a way of procrastinating but still working you know? I feel like I've done work on my WIP but in reality I've been browsing on Pinterest for pretty pictures. 🙂
That's all right! 😀 <3
Ahah, Pinterest IS the devil. You think you’re working, you feel like you’re getting all the words written, but…you’re not ahahah.
You could say aesthetics count as research for your WIP, and even if you’re not writing you’re still getting work done. That’s what I tell myself at least! 😀
Yes, that’s what I’m telling myself as well ahah 😛
I hate editing! Coming up with ideas is so much fun – as soon as I’ve written something I want to dive right into the next project!
But go easy on yourself – every first draft is crap, it’s just a writing law. And it’s natural to need to take some time away from something you’ve put so much of your heart into. In fact, that’s the best thing you can do – time and space give you perspective, and allow you to look at your writing in a different way. So, let yourself work at the pace that feels right, and give yourself time to reflect and space to muse. And again, all first drafts are diamonds in the rough!!
Thank you so, so much for your sweet words and support, this really helps! <3
I feel like I have to do everything really, really fast ahah, I need to remind myself that its okay to be slow at this thing. As long as I'm trying? 🙂
thank you again! <3 <3
OMG I laughed so hard at the text parts of the aesthetics of the guys! Don’t worry about not being able to edit yet and DEFINITELY don’t worry about no one wanting to read it. WE WANT TO READ IT! You can be sure of that. When I finished break-up buddy and miraculously managed to read through it again, I was like “this is cheesy bullshit times 1239295248 and it will never amount to anything” but my cousin didn’t have the same reaction at all. She said “Does it need work? Yes. But just look at what you did. You wrote an entire book. It has a start, middle and end. How many people can say they did that?” So, I want to say the same thing to you now. Take your time. People work on one book for years and that’s totally fine. You are awesome and so will be your story! 😀 <3
I just saw these when I was researching on Tumblr / Pinterest and… well, somehow it just clicked with their personalities SO much ahahah. I think I should do aesthetics with texts like that only. I find that it inspires me more for my characters than just pictures, somehow 😛
Your cousin is SO INCREDIBLE. Can we share her or something??! She’s so supportive of your writing, this is so cool. And her advice is on point, thank you so much for sharing this, you’re so right, I need to remember that I did something already and that’s pretty good ahah 😛 <3
I love the idea! It gives the aesthetics that extra kick!!
She is the best of the best! 🙂 I’ll ask her if she will adopt you as another cousin haha but yes, please always remember how much you’ve already accomplished.
Hahaha yes PLEASE ask her, that’d be the dream hahaha 😛
I’ve never done aesthetics, I just think about them, but this is super cute! I think it really helps imagining the characters and developing them! As always, amazing post, Marie! Thank you so much! x
It helps a lot and it is REALLY inspiring for when you want to write 🙂 I hope you’ll try it out sometime! thank you so much for your sweet comment!! <3
“I opened my Word document one time. Read the first couple lines. Closed the Word document, turned off my computer and went to find some chocolate to eat.” <-i've never related more to a sentence in my life
OKAY BUT YOUR AESTHETICS??!!???! THEYRE. SO. BEAUTIFUL.
also i'm just letting you know that i'm getting geeky vibes off noah and now he is totally mine and i'm not sharing. wow when will he be in my life???
This sentence sums up my whole writing life, to be honest, hahahaha.
AWWWWWWW THANK YOU, that’s so, so sweet of you to say, I am so happy you like these!! And YES for the geeky vibes, Noah is such an adorable little bean I hope you will LOVE HIM if you ever read about him. You’re too sweet thank you!!! <3 <3
Your character aesthetics are so beautiful, Marie!!! And please don’t tell yourself that nobody would want to read your book because based solely on your aesthetics, it seems like a book I’d be very interested in reading! ?
I hope you manage to get to the editing part, I know how hard it can be! Right now I’m at the phase where I’m searching for ideas to write and it’s pretty exciting because so far, I’ve gotten some, but I know that the writing/editing parts will be tedious! Hope you manage because I know you can do it! ❤
Oh thank you so, so much, that’s so sweet of you to say <3 <3 I hope you'll be able to read it someday (and like it!!) <3
Searching for ideas and getting into the writing is the best part – I love it so much. I guess maybe editing will be fun as well…once I manage to get into it ahah 🙂
Thank you so much for your sweet words and your support <3 <3
I’m patiently waiting for you to get your book published, so that I can read it and adore it (I’m sure ‘like’ will not be able to describe my feels).
Hahaha, indeed! I trust you that you will get into it soon! ??
Anytime you need it!!!
Awwwwwwww you, thank you!!! <3 <3 <3
Totally understandable! I wrote a short story book with 12 stories, tons of characters and heavy dialogue. I’m doing my own editing and I have wanted to give up many times, but after pushing myself I’m in the final stages and just about ready to publish! I will admit that after the stories were written or rather completed. Since editing, I’ve re-written, some stories, rearranged events, etc. It has been stressful, but exciting at the same time. I’ve also questioned how people would receive my work and if they will enjoy it as much as I do. I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t worry about that anymore. There will be people who like it and people who don’t and that’s okay! A great writer just writes. You must have confidence in your gift and let it speak for itself. Best wishes on your book, I know it will be great!
Oh thank you so, so much for sharing your thoughts and for your words of support <3 I hope everything will go well once I decide to edit and everything, but you're giving me hope that it will ahah thank you 🙂
I love your character’s Aesthetics and I would love to know more about them. It sounds like an interesting read. I hope you finish it soon! 🙂
Oh thank you! I hope so too ahah 😀 <3
Marie, so brave as always! <3 I need space from my work to edit. So yeah I put it away and take a break… some writers need less time that others… it really doesn't help to compare EXACT habits as each writer is different in ways… STILL I believe you will be able to edit when your heart knows it is the right time for you! You had a space before you finished it so that may be just the type of writer you are… Looking back at yourself can help you make realistic goals for yourself to improve while realizing some things are just you. Since finishing is the BIGGEST BATTLE and you TOTALLY conquered that mountain I think you are SUPER capable of conquering the EDITING mountain too!! ❤️ I loved your characters aesthetics btw (YOU REALLY HAVE A VISION FOR THEM!)
Thank you so, so much for your sweet words of encouragement, Dani, this means SO much to me and actually makes me feel better, just as well. It’s so hard not to compare with what other writers do, and since I’m fairly new at editing things, it’s also hard to know where to start, alone. You’re right, I should try and listen to my heart, it’ll probably tell me when I’m ready to edit?! Let’s hope so! 🙂
THANK YOU! I’m so glad you loved the aesthetics, this makes me so happy!! <3
Oh Marie, I hope you’ll be able to get the courage to edit your WIP soon!! I think that taking a break from it is really the best way to approach it, but opening that document back up again is going to be super intimidating! I’ve never really edited a FULL NOVEL, but I have edited a few chapters? What helps me most is I print the whole document out and read the whole thing once. I usually make like tiny little edits (typos and grammatical errors) and take a few notes, but that’s it. And I feel like THAT’S the step you have to get to first in order to feel brave enough to tackle the rest, because once you get that, you’ll probably start getting excited about your story again and spot some things you want to improve??? I don’t know what I’m really getting at with this ramble hahaha. Take your time, lovely!! I am 100% that one day you’ll find the courage to finally start edits, but don’t push yourself. <3 <3
I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE your character aesthetics??? All your characters seem amazing and exactly the type of people I'd read about?? I just LOVE THEM ALL already and I haven't even read the book yet. 😛
Good luck, my love!! I'm sure you'll figure out everything, and if not, we're always here for you. <3
Your ramble is actually helping a lot, May! I’ve been thinking about printing out my whole story and seeing it in a new,different way since it will be printed. It’s quite long, but well… maybe it’d help me to read it that way? Thank you so much for your advice!! <3
AWWW REALLY?? That's so, so sweet of you to say, I'm so glad you could love my characters just like that – I hope the book won't disappoint ahah <3
THANK YOU again!! <3 <3
Ahh don’t worry- editing is hard!! You’re still a writer! It’s just a tough hurdle to overcome. My advice would be not to worry about editing it the first time round- just try doing a readthrough and maybe write some notes on anything you’d like to change. Also when you do edit you can always save as new documents (which is what I do) so that you can always go back to older versions. I hope that helps in some small way.
I love your aesthetics- they’re so cool!!
Thank you so, so much, this does help A LOT! I think I should re-read everything first without trying to put some pressure on me. Everytime I think about opening the document, somehow it makes me feel all the editing pressure ahah. I need to chill and try and read it…normally, without thinking too much, I guess? ahah.
Thank you so much for your advice, you’re the best! <3
You’re welcome! I’m so glad that helps!! 😀 Yeah I think that’s a really good idea- don’t worry too much about the editing, just enjoy it- it’s your creation after all! hehe definitely do that.
You’re very welcome!! <3
Yeah, editing is hard 🙁
You’re not alone. Before this month started I planed to focus the month on editing my WIP. Instead my experience turned out much like you. I read through the document, but not much else. Eventually I decided to make my goal for this month getting back into blogging by writing a post every week. This goal, at least, was accomplished.
I ended up taking a break by writing and editing a short story I previously had no intention of writing. Editing it is encouraging me to take another look at my WIP when I finish. After all, what is a novel if not a long collection of short story-like chapters? 🙂
I think in some ways editing is like writing: you need to take it one word, one sentence, and one page at a time. Looking at an entire novel and thinking “I need to edit this whole thing” is just too overwhelming. But, maybe that’s just me 😉
Good luck getting back into edits! <3
Thank you so, SO much for your comment, Jacqueline, this is so encouraging. I think I have a bad habit of looking at the whole thing, the whole 100+ pages Word document and just freaking out. I should try and take it chapter by chapter, maybe it would work better ahah 🙂
Thank you so, so much! <3 <3
You’re welcome!
Yeah, I think that was my problem too. I’m just about done with my edit of this short story and can’t wait to apply what I learned to my manuscript.
I wish you luck! <3
Thank you so much! Best of luck to you too <3
You too <3
Hello Marie <3
These are beautiful aesthetics! I am glad to get to know your characters a bit better. I love every one of these aesthetics, but I think I can relate the most to Lyna, because I can sense that she has a creative side?!
I know that feeling of being overwhelmed- don't worry, I've been there too, and you're not the only one who have felt that way. You've finished writing your story and that's a big accomplishment! It's perfectly fine to not want to dive into editing right away. I think taking a longer amount of time before editing might be good- by the time you get back into it, you will be able to see your project with fresh eyes. 🙂 One day you will feel curious about the story that you wrote, and that might be a good time to get back into it!
Wishing you all the best with this project, Marie!
Oh thank you so, so much, Sophie, I’m so glad you like the aesthetics there <3 <3
I think so – I really feel like I need to do something else, launch myself into a new project or something, just… really forget about it for a while, ahah 🙂
Thank you!! xx
You’re welcome 🙂
Who knows? Maybe you will stumble upon a muse real soon, whether it is for your recent WIP or for a new one 🙂 Sending you positive vibes! <3
I hope so! Thank you so much <3 <3
Noah’s aesthetic is life. *o* I want to know more about this book.
As for your editing fear/slump, it is hard to gather the courage to face your work and possibly some mistakes of the first draft. It is only human to want to be perfect on the first go. All you need to do is take the first step and your legs will guide you to where you need to go.
Lovely post. The aesthetics are fantastic. ❤
Awwwwww Alyssa, your comment really, really made my day, thank you SO much! I’m so glad you liked this aesthetic <3 <3
I haven't been talking a lot about my WIP so far, but maybe I will soon? If you'd like to know more? 😛
Thank you for your words of encouragement, this means a lot. I really need to take the first step and try to get into this <3 <3
I am so glad I could make your day. vuv
I would love to know more about your WIP (especialliy Noah ?)!
You are very welcome. First steps are usually hard, but after that, it usually is a breeze! ❤
NOAH IS MY FAVORITE. I might be a bit biased here hahaha. I hope I can talk more about it all when I get back to writing and editing it then 😀 thank you so much for your support <3
You are welcome! I cannot wait to learn more about Noah. XD
Hahaha, I’ll tell you more someday 😛