I have an inner toddler who HATES editing!

Sometimes I think that deep down inside me there is a toddler that hates to edit and she really wants to break out and make her displeasure known.

The other day I had finished my first draft of a piece and noticed that it was twice the number of words it needed to be. I didn't have a chance to be in shock or think of a solution before that little toddler wanted to throw a complete tizzy and have a meltdown. I wanted to scream, 'Noooooo! I am not going to shorten it. They will just have to deal with it as is!'

Of course I didn't actually have a physical meltdown and I did not even cry. Suddenly I felt like the parent having to explain to the toddler why that initial reaction really wasn't helpful.

So I explained to myself that words counts were in place for a reason. That a first draft is always going to be long and need editing and that there was sure to be loads of stuff that could be cut. Once edited the piece would be much better.

So the toddler sighed and sullenly agreed to scroll back to the beginning and start reading in preparation for the editing process.

So I gave myself the pep talk.... Stick to the angle… if it doesn't fit with the angle then cut it. Don't say the same thing twice ... then got to work. Of course I halved it and of course it did read better. 

There was a time years ago when I could not tame that toddler and I wrote pieces that were not tight enough and thus were not the best they could be. I think learning to tame that toddler was a turning point for me as a writer. 

Of course it may be that I am just a little bit crazy ... but then again I think that helps me as a writer too!

Do you have an inner toddler that wants to fight the editing process?