As for not fixing everything at once, for me, it usually helps to take notes on my first read-through after it sits for a while (yes, I also advocate taking a break), and then organize my notes. While you're right that broken things are often entwined, taking on the whole thing at once is too much, so having the control to say "Today I will focus on fixing plot holes!" is important.
Sometimes, fixing one problem can cause others, but don't let that stop you! You can fix those problems later. Remember, no one's breathing down your neck and making you do this, even though it can feel like it sometimes. When it stops being fun hard work and starts just being frustrating or annoying, it's time to step back again.
For me, I usually have to step back two or three times in the editing process, to get distance and let the frustration die down. It takes me as long or longer to edit short stories as it does novels, because I need that distance no matter what.
Also, a tip: you decide what makes a draft. Since it doesn't matter how many drafts you have in the end, you can choose whether you want a draft to be "I've fixed all the problems I can see for now!" or "I fixed characterization and want that draft number to go up! Hah!"
(I use both, depending on what I'm editing!)
Ooh, second tip: from Tobias Buckell, a published author--when going through your drafts for grammar/mechanics, go backward so that the page and line in both drafts always match up.
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Date: 2010-07-16 05:55 pm (UTC)Sometimes, fixing one problem can cause others, but don't let that stop you! You can fix those problems later. Remember, no one's breathing down your neck and making you do this, even though it can feel like it sometimes. When it stops being fun hard work and starts just being frustrating or annoying, it's time to step back again.
For me, I usually have to step back two or three times in the editing process, to get distance and let the frustration die down. It takes me as long or longer to edit short stories as it does novels, because I need that distance no matter what.
Also, a tip: you decide what makes a draft. Since it doesn't matter how many drafts you have in the end, you can choose whether you want a draft to be "I've fixed all the problems I can see for now!" or "I fixed characterization and want that draft number to go up! Hah!"
(I use both, depending on what I'm editing!)
Ooh, second tip: from Tobias Buckell, a published author--when going through your drafts for grammar/mechanics, go backward so that the page and line in both drafts always match up.