Do you ever need incentives to edit?

EditingYour novel is all completed and now it’s just down to the easy peasy task of editing, right?

Well, err, I doubt many would describe it that way.

I find the initial writing to be the easier task, and the editing process to be much slower going.

That’s why I like to look at photos like this … remembering when I look at creative ways to kick-start the process. Here I was on the Italian island of Elba before the start of the summer season. The weather was sunny but still cool, and I had this pretty beach to myself.

I can remember how nice it was sitting on this lounge chair with not another soul in sight as I began the editing process of my manuscript.

Sadly, I can’t always manage a peaceful escape (or should I say exile?) to Elba, but I often find ways to make the start of an editing process less scary.

I take my projects out to my mountain escape and start work surrounded by my beloved Apennine mountains with all that fresh, invigorating mountain air, I carve a little time away on some vacation, or I simply choose a well-placed bench in one of my favorite parks.

It seems (mostly) to work for me. And you, writers? What are your tricks for kick-starting your editing?

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