Sono fuori di testaaaaa … editing

To borrow from the (catchy) winning performance by the Italian (Roman, to be precise) band Måneskin at the 2021 Eurovision contest: Sono fuori di testaaa (I’m out of my mind).

Mine, however, is not twenty-something existential angst about not being able to adequately express my individuality in a world that constantly pressures me to conform.

Mine is much more banal – a battle with words and editing.

A struggle shared by writers around the world.

I’m always super excited about the writing phase of a project. I happen to be a quick writer, which is beneficial at the first stage of a novel project because I can pound out the words quickly and feel a great sense of accomplishment as the word count ticks rapidly upwards.

And then, And then…

Here’s where the young Italian rockers and I experience a meeting of the minds, because in the editing phase I really am out of my mind. I know that others revel in this phase, but for me it never fails to drive me crazy.

Rewriting, cutting scenes. Rewriting yet again. Rinse. Repeat.

At least after Italy’s dramatic win in the last Eurovision contest, I have a (catchy) new anthem to accompany me as I suffer throughout my editorial torture phase….

Sono fuori di testaaaaa!

Good luck surviving edits to all my fellow writers…