Thursday, July 21, 2011

Editing Speed Bump

Please help. I need some suggestions to solve a problem.

I'm editing a big project right now, and editing always goes slower than drafting. One reason it takes so much time is because it's harder to mull over.

You see, when I write I picture the scenes in my head during the day, so by the time I actually sit down and start typing I have a strong framework to build on.

Not so when I'm editing. I don't have a typographic memory (that's like a photographic memory except with words), so it's hard to do much away from my computer.

Here's my wish: I want to find a way to take my draft with me during the day and make notes.

I loaded my draft on my phone as an eBook. That worked great except I couldn't take notes. I've tried several Android eReader applications and none of them allow notes. *sigh*

There's the low-tech solution: I could print out my scene. The downside is that I don't ever have paper with me anymore, and rarely a pen or pencil. I suppose I could buy a binder, but I'm not terribly excited about that.

Here I am, stuck trying to find a solution to a problem of my own making. Isn't that the way life is?

Since I have a blog, I thought I'd foist my problem on you ask your advice. What suggestions do you have? What have you done to overcome this problem? Even a little commiseration would be appreciated.


*Speed Bump picture by veggiefrog can be found on Flickr.


Cindy M Hogan author of Watched said...

I have my stuff on my Nook and can comment and take notes on that. What about your laptop?

Donna K. Weaver said...

I was thinking the same thing as Cindy.

James Duckett said...

You won't believe this, but I love editing by printing it out and grabbing a barrel of red ink.

There are some PDF readers that you can add notes to. I have one on my iPad that works pretty well. You can add notes, draw stuff, anything, and then it bookmarks it for easy referencing later. It is called iAnnotate. I'd be very surprised if Android doesn't have a similar program.

Or run down to Costco and drop a couple of Benjamin's on a netbook and go to town. In the long run, it would come out cheaper than printing and printing and printing.

ali said...

Hmm. I admit, I'm with James. Most of the time I print out my MS and edit by hand. I use binder clips and clip a pen onto it and go. I usually carry around 50-100 pages with me like this until I've made my way through it. Then I input the changes when I'm back on my computer.

Can you get a Kindle app on your Android? (I have an iPhone and have some good apps that allow me to do some editing, but I checked and my favorite isn't available for Android) If you used the Kindle app, you might be able to make notes or highlight or bookmark?

Sorry I'm not much help. Even tho I have a Mac laptop, an iPad and an iPhone, I still prefer to edit by hand. *shrug*

Good luck with your speedbump!

John Waverly said...

Great suggestions everyone, Thanks.

@Cindy - I've considered a Nook. I'm kinda liking only carrying around one electronic device (my phone), but I might have to go back to two.

@James - PDF readers, brilliant! I'll check those out.

@Ali - I may go with paper yet. It seems to be a very popular option, is instantly available (if I remember to bring it), incredibly flexible, and fairly cheap.

Thanks, everyone for your suggestions.

Marilyn Yarbrough said...

I hate when an idea comes to me when I'm in the car and I can't write it down (got to drive instead). I've been considering getting a dictaphone. When I was a legal secretary, we used one. The boss talked into a recorder, then gave the tape to me to trascribe/type as much as 20-25 pages of a brief. Problem is, the dictaphones can run about $250.

John Waverly said...

Marilyn - When that happens to me I use the voice recorder on my phone. Before my phone had a voice recorder option, I would call my own voice mail and leave a message. I don't know if those options will work for 25 pages of text, I've never recorded that much.

* Background image based on Night Sky theme by Ray Creations