Hemingway to the Rescue

It's been an interesting process editing a manuscript that needs doubling. It's not like I'm just going through and fixing scenes or taking out lines, I'm literally adding pages and pages. I'm taking out entire chunks and trying to find places for new parts. There's a whole new beginning and scenes that I make passing reference to in my first draft are actually going to be fully written out. It's a lot harder in some ways because I want to be writing something that is consistent with what already exists. And it's hard to keep going sometimes because a) it's confusing. I have multiple plot lines in my head. The one that currently exists, the new one I've outlined out, and ones that pop into my head as I write. b) There are times when I just want to say, "am I done yet?" That would be great if one day I woke up and found out that the manuscript had edited itself. 

Enter Ernest Hemingway to save me.

Hemingway was a genius. I mean, he was scared from war and mentally unstable but his writing was great and he knew what he was doing. He gave great advice about writing too. Here's my favorite quote: 

“The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day … you will never be stuck.” 

Something about the simplicity of the advice struck me and I really had a "duh" moment (please excuse the use of the word duh but it's appropriate in this context.) Usually when I'm writing I scene I try and go until there's a definitive end point, a place where I can stick three asterisks *** and call it a day. But lately I've realized that this is a stupid approach. Anything that you're writing after you've become uninspired or bored is useless. If you happen to finish a piece because you love it so be it. But if you don't happen to know exactly where exactly the scene is going why force something? Lately, I've been writing as much as I feel like and when the inspiration stops so do I.

How does Hemingway help me edit? I write what's good and end when it's good and throw out my confusion. I'll worry about making everything fit when I have enough to fit. But for now, as long as it's good I'll keep on writing.