Editing versus Writing

OK, so what do you do when you hit that wall during editing your book? You write of course.

Having been a lifelong "reader" I have to admit that I never imagined the amount of work that actually goes into writing a book. Let's say that the price you pay for a book will never begin to make up for the amount of work that actually goes into preparing it for you to read.

Ernest Hemingway once said “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

It's true, every line you write is yours, you bleed that story. The people are yours. You live your life in that book one conversation and one moment at a time. It becomes an extension of you. But this creates a quandary for the author, when is enough, enough?

I'm three revisions into the first book right now. Continuity is a big thing. I found a number of issues that needed to be resolved the first time around. The 2nd and 3rd amount to a lot of grammar and what I would call polishing. Just making sure you don't use the same words too much in any particular paragraphs. It is as much for me as it is wanting to give my readers the absolute best book possible.

But what happens when your eyes cross and you've downed enough alcohol and advil to stock a small, but heroic, combat unit?

You close that file and you begin anew. So here I am, about 4k words into the sequel. I have tons of ideas for the progression of the new book and it is fun to watch the characters continue to develop.

But I must get back to the original at some point.  Will the book be good? Will it welcomed and appreciated by readers? I don't know, but I know the people I have created in that book deserve the opportunity. 

Everything being said, I guess I am just rambling and recognizing the need to get back to basics and finish the first story.