The Boxer's Brother Progresses

I mentioned in the last post, that I am on the 3rd “final edit” of the book.
I am pleased to say that I completed a full edit in record time.
I thought the book was in perfect shape after working through the previous edits. I read the manuscript several time and thought, this is as good as it will get.
I was wrong, so wrong.
During the reread, the plot and storyline flowed, but it needed sharpening and the language needed tightening. The writing was riddled with passive voice and adverbs with the author trying to be clever (notice how I distance myself.)
I realised on the previous edits that I was too close to the work and that I had fallen in love with my story. I thought it was great. I submitted the story to the Dubai Literature Festival writing competition in 2021, no dice.
At the start of 2022, I sent the manuscript to a friend with a connection in publishing circles in South Africa, and again, no interest. Demotivated, I put TBB on the shelf. I continued to plot fresh stories, and I started a new manuscript and screenplay with TBB always in the back of mind. Fast forward to today and that pressure has turned into action.
During this weeks re read, and with distance and a removed perspective, I started editing. In preparation, I listened to Sol Stein’s book: Stein On Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies.
Armed with principles and rules, I started the edit. I picked up problems right away. There were plot issues and messy writing. I decided I would edit, start to finish and had no concrete timeline in mind.  What I learned during the experience was that I can work much faster than I thought possible.

And it at this point that I will spend a moment talking about productivity in the writing process.
I’m a huge fan of CAL Newport  and listen to Cal’s podcast Deep Questions.
in episode 251: The Efficiency Trap.  

Cal poses the following question concerning productivity and efficiency.

“Productivity YouTube is filled with breathless videos about optimizing systems and squeezing every ounce of speed out of your common habits. But does all of this efficiency really end up improving the quality of the most important things you produce? In this episode Cal takes a deeper look at the different ways that productivity systems and tools can help your professional life, separating the boring but effective from the exciting but over-hyped.”

The tools I use to write are:

• Scrivener Desktop app (I also have it installed on my phone and tablet)
• Obsidian for note taking and easy search.
• Recently ProWritingAid a fancy spell check (more on that later).

I mentioned earlier that I got through the edit very quickly. Six days. This is my fastest edit to date, and here is the connection with Cal’s podcast episode. I did this edit on my phone using the Scrivener app. I edited text with the tiny phone keyboard and two thumbs.
How was it possible?

At my desk setup at home, I have the “productivity bro’s” setup that includes dual monitors, the center being a wide screen 34". I have a split keyboard that promotes ergonomics and typing speed. My mouse is a productivity ergonomic mouse with 2 scroll wheels covering 2 axis. I have a height adjustable desk (the manual one, I’m too cheap to get the motorised variant). Not to mention a menagerie of software tools that I have installed (I can feel my wife's eye-roll).  

I’m all set up for success and yet I got through a full parse of the book using two thumbs and a 14x7 cm screen.
This underscores what Cal postulates. The creative process takes as long as it takes and any efficiency made through the use of productivity technology or technique is marginal.
Of course, my eyes were wrecked after a staring at the 14x7 cm screen for the 6x4 hour sprints. I’m not advocating that you should work on an iPhone, I’m only saying that the limiting factor on speed is the author. I took weeks to do my first edit on my desktop.
The interesting take away for me is that productivity is more about motivation and time than tools and hacks. Motivation to reach a goal. Making dedicated time available for uninterrupted deep work.

How did these two factors come together this week?
I am motivated to get my book out there. This is the driving force.
I was on a business trip with uninterrupted time in transit, and in the hotel during the evenings.
These interesting insights tell me I need to focus on craft and on creating, over trying to find efficiency at the margin. Great one Cal Newport, I agree with you.

What is next for the book?
Yesterday I started a line-by-line edit with ProWritingAid. PWA is going to help me weed out the passive voice and adverbs that I miss. I also discovered how well it integrates with Scrivener and look forward to exploring the tool more.
Once I complete the line-by-line I will get the book professionally edited. I have someone in mind and more to come on that front. So stay tuned.
I wish you a great week ahead. Do subscribe to my newsletter for updates and progress on TBB.