this is a serious question because I'm wondering if I will ever finish the redrafting of this novel. After about two hours or so of working on the book I find myself actually nodding off at my laptop, I am so mentally drained I have to leave it for a while and detach from it completely. now I would love to know is this just me or is it something others out there have to cope with. this is day time work by the way not in the middle of the night like it used to be.
Regards Paul
My thanks to all who have replied, it gives me some comfort to know "its not just me!" and you are correct it is intensive I don't realise how long I have been working until the fatigue hits, by then too late was the cry. I suppose I need a timer that lets me know after about an hour, as when I am working, like everyone else the real world doesn't exist, nor does time. I enjoy that world just wish it would treat me the way I treat it...
Again my thanks and kind Regards Paul.
As Jonathan said, editing (and writing for that matter) is mentally intensive. Three solutions I can think of are:
1. Break up your two-hour editing block into 40 minute sessions. Stand up, go for a walk, stretch, put on the kettle... whatever you need to do to escape that rigid posture that we all end up in after long periods of concentration.
2. If you are using a laptop, try investing in an external monitor. I write on an 11-inch Macbook Air when I'm out and about (at my writing group, etc.), but at home, my Mac becomes nothing more than a hard drive. Earlier this year I bought a 24-inch external monitor, a wireless keyboard, and a wireless mouse. It set me back a couple of hundred dollars but it is by far the best investment I have made toward my writing.
3. Print out your work and do the edits on paper. This will get you away from the screen.
Two hours is a looooong time.
The problem with editing is it's mentally intensive. You're trying to spot errors in typescript, narrative flow, characterisation, timeline and a thousand other things at the same time as keeping the whole of the story so far plus how it turns out for all important characters in your mind at the same time.
You need to work only as long as you feel comfortable, then take a break. Otherwise mistakes creep in.
Believe me, it's the only way.
Best of luck :)