Getting Down to the Nitty Gritty

Writing a novel is like taking laps around a circular track. When I've completed that first draft, I cross that finish line doing a happy dance, fists pumping the air, smiles all around. Yahoo! I did it!
 
Then I start all over again.
 
Rewrites are essential and seemingly endless. I take my manuscript round and round the writing track, lap after lap, developing characters, planting bespoke clues, ripping out sentences, inserting setting descriptors, tightening the pace, and honing a much better read after each rewrite. I pass that final rewrite on to my beta readers and digest their feedback with humility.
 
Then I start all over again.
 
After embedding changes based upon beta readers’ opinions, I get down to the nitty gritty. This last lap around the writing track is a tedious journey involving overused words. Eighty words that pop up all to often in our manuscripts diluting the strength of our writing. Filler words (just, since, that, then, somehow, while, etc.), gesture words (watched, saw, turn, walk, sat down, stood up, etc.) “be” words (was, were, had, have, be, been, could, would, etc.) and those dreaded adverbs ending in “ly.” I spend several days in a find and replace mode that involves deleting words, rewriting sentences, or finding alternate descriptors for all eighty words. Face it, I’m tired of this manuscript. I want to move on to the next story in the series, but I slog through this nitty gritty task, so my readers have the best story possible.
 
Then I start all over again.
 
This time, the stadium lights are dim. I’m taking a slow walk around the circular track. It’s a final read from start to finish where I pick up the odd typo, make some minor tweaks, but pretty much just enjoy the story. It is my favorite lap around the track. I quietly cross the finish line and offer up a smile of satisfaction. I’ve done my best with this manuscript.
 
I hope my readers enjoy the story as much as I did.