Revision—is it a blessing or a curse? Do you dread changing
anything? Do you resist murdering your darlings—those words that seem to be a
piece of exceptionally fine writing? Are you clinging to them like a sailor to
a life raft? Elmore Leonard put it pretty succinctly when he said he just left out
the boring parts. (Cutting speeds the pace.)
Kristen Fulton, non-fiction writer and founder of WOW, said that
before her critique group sees it, she’s probably done 30-40 revisions of a
manuscript! Before her agent sees it, she’s probably done close to 100. Wow!!!!
Creating ideas,
crafting clever titles, concocting characters, now that's fun.
"Revision" seems so serious. So let's revise our thoughts
on "revision" as we march into 2015. We’ll share wise words from some favorite writers and some links for those on the revision quest!
Our writer friend, Dianna Ashton gave us
a delicious new metaphor for revision. Think of it
as baking. She confessed to the GROG that for her newest book,
there were so, so, so many revisions. You gotta bake batches of cupcakes
before the batter is delectable!
Dianna's Advice
for revision? Do it. Do it
again. Then do it again. In between revisions, put the manuscript away for a
few days. Let it “bake.” Then come back to it with fresh eyes. Revise. Bake
again. You may think it’s perfect before revising, but it’s not. You’ll
be able to see how to improve it after you’ve let it bake a few times.
Another writer friend, Miranda Paul shared
her process with us, too. Miranda said, “I write first drafts mostly on notebook paper,
then eventually get around to typing it up.
Occasionally, an entire manuscript writes itself in my head first—in those
cases, I go straight to the computer and type like a madwoman, thankful for the
gift from my muse.
Once a story is
typed, I have this quirky method where I use the default font while
it's still what I consider a working draft. When it's a solid
manuscript ready for a closer eye, I change the font to Times New
Roman for "revision" or "editorial" mode. After a round
of on-screen edits, I always print out the manuscript, take
it to a new location, and slash word count (for picture books) or scan
meter (if rhyming). Then I put the changes into the computer and walk
away. More of Miranda’s process can be found at her top 10 tips Miranda has several books in the
pipeline including the inspirational nonfiction picture
book ONE PLASTIC BAG out in Feb. 2015!
Revise with new
eyes and motivation by joining these groups and checking out these links:
1. Meg Miller’s ReviMo Jan. 11-17, 2015
2. Julie Hedlund’s 12 Days of Christmas emailseries
Here’s to fun with
revision and creating that picture perfect manuscript in 2015! Cheers to
writing, friends! We'd love it if you shared your favorite revision tips in the comments, too.
Love all the tips here today. I definitely have a love/hate thing for revision. I love the puzzle of it all but hate when I'm having to wait for those right words and thoughts that polish a manuscript. Thanks for including Writing in Reverse to your links! I appreciate that :-)
ReplyDeletePenny, I am w/you. I love and hate revision,too. I am stuck right now w/a MC's motivation and can't get it to go anywhere. Ugh!
DeleteI actually enjoy revising. I just never know when I'm done! lol. :-) Thanks for the great article and resources!
ReplyDeleteGood for you. It is hard to stop a story when one is at the "tinkering" stage!
DeleteExcellent hints to prepare us for ReviMo. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteJarm, I am ready for ReviMo.
DeleteGreat tips and websites Kathy and Sherri! Thank you! Well done!
ReplyDeleteHugs to you, Pam.
DeleteFun post, Kathy and Sherri! I enjoyed reading all the interview tips.
ReplyDeleteTina, thanks for the support.
DeleteDear Kathy,
ReplyDeleteThis is Lovely.
I'm on deck for the picture book revision week 2015. It will be my first. How about you?
Vision is a great word and for me, reVision is even a stronger, vibrant term.
Going back into what I've written - whether it's up in my neurons (a title or something e-z to remember!), or I've gotten it down with a pencil/pen, or if the work is at the keyboard - reVision is a treat for me. I think I luv it so because I give time in between/ as much as possible. Maybe a day, maybe a week, maybe more - it depends on the piece & the contest/submission deadline.
Thanks for this article!
Happy New Year, too,
Jan
Yes, jan, I am doing ReviMo. Revision is hard for me which is why I am concentrating on it.
DeleteKathy & Sherri: Revising and editing, as you well know, is a necessary step to make our writing the best it can be. So, knowing that, I focus on the positive of the revision process to move a story to where it needs to be. As my students always said, "Now it is time to make this revised copy the final, best, published copy!" Outstanding tips from Amanda, Dianna, Kristen and both of you. Let's all write more and revise more in 2015. ~Suzy
ReplyDeleteSuzy, thanks for the communes and for being our cheerleader.
Delete