Revising...How Do You Do It? - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T15:40:57Zhttp://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/537324:Topic:122824?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A122847&feed=yes&xn_auth=noRevising after a year is grea…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-04-25:537324:Comment:1381722008-04-25T04:27:26.605ZJessicahttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Jessica
Revising after a year is great! You'll be coming at it from an audience's perspective rather than the author because you've been away for so long.<br />
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This is what I do - it's not the professional way or anything, it's just the method I find works best for me. (Although I have to say Mark's advise is excellent!)<br />
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When I'm revising, I look for conciseness. A reader's mind will drift if you don't keep them interested, so keeping the language clear cut and flourish-free is one method I've found…
Revising after a year is great! You'll be coming at it from an audience's perspective rather than the author because you've been away for so long.<br />
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This is what I do - it's not the professional way or anything, it's just the method I find works best for me. (Although I have to say Mark's advise is excellent!)<br />
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When I'm revising, I look for conciseness. A reader's mind will drift if you don't keep them interested, so keeping the language clear cut and flourish-free is one method I've found works. Just look for any words that don't need to be there. That's always the first thing you do, because after a few readings of it you'll be reading it from your own voice and you wont see the useless words for what they are.<br />
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Read a sentence out loud, then read it again, thinking to yourself, 'Now are there any words there that I can do without?' You'd be surprised how often people use fancy and meaningless words because they want to make their writing sound impressive; but all it does is clog up the pages and give the reader an inferiority complex.<br />
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Example: "In spite of the fact that he..." could easily be "although he".<br />
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Make every word earn it's place on the page and you'll find your writing will move a lot faster.<br />
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"It was not long before she was sorry for what she had said" - "She regretted her words" - Which was better?<br />
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After that, address characterisation. So much of a reader's interest rests on your characters engaging them. Look at each character and think, 'Did I portray him properly?', 'Can I make her violent nature clearer to the audience?' But for the love of god, don't just add a few paragraphs about each person! Don't <i>tell</i> your audience that Mary Sue is a golddigger, <i>show</i> them by dressing her in expensive clothes, or having her speak with reference to how much things cost, etc. If you simply tell a reader the information, they lose the fun of discovering a character's personality and faults for themselvs.<br />
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Once conciseness and characterisation are taken care of, address any plot holes or ommisions you might like the reader to know. Chip in little details to bring life to your settings, your props or your time period. It's the little details that turn a mediocre story into a gripping yarn.<br />
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Good luck! Books on revising/rewiritng.…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-24:537324:Comment:1326662008-03-24T03:40:35.313ZMark Troyhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/metroy
Books on revising/rewiritng. Elizabeth Lyon has a new book out "Manuscript Makeover" published by Perigee/Penguin. I'm working on a review of it now, but to every fiction writer, I say, GET IT. It's an essential for everyone facing what you're facing, a first draft and needing to revise.<br />
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Another good place for revision help is <a href="http://www.autocrit,com">www.autocrit,com</a><br />
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My approach to revising is to view it as 3-drafts after the first.<br />
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2nd draft--revise the story. Cut out…
Books on revising/rewiritng. Elizabeth Lyon has a new book out "Manuscript Makeover" published by Perigee/Penguin. I'm working on a review of it now, but to every fiction writer, I say, GET IT. It's an essential for everyone facing what you're facing, a first draft and needing to revise.<br />
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Another good place for revision help is <a href="http://www.autocrit,com">www.autocrit,com</a><br />
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My approach to revising is to view it as 3-drafts after the first.<br />
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2nd draft--revise the story. Cut out everything that isn't necessary--back story, lengthy descriptions, characters who don't amount to anything, subplots that go nowhere, seeds that didn't find fertile ground. Steven King says the second draft should be 10% shorter than the first. I do a word count and set a goal of cutting out 10% of the words. The other thing to do is reorganize the plot elements so they fit the three-act structire, so the tension continues to rise and the middle doesn't sag.<br />
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3rd draft--revise each scene for maximum impact. There's no sense revising the scenes before you revise the story because some scenes might be eliminated in the story revision. I still try to cut words, but I also look on the third draft as the time to add or increase the emotion. For me, that usually means adding sequels to the scenes. My first drafts tend to be big on scenes but lacking sequels. Sequels are where a lot of the emotion gets added.<br />
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4th draft--revise at the sentence level. There's so point in revising sentences until you have revised the story and scenes. At this point, I try to tighten the writing, eliminate weak words and anything that sounds like writing. I look at varying sentence structure and length. My overall goal, as in the previous drafts is to cut words.<br />
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I can't say I've ever been successful in accomplishing a revision in three drafts. It might take me two drafts, not one, to revise the story until I'm satisfied. It's also true that one cycle of rewriting has never been enough. My current book, which is making the rounds of publishers, is in the thirteenth draft--one first draft and three cycles of revising. I thought I read on John Scal…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-15:537324:Comment:1310732008-03-15T23:30:30.526ZJoy Calderwoodhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Dragonlily
I thought I read on John Scalzi's site that he credited his editor for making it look like he could spell. Anyway, with stories like his, long may he publish!<br />
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Have you read his ANDROID'S DREAM? I have it but haven't read it, and surely he's got something good coming up after that.
I thought I read on John Scalzi's site that he credited his editor for making it look like he could spell. Anyway, with stories like his, long may he publish!<br />
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Have you read his ANDROID'S DREAM? I have it but haven't read it, and surely he's got something good coming up after that. A lot of good advice out ther…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-12:537324:Comment:1300972008-03-12T04:00:34.655ZPatrick Balesterhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/PatrickBalester
A lot of good advice out there.<br />
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If you feel intimidated when you start revising (and I know I did!) start with something small...typos and grammer. This may seem like grunt work, but it's essential and doesn't force you to look at plot and character development (that comes later). Believe it or not Spell Checkers do not catch every typo!! I found one or two that the spell checker didn't see.<br />
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Also, some words that are spelled correctly don't necessarily belong in a sentence. "Where did he go?"…
A lot of good advice out there.<br />
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If you feel intimidated when you start revising (and I know I did!) start with something small...typos and grammer. This may seem like grunt work, but it's essential and doesn't force you to look at plot and character development (that comes later). Believe it or not Spell Checkers do not catch every typo!! I found one or two that the spell checker didn't see.<br />
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Also, some words that are spelled correctly don't necessarily belong in a sentence. "Where did he go?" is not the same as "Wear did he go?", one of my mistakes I caught.<br />
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By the time you finish this, you've re-read your entire novel without realizing it. Now, as you begin to read again, you should notice some characters who may be weak and need bulking up, or a side plot that maybe doesn't work. If you didn't have an outline before, you can always start one at this point...just to keep the storyline straight. You can even make it into a flowchart if that helps. By the time you go over it again, you will probably see some things to fix.<br />
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Good luck! I think that's good advice, g…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-10:537324:Comment:1294292008-03-10T12:47:21.865ZDana Kinghttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DanaKing
I think that's good advice, going through for specific items each time. I do it myself. One way I have of keeping my characters true to themselves after evolving throuhg the first draft is to give each character, even minor ones, their own pass through. It's a good way to keep their dialog consistent, and to incorporate little distinguishing features into Chapter 3 Ii hadn't thought of until Chapter 47 in the first draft.<br />
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I also do the one sitting thing, though it's more like a one weekend…
I think that's good advice, going through for specific items each time. I do it myself. One way I have of keeping my characters true to themselves after evolving throuhg the first draft is to give each character, even minor ones, their own pass through. It's a good way to keep their dialog consistent, and to incorporate little distinguishing features into Chapter 3 Ii hadn't thought of until Chapter 47 in the first draft.<br />
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I also do the one sitting thing, though it's more like a one weekend thing than one straight through sitting. I suggest Todd Stone's excell…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-09:537324:Comment:1293512008-03-09T23:33:18.701ZJoanna Campbell Slanhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/sunningdale
I suggest Todd Stone's excellent book, Novelist's Boot Camp. Todd suggests taking "passes" over your work. One pass might be for grammar, another for punctuation, and so on.<br />
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But I think the bigger problem is...you need to stand back and ask yourself if the book "works." That's a toughie. I try to make sure all my characters maintain their own inner logic. I read my dialog out loud because that's how I catch clunky wording. I amp up the emotions. And finally, because I'm picky, I look for…
I suggest Todd Stone's excellent book, Novelist's Boot Camp. Todd suggests taking "passes" over your work. One pass might be for grammar, another for punctuation, and so on.<br />
<br />
But I think the bigger problem is...you need to stand back and ask yourself if the book "works." That's a toughie. I try to make sure all my characters maintain their own inner logic. I read my dialog out loud because that's how I catch clunky wording. I amp up the emotions. And finally, because I'm picky, I look for inconsistencies like misspelling a character's name or putting a period after Dr Pepper. (There isn't one after the Dr)<br />
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I also think you need enough time to read your work all in one sitting because that's when you find weird stuff that doesn't make sense, but you THOUGHT it did. Or you'll see a strand you dropped. I agree with Angie. Read it a…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-06:537324:Comment:1286452008-03-06T12:10:10.219ZSusan Whitfieldhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/SusanWhitfield
I agree with Angie. Read it aloud after letting it "sit" for several months. It's amazing what you can find even though you looked at it many times. I haven't tried changing the font, but that sounds like a good idea. I also have several people I trust to read it for me and offer suggestions, find problems, etc. They often tell me I rushed the ending, so I re-read and iron out those problems before sending the novel on its way.
I agree with Angie. Read it aloud after letting it "sit" for several months. It's amazing what you can find even though you looked at it many times. I haven't tried changing the font, but that sounds like a good idea. I also have several people I trust to read it for me and offer suggestions, find problems, etc. They often tell me I rushed the ending, so I re-read and iron out those problems before sending the novel on its way. I can't read a book without a…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-24:537324:Comment:1261252008-02-24T21:40:27.740ZMargarethttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Margaret
I can't read a book without a pencil in hand. Even though it has already been published. Compulsive-obsessive, I guess.
I can't read a book without a pencil in hand. Even though it has already been published. Compulsive-obsessive, I guess. I go at it just the opposite…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-17:537324:Comment:1246112008-02-17T15:27:25.426ZJoy Calderwoodhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Dragonlily
I go at it just the opposite from the way most of you writers are describing. Speaking as a publisher/editor:<br />
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I find I can't get a realistic overall look at a book when I'm distracted by errors and less-than-perfect writing. First I go through with the correction pen, fixing spelling, punctuation, tense, construction, and awkward wording. Once the book is cleaned up, then I can read it comfortably as a whole with an eye for cutting, rearranging, and the various balances. That's when I can get…
I go at it just the opposite from the way most of you writers are describing. Speaking as a publisher/editor:<br />
<br />
I find I can't get a realistic overall look at a book when I'm distracted by errors and less-than-perfect writing. First I go through with the correction pen, fixing spelling, punctuation, tense, construction, and awkward wording. Once the book is cleaned up, then I can read it comfortably as a whole with an eye for cutting, rearranging, and the various balances. That's when I can get the feel for what's boring, what character is flat, and what soaring writing deserves to be showcased.<br />
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I wouldn't try to change a writer's approach, though. The characters, plot development, and pacing have to be your foundations, so naturally they are priority. The housecleaning comes later, when you need to it be readable to someone else. The rewrite is where books ge…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-16:537324:Comment:1244462008-02-16T18:24:21.370ZMari Sloanhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Mari
The rewrite is where books get made. Anyone can string sentences together to chart out an idea.
The rewrite is where books get made. Anyone can string sentences together to chart out an idea.