Going back to pre-school
So, I had a stellar night of revisions the other night–49 pages, boo-yah! 
Of course, I’m paying for it now. I’ve always known the ending of this book needed work, but I never really understood just what needed to be done. I was plodding along last night at a nice stable pace of 5 pages when I read a bit more and discovered I had repeated myself. 
I am now going to try something completely different. I am going back to the pre-school for writers. I actually sat down in my classroom today, armed with construction paper, scissors, and glue. I also had the last 5 chapters of my book printed in landscape-style (Aside: I like printing my pages in a book format when I’m revising because I can read faster and I can see the larger flaws faster).
Anyway, I’ll admit there’s something liberating about scissors and glue. I could never do this with an entire novel, but for a section of about 65 pages, it’s very doable. I cut out scenes that I planned to keep, and I glued them down on bright red construction paper. I cut out bits of dialogue I liked, and made one big “trash” heap on another student desk. I’m almost afraid to see how much I cut out, but on the other hand, the stuff I’m keeping is solid. I also made notes about which scenes I need to add that I don’t have.
Next step: reconstructing it all. I’ve decided that the best way to move forward is to take my current 284 pages and save them as a separate file. I finished cutting and gluing one chapter today and tonight I’m going to retype it from scratch. As I retype it, I’m going to layer it with the description and emotion it needs. I also have two new scenes to write. 
I made some pretty critical mistakes in this book, but they are fixable. I also wrote a lot of wasted scenes. Maybe I’ll use them in another book someday, but they don’t belong here. I think one of the toughest aspects of cutting scenes is the knowledge that I’ll have to write new ones to replace them. I dread that. But maybe, somehow I’ll learn from this.
In other news, two of my friends Stephanie Tyler and Larissa Ione just sold their first books within days of each other! Way to go!:dance: I just love hearing good news like that. It keeps me hopeful for my own dreams.
For those of you who write, what’s your revision process?
Michelle posted in Writing @ 7:13 pm | Viewed 1164 times
Stacy Says:
Good for you on your efforts! Revisions are hell no matter what but it really sounds like you are making good ones.:shocked:
April Alsup Says:
My revision process is… slow. Just slow. Good luck, sounds like you’re making a lot of headway!:wave:
Bonnie Ferguson Says:
Woo Hoo on the 49 pages, Michelle!!! :headspin:
Peggy Says:
I revise and edit as I go, and still go back later and make sure I add enough descriptive to bring the scene alive, making a list of words and descriptions to use. I do better adding emotion after the first draft then I get a much better feel of my characters thoughts.
Kelly Says:
49 pages??!! Holy! Awesome page count. Woo hoo! And congrats to your friends. What a thrill that must be!
Stephanie Says:
That’s awesome, Michelle! And very creative, too : ) The revision process is a real bear, isn’t it? I tend to revise a lot as I write, and when I’m done the book, I revise it twice more, cutting out sections that don’t work, adding in color and depth. The hardest part is trying your best to be objective and cut what really doesn’t belong. Sounds like you are doing great on that front. Congrats!
kacey Says:
Cut and paste, huh? Isn’t it hard to find the sections on the computer then to move them all around?
Rene Says:
Nothing fancy for me. I generally will revise the first couple of chapters after I write them then continue with the rest of the book. When I’m done, I start another WIP then go back and start revising. I just read, correct, delete, add. That’s about it.
BTW, I told my son if he finished his homework he could choose something to cook for dinner Tuesday night and I’d teach him. He was very excited by this prospect but “lost” his homework and didn’t find it until bedtime last night.
We will try again next week.
Melissa Says:
Before I begin editing, I pinpoint what I need to do and then keep those ideas in mind as I go through the entire novel. I start at the beginning and just take it sentence by sentence. It takes awhile, but it seems to work!
Emma Sinclair Says:
I’m in the midst of being frozen with edits right now. And they’re big ones - like the entire “why” of the story.
The writing is solid (Thank God!) so the “how” part of the book is good, but I’m still stuck on the major eits.
I love your cut and paste idea but since my problem is with the entire book I don’t think it’d work for me.
Margery Says:
My revision process - a lot of swearing and copious amounts of chocolate.:chocolate: And if I liked the taste of alcohol, I’m sure that would be involved, too.
MaryF Says:
Yeah, mine’s like Margery’s
Good luck, Michelle!
Steph T. Says:
Thanks for the congrats!!!! I’m hoping YOUR sale is just around the corner…:dancingfool:
And your revision process sounds like mine - I put in all this great stuff, read ahead and realize that I’d DONE that already, and then it’s cut/paste/layer. *sighs* In the end, it’s worth it, but it’s messy getting there.:fryingpan:
Amy K. Says:
My process is similar to yours…but without the scissors and paste.:popcorn:
I do the same kind of thing in Excel, but I only deal in scene chunks. I color code them by either “good-to-go,” “needs some revision” or “delete.” That way I can’t actually SEE how much I lose. lol Denial works for me.