Hello! It’s
been a while, but I am here! Quick update for my sake; after 7 months of being
unemployed, I finally have a new job! It’s a replacement position, so I don’t
know how long it will last, but it’s something! It’s also, for the moment, part
time, which means, I still have time to write. Yay me!
The thing
is, I’ve been mostly focusing my efforts on revising my completed manuscript.
Let me tell you, revision is a bitch, especially if you don’t know what the hell
you are doing. I was one of those clueless people. I used to write long ass,
novel length fanfiction (yes, I admit it) and my editing and revising process
was this: skim through the chapter, once all typos are corrected, hit post. Not
a good idea. Amazingly, I had a few fans of my writing, but it could have
benefitted from serious overhauls. Now I know better.
I combed
the internet’s many writing blogs, read a writing book or two, and even took a
Writer’s Digest Webinar on revising and editing. All taught me basically the same
steps. And all of them said everyone has a different way of approaching the
dreaded stage of revisions. Here is how I approached it:
1. I set my printed manuscript aside for a month. I didn’t look at it. I didn’t read
it. I refused to think about it. Get it out of your system. Catch up on your
reading. Start writing something else. Watch some movies. Go have a life. It
really did help because when I did get back to it, everything was fresh again.
2. I read through it in one sitting. This is helpful to see the big picture. Of
course, all those little errors glared at me with a vengeance, but I resisted
the urge to correct them. I made note of them, but didn’t fix them on the spot.
Instead, I focused on the plot, the characters, the structure of my manuscript.
Was there enough tension in each scene? Did each scene move the story forward?
Was every character needed? Could I combine one character with another? Did the
conflict make sense? Did I start the story in the right place? I took note of
everything I needed to change (i.e. rewrite or cut).
3. I made the necessary changes. Some of it was painful. I cut out a lot. Let
me tell you now, do all this in a copy of your document. You might want to
reverse some changes. After tackling the big changes, I got to the little ones.
4. I tightened my manuscript. At this stage, a lot more got cut. Here are some of the little things I
looked for, (fixing these can make a big difference):
a. Over directing. These are sentences like this:
She reached for the door knob, turned it, and pushed open the door.
Make your
life easier and just write:
She opened the door.
b. Repetition/over explaining. These are two sentences in a row that basically
say the same thing. For example,
Her eyes drooped and she stifled a yawn. She was so tired.
Cut the telling one (She was so tired). You don’t need it. People are smart. They’ll get what you’re trying to say.
An example of over explaining:
She wore high heels on her feet.
Well, duh. Where else is she going to wear them? Same goes with gloves and hands, hats and heads, etc.
c. Telling. You
all know the show don’t tell advice. Here’s a simple one to get rid of:
“I hate you!” she screamed in anger.
Get
rid of the “in anger” part. Heck, you could even get rid of the “she screamed”
part depending on what happened before that sentence. Like I said, readers are smart;
they’ll know if she’s angry. (Showing
vs Telling in your writing|Show
vs Tell in Creative Writing)
d. Passive voice/to be -ing. You want to be active as much as possible. It just reads better. Grammar
Girl can explain better than I can. Also, sentences that have some form of to be and –ing (which are not always considered passive). For example,
She was wondering what would happen next.
You
could write it this way:
She wondered
what would happen next.
e. Filters. This
is when you write something like,
She heard the flames flickering and sputtering behind her.
Change it to this:
Flames flickered and sputtered behind her.
Readers can
assume you mean she hears the flames.
This is especially good to look out for if you are writing in first person. For
instance, if you write,
I saw the river
sparkling in the distance.
There are some unnecessary words there. Just
write:
The river sparkled in the distance.
Anytime you have sentences that start with I heard, I saw, I felt, I wondered, I thought, and the like (the last two especially in first person), it’s usually filtering. Sometimes they are necessary but most of the time they are not. (
f.
Word usage/placing. Sometimes you use the wrong words/phrases
or words that don’t even exist, like quicker
when you should use faster. It can be
embarrassing. Or you can use them in the wrong order. That can be even more embarrassing.
One example my crit group caught in my manuscript:
Instead of finishing Jackin off[…]
I’ll let that stew for a while…
g. Favorite words/phrases. How many times do you write a certain word or phrase? For me, hands are all over the place. Ninety-nine
percent of the time I don’t need to mention the word. But I do and I don’t know
why. Cut them like there’s no tomorrow. (Word Choice)
h. Backstory/info dumps. Watch out for these. Sometimes, you don’t need them and you realize
they were only there to help you sort out your first draft. Cut whatever you
don’t need. A long winded memory that has nothing to do with the story as it
is? Cut it. A fat history of some mythical creature in the middle of a fight?
Cut it or find somewhere else to put it.
i.
Dialogue. Is it cheesy? Is it realistic? I’ve
often heard the advice to read it out loud. Also, is it a bunch of talking
heads? Add some action to the conversation. Another thing about dialogue, the
tags. Some people say vary the tags, other people say to keep it simple and
stick with said or asked. I tend to stick with the keep it
simple mantra. Once in a blue moon, I’ll use groaned or something else. Sometimes, you don’t even need tags, but
make sure readers will know who is saying what. So, be careful.
j.
Adjectives/adverbs. You generally don’t need them. Cut
most of them.
k. Sentence length. Vary them. I wrote too many short, choppy sentences in a row and it
didn’t work for my crit group. Also, fragments – limit the use of those.
5. I re-read my manuscript on a different medium. Once I did all the changes, my
story started to look familiar again. To combat this, I re-read my story on my
Kobo. You can always read it off your computer and simply change the font. It
will help to see your story in a new light. That way you can review your
changes and see if they make sense. Or, gods forbid, you’ve made things worse.
In that case, repeat the above steps.
6. I shared my manuscript with my critique partners. They had all kinds of awesome
suggestions and tips. I think this is an important step. You need to get other
people’s opinions. They catch things you miss. They see your manuscript
differently. And sometimes they’ll tear it to pieces. But it’s worth it. You
don’t have to accept all their suggestions. Sometimes you just have to go with
your gut.
7. Revise again.
Yes, that is why revision is a bitch. But you want to make your story the best
it can be, right? So if you think it’s not ready and it needs more polishing,
then polish it up some more. When will it be ready? I’m not sure. I haven’t
figured that out yet. My manuscript still needs a way to go before I consider
doing more with it.
So that’s
how I approached revision. I hope my examples, as dreadful as they are, will be
helpful. I did a few other things in between the steps. For instance, I wrote a
chapter by chapter synopsis for a large overview of my story. That way, I was
able to see the big picture and what was and wasn’t working. And I didn’t always
do things in order. I’d go back and add things later on. I wish I would have
been more organized. That, I think, is the key to a happy revision process.
If you want a pro’s process, check out Chuck
Wendig’s amusing post on editing (25 Steps to edit the unmerciful suck out
of your story). Also helpful, Rachelle Gardner’s short post, Tighten
up your Manuscript. Until next time, happy revising. Wish me luck as I wade
through the mire once more.
(Sorry for the weird formatting of the post, I wish I had time to fix it).
J