10 Things I Have Learned About Revising (aka, how not to die)
Aug 02, 2010 
In no particular order:
1. If you’re writing along, plowing ahead in order to finish a draft, and you think of stuff you want to change later but don’t right at that moment because you want to finish, MAKE A NOTE OF IT SOMEWHERE. You aren’t actually going to remember later, no matter how sure you are at the time that you will.
2. Outline outline outline. Even if you’re a writer who abhors outlining ahead of time (like me), do try outlining your plot after having written the first draft. This makes it so much easier to see the problem points, and visualize the pace of your plot.
3. Try to leave the house sometimes.
4. Take a break between the first and second drafts. Even if you think you’re on a roll and should keep up the momentum, you are going to want to die in about a week.
5. Start the new draft with a clean document, rather than saving a copy of the previous draft and making changes to it. If there are sections that aren’t getting rewritten, then copy/paste them from the old draft to the new one in SMALL chunks. This forces you to actually look at what you’re putting in, and keeps you from glossing over it.
6. Find a friend who doesn’t mind you randomly interjecting in conversation things like "Actually, hang on. I think I might make Lark do XYZ in the second act, but BEFORE she meets Oren, because that way she’s blah blah blah blah…" Talking about it out loud is extremely helpful. Preferably, these companions will not in fact roll their eyes when the conversation about shoe shopping turns into a conversation about shadow cannibals and clockwork pixies, and they will make soothing noises until you calm down again. These people are invaluable. (I am looking at you,
7. Chocolate is no substitute for love hard work. But it makes for a nice treat anyway.
8. After the initial rewrite where you’re just reordering things that changed during your first draft, always have a goal in mind for subsequent revisions. And "make it better" does not count. Nor does "make it shorter" (I speak from experience). Be very specific. Pick a character whose arc you want to focus on, for example, or choose to focus on your world-building.
9. Make a style sheet. If you have a word that is capitalized in your book (for example, "Harvest," in mine, is always capitalized) make a note of it in a companion document. Even if you KNOW you’re always going to remember it, it’ll be helpful later if you end up getting an editor. But until then, it’s really helpful for knowing at a glance exactly what’s capitalized and what’s not. This can also apply to how characters refer to things. For example, one character in my book refers to a particular breed of monster as "the shadow people," while another calls them "the dark ones" and yet another calls them just "Them." This would be hugely confusing if I didn’t write it down to keep track of it.
10. Relax. You can always make more changes later–nothing is final at this point, and there’s no pressure to make it perfect on the first rewrite.
So some of these things are hindsight–some of them were things I actually thought of beforehand. The point, though, is that I–a revision virgin–have managed to get through my first major rewrite of THE IRON WOOD. There was a lot of stress involved on my part, which ended up surprising me. While I was writing, if I wasn’t happy with something, I’d just tell myself "You’ll fix it later, keep pressing onwards." This is definitely what led me to write so steadily and finish the book, but unfortunately, that tactic doesn’t work anymore when it comes time to revise. Suddenly, it is "later," and time to fix it! That said, tip #10 came in handy, although it didn’t really sink in until the very end. Draft 2 is not Draft Omega–I can keep working at it until I’m happy.
What’s next? Well, I’m extremely lucky to have a friend who works as an editor who is going to read and critique my novel. She works in non-fiction right now, but she’s super smart and reads circles around me in the science fiction/fantasy genre. So I’m handing it off to her, and putting it out of my mind for the next few weeks until I hear back from her about it. I’ve got a current draft of my query letter, and my lists of agents all ready to query, so I don’t have to do any work on that. Once I get it back from my editor friend, I’ll do another–hopefully final–rewrite, and then send it off to a couple of other people to read. By that point I’m hopefully only going to need to do superficial changes before I send it off to agents. (Gack!) In the meantime, I’m going to take a complete break from THE IRON WOOD.
While I’ve got TIW off on queries, I’m going to be working on a new project–HUNTED. Some time ago I posted a Wordle based on the 1,000 words I let myself write of the project when the idea solidified. It came to me in the middle of writing THE IRON WOOD, so I allowed myself that one deviation to get some of it down on paper (or, you know, into my computer). It’s going to require a lot of research (it takes place in a time and place I know absolutely nothing about). The Wordle more or less speaks for itself, in terms of what the new project is:
So that’s me, lately. I haven’t blogged much during revisions because, frankly, it’s just not as much fun as writing! And just because I’m wading through piles of paper and red ink doesn’t mean you guys should have to as well. But really, it’s been such a learning process that it’s been fun in its own way. There’s a definite sense of accomplishment in doing something because it needs to be done, not because it’s necessarily what you’d prefer to be doing, and ending up with a better, tighter manuscript because of it. Every so often there’s a eureka moment where a sentence that had been completely troubling finally clicks into place, and the whole scene suddenly works. And there’s the payoff.
What’s up with you all? Anyone have any tips to add to my list?
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I cannot agree with #1 enough (and this is true for me both for ideas for revision and ideas for new stories). I once read an interview with an author who said that she never wrote down ideas, because if they were good enough, she’d remember them. This is NOT true for me!
I also have to frequently remind myself of #10. My mantra while writing is, “If it sucks, you never have to show it to anyone.”
Yeah, while most of them are in no particular order, #1 is the thing that prompted me to WRITE the post, because it’s the one thing I soooo didn’t do and wish I had done. I’m always telling myself “Oh, yeah, that’s an awesome idea! Of course you’re going to remember that!” and the next day I’m sitting there going “…well, crap.”
Oh, so many things I could say to your mantra. I will settle for eyeing you meaningfully and raising an eyebrow.
This was REALLY hepful, thanks for posting it.
I too am currently editing my first novel-length story, and am really struggling, but this just makes things a million times easier.
So once agin, thankyou.
I am SO glad you find it helpful! Seriously, if there’s one goal I have when I post stuff like this, it’s so people might get something out of it and not make my same mistakes. Revision is HARD, and though I think it really gets easier with time, nothing can really prepare you for that first go around.
Good luck with yours, and let me know if you stumble across any other advice for the future while you’re figuring it out!
#2 is the one that really rings true with me. Not just for editing, but for writing the book in general. If I know that B follows A, at least I have a direction to take the story in. Plus, if I think up something great in between, I can edit!
Yeah, I wish I was able to outline during the writing process the way you do–I think it would mean that my initial revisions would be a bit easier! Still, I think as long as at some point in the process you outline the story, it’s a good thing. If nothing else it’s much easier to see visually where things are going, how quickly, etc.
Omg, Meagan, I haven’t been on the computer in forever or commented but congrats on finishing the second draft. :DDD I’ll definitely take these tips into account once I finish a story… someday. XD
Also, that Wordle reminds me so much of one of my WIPs, haha. Although it’s less of a Beauty and the Beast retelling (I’m guessing) than a Little Red Riding Hood one. 🙂
Aww, thanks for catching up! I’m glad to hear from you! And thanks for the congrats. I’m going a bit nuts not having it to work on, I must admit!
WHOO for fairy tale retellings! I <3 them. That was how I first bonded with back in college. It’s completely bizarre that the project I’m about to query with ISN’T related to a fairy tale in some way, actually. But I’m totally psyched to get back into it.
Little Red Riding Hood is such a weird story that it just BEGS to be retold. Love it. 🙂
Phew! You are one busy lady. Congrats on finishing the draft. Can’t wait to see it on the shelf.
Buck
Thanks! I’ve hit that point where I’ve started thinking “Wait, why did I ever think this was publishable?” But I’m determined to ignore that thought and push forward. So hopefully it’s just the crazy brain talking, and that’ll go away! 🙂
Great to hear from you, Buck.
I’m in the middle of that enforced pause at the moment, pacing around the house and grumbling about wanting to get started. I know it’s the right thing to do, though. I really like the idea of a new document, though — I know I do sometimes gloss when I’m editing otherwise. So, really valuable advice, even for somebody who’s actually watched you in action!
Also, I love the shadow cannibals, though I am a teensy bit afraid of them.
Well, you were the one who told me to leave time in between drafts, and I ignored you. At my own significant risk.
Only a teensy bit?! Clearly, I’m not doing my job right. 😉 I’ve had full on nightmares about them. Oof. This is why I can never actually write horror.