So, you've just finished writing a story or a chapter in a story. What is the next step? Revising it. Revision is a key part in writing a story. It's pretty much as important as actually putting the words on paper. Revision makes the story flow smoother and sound better. Unfortunately, revision is one of those things you either love or you hate. It's something every writer faces at some point, whether they like it or not. The purpose of this thread is to stockpile revision techniques and exercises. How do you revise? Do you have any revision habits? Do you revise differently for longer projects as opposed to smaller projects? Can you suggest any exercises to practice revision? As for me, I like to print what I'm revising so that I can see it on paper. I mark changes with a pen, then change them on my computer. That way, I have two copies of the same story, the original on paper, and the new on my computer.
I set myself limits on when I can revise, or I never get anything on the page. If I let myself revise, I'll delete everything and start over. I set myself to only revising every time I complete 5,000 words. After 10,000 I can delete a whole scene or a significant part of one. That way I continue moving forward, and make sure that the only revisions I make are what I've written that day. It just helps me make sure I don't get too frustrated and mess everything up. When I finally do revisions, I also print them and mark them on paper. I think it's easier to do when you're viewing it all in a different way. I have to be able to mark by hand.
Does anyone else enjoy the editing process more than the actual writing? It seems everything I read in books and online all refer to the "dreaded" revision process. But I hate blank pages. For me it's much more enjoyable to work with something that's already there. Are there others out there like me?
I'd certainly prefer having a complete rought draft appear and be able to work on it. Alas, life is cruel and does not make novels magically pop out of the air Not sure if its just because the end is in sight, or because of that primal "I'm refining something rough into something great" though.
Cutting is my favourite part. Going through a work and just deleting all the unnecessary words (which are most of them, really).
I hate it !! lol.. I just love the writing itself, coming up with the sub-plotlines as I write.. When I have to re-write an entire part it makes me moody! lol
I may be weirder than you. I don't see them as separate processes. Just steps in the overall writing process. Thinking, planning, drafting, revising, proofreading -- it's all a lovely dance when it works and utter hell when you hit a glitch. I worry about myself for loving it so much.
I loved editing, and I always have. It just feels much better to know that you've at least accomplished a good bit of your goal, and that you actually have something to show for it. When you revise, you can only get better, too.
Beautiful rose in our literary garden! May you be literarily aphid-free forever! I was about to say essentially the same thing. For me, it's all part of the same process. I find myself working slower and slower the closer I get to the end of a manuscript. I do a great deal of editing and word/scene cutting and rearranging during the initial writing process and I find I have a tough time transitioning to another project while I allow the previous one to 'gestate'. But then, when I go back to it in a few months, it is like I, or the characters, never left. We simply pick up our 'relationship' where we left off except that I am able to go back to the manuscript with a fresh eye. Still, to me, the various stages of the 'birthing process' (Eww! I'm suddenly falling into this maternity and baby allegory) are as closely intertwined as any two things can be. It's just not finished until it is submission ready and it cannot be submission ready until you complete the first draft AND all requisite edits. "Part of a lovely dance ..." Yes. Beautifully phrased. Okay, no. Romantic Rose, you said it so much better and oh, so poetically lyrical.
I love editing better because at least at that point the hard part is over! I love going through it and re-reading it as I go. It may not be perfect but at least you have something there. Wish I was in the editing process but my story is getting a bit frustrating ):
I just spent 3 hours rewriting a flash piece that I have to read tonight. If you ever want to really edit the heck out of your work, get it ready for a public reading.
guilty as charged I am ^^ but at a certain point you'll be ready to bundle all your best idea's and cast/fuse them properly into a finished novel.. The reason for only wanting to keep the proces of creation (some kind of procrastination^^) could be because writing down your proces of creation (or in my case writing/drawing it ) into a smooth story is a psychological thing. because an actually written down story mostly means: the case is closed.. you must let go... (we people are having a hard time coping with letting go's..) then I think to myself (in those situations..) maybe for the outside world the story is finished.. but to me, these characters aren't done talking to me.
As I have been churning out pieces lately, I find myself, even when coming back to read after a few days, still too emotionally invested to enjoy the story. The electricity of my ego shocks the pages and each word as it screams inside my head, "This is my story. I know this is my story." Throughout the read, I cannot help myself when I find a mistake, or a word that does not fit. Even when I have settled all the mistakes and achieve a state where I am confident and happy it is finished, I still cannot read my own work for the sake of reading it recreationally, if only to see if it flows well, or to even get lost in its words. I find it very hard for me to even picture the words and descriptions as I read, like the experience I have when actually reading someone else's work, because I am constantly analyzing. For once, I would like to read my own story as if I was another person, and enjoy it, as selfish as that may sound. Can anyone relate? If so, any suggestions or thoughts on how to battle this?
i used to be like that i was so bad that rereading while writing a piece was almost painful. But now i kinda learned to just ignore my concerns and force my mind to read it with out criticizing it for me reading it in a different voice helps (that voice that goes off in your head while reading xD).
in my case I have to let more than a few days pass before I can read my own work more objectively, and even then it's still difficult and I can definitely relate. I'm talking about a couple of months here, like when I sent my ms to a publisher and didn't touch it for almost 4 months while waiting for the answers. Then you get closer to something like reading it like somebody else would.
I'm not sure you can EVER read your own work as you would someone else's. but I think the longer you leave it the more you will have improved and therefore the more mistakes you can spot. It takes a lot of discipline to be objective and ruthless in editing/rewriting. I've come a long way since the days when I used to resist changing something just because I liked it. Now I try to evaluate whether it works and is needed. If not - cut!
I would never attempt to read through it for edits/revisions only a few days afterwards. Though it's not just improvement wise that it helps. Personally, it takes a few months to forget what I wrote, so when I come back, I'm not accidentally skim reading it, skipping words without even a thought.
I get the same kind of problem. I just detach myself from it all, leave it for a sufficient amount of time and then go back to it. If my head still isn't clear and objective enough I wait longer or do a different project to distract myself.
As you practice giving critique, you'll find it easier to slip into critique mode, which is a more objective way of looking at the writing by its very nature.
i always tell my mentees to read their work over two ways... first, as an editor, to find goofs and glitches... and the second time, as if they are their own worst enemy who was asked to review the book, knowing who wrote it...
It's one thing to train yourself to write well, but it's another (I think) to train yourself to critique your own stories objectively. But it can be done. Cogito is right: if you critique the work of others, you'll find it much easier to critique your own. The easier it is to slip into critique-mode, the less time you have to let the story sit before you can see how it can be improved.
A link to this article from the Boston Globe came across my Facebook feed this morning, and I thought it was worth sharing. It discusses the evolution of the revision process from the paper-scarce days of Shakespeare to the Modernists. There are some interesting points here, including the idea of revising too much. http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2013/06/29/revising-your-writing-again-blame-modernists/WhoH6Ih2kat2RE9DZV3DjP/story.html
