So what did I find that was good?
- The plot wasn't bad, and I still like where I was going with it, but I do see where I got stuck and probably why I put it aside for so long
- The characters are still fun to me and I still love my MC
- The title still fits (sometimes I struggle with the title and I have to have a title before I can do much writing on a MS)
- My spell check was obviously broken and my mind was in the "frame of mind" that you can just spell words however you want and hopefully when you go back to re-read it you will understand the alien writing...
- Obviously, Grammar ain't my thang
- I really missed my MC and can't wait to get to know her all over again...
- EVERYTHING about finishing her story
How do you work your revisions? Do you write the whole story and then revise - do you write a chapter and then revise - do you write until you get stuck and then revise what you have?
Happy Writing!
4 comments:
I kind of revise and edit as I go. If the story has me I finish it to the end, then I let it sit for while. Eventually I print out a hard copy, read it, make notes and scratch out and scribble all over it. Then I go back to my computer and work in the revisions I made on the hard copy.
I write until I get stuck, and then I revise what I have until I'm unstuck. Once I have a complete draft I do several more revision passes.
The first one is for dialogue. I get rid of adverbs in the tags and if possible, get rid of the tags completely or change them to an action sentence. I also speak aloud only the dialogue to see if it sounds authentic. Do I need a complete sentence, or will a fragment be more realistic?
The second revision starts with throwing whole chapters into Wordle.com to see if I have repetitive, unnecessary words. I seem to like the words "just" and "really." I also look at my sentences and try to vary the lengths as well as the beginnings.
The third revision checks to make sure I've addressed all of the plot details. No loose ends allowed!
The last pass is completed after my critique partner sends me her notes. That's where I am now in my current novel. The last pass - yeah baby!! Time to send it out!
I don't think I've settled on a method yet.
I think I most like to just write and then revise, because if I try to revise as I go . . . then it gets in the way of my creativity. However, if I write and then try to revise, what I've written sometimes blocks my ability to see what needs to be changed. ~sigh~
I always think that if you can go back to a story after a long time and still think it's got promise - then it probably has. Have fun finishing it!
For my own revisions, I tend to reread what I wrote yesterday and do a few minor corrections, but then just plough on. When I've finished the whole thing I can start thinking about changes to plot etc, but not before. (I don't always write a book in sequence either. Often I write the chapters that really interest me before I do the rest. So there is always tweaking to do at the end.
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