Tag: revision

woman at computer
Posted in Craft, The Nitty Gritty of Children's Writing

X Draft is Done! (revising a novel)

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Yea, for you! You’ve completed several drafts of your novel. You’ve already looked at the big picture. The plot is working, your characters are strong, and it’s now time to look more closely at the words on the page. “Writing is about getting down to it, about finding your way into the moment and sustaining the energy for as long as you can effectively. But the REAL writing is during revision.” – Steven Gillis

First, take a break—I suggest a couple weeks. Think about something else, read some books, enjoy the outdoors, talk with friends. This will help you be fresh when you dive into revising.

Second, prepare. You may already know some of your areas of weakness. If so, now’s a good time to read up on those subjects. If you’re not sure, read about revising in general. Here are a few posts from my archives to get you started.

General Novel Writing Revisions:

Revising a Novel

Self-Editing Tips

Truth in Fiction

The following is a collection of posts on a variety of topics. Many will include resources to other posts or articles. Some may have similar information. I’m sure these posts aren’t all-inclusive, but many are ones I’ve struggled with or have seen in others’ writings.

Mechanics:

The Breaks of Paragraphing

Do you struggle with grammar? – some helpful resources

Perfecting Dialogue Punctuation

Beats, Taglines, and Areas to Tighten:

Yes, some writers write too tersely but most of us could benefit in tightening in some area or another. And I do mention where to expand as well. See if any of these apply to your writing.

Are You Stage Directing?

Distancing Your Reader

He Thought to Himself and Other Excesses

I, I, I – Writing in First Person

Looking Everywhere

Overwriting

Overwriting – Take Two

Run Away Words

Taglines and Beats

Three, Not Four

Underwriting

Check your Setting and Use of Senses:

This is an area that many writers don’t include when they are first writing a story.

Ground Me – sense of place or setting

Moment-by-Moment – being on scene

Sensory Details

Showing the Passage of Time

Showing Versus Telling

What Should I Describe?

Third, make a list of the areas you need to work on. It’ll help you keep track of what needs to be done.

Fourth, get to work. You don’t have to try to edit everything at once, but focus on one weakness. Later move on to another, etc.

William Zinsser said, “Rewriting is where the game is won or lost.” Get out there and win!

illustration of woman playing piano
Posted in The Nitty Gritty of Children's Writing, Writing Life

Discipline

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Recently, I had a student say children’s writing was “more challenging and restrictive” than she’d thought, and she was considering changing to an adult audience. It may be true that writing for adults is more a fit for her.

Or it might not. With this particular student, we’d only done three lessons together. She hadn’t tried nonfiction, which might be her niche if she’d give it a chance. The real issue, however, is that many of the mistakes she was continuing to make would be a problem for adult readers. So, audience wasn’t the issue. Could it be discipline?

My mother taught piano lessons in our home. I heard her students play scales and play scales. No one learns piano just to play scales—they want to play music! However, scales are a necessary step in the process. Students moved on to simple melodies and, if they worked at it, they advanced to more complicated songs. My mother could tell when students hadn’t practiced in between lessons. They weren’t improving. Writing is similar.

We have to practice, practice, practice no matter whether our audience is children or adults. We must learn the basics of fiction writing: grammar, point of view, setting, characterization, plot, etc. if we are going to succeed.

Like most instructors, I will re-explain a grammar issue, point of view, etc. in a different way in hopes that will work for the student. But sometimes I wonder, did she read what I wrote in my previous letter? Did he even try?

In both courses I teach, we give the students deadlines. Deadlines encourage discipline. Often, the students that progress the fastest are the ones who meet or beat the deadlines. Each lesson builds upon the ones before. When too much time passes between lessons, students forget what they learned earlier. I have to reteach concepts. It slows their progress which can cause frustration for both of us.

All writing is challenging in one way or another. Sometimes it’s coming up with the idea or angle. Or making a character and/or setting come alive. Or perhaps the plot isn’t working. Or the dialogue. But once those frameworks are in place, we still have to check for flow, get rid of unnecessary words, add more detail or information when necessary, etc. And, of course, proofread. The first story I sold to Highlights went through two revisions with the editor before it was accepted. This was after it had been critiqued by fellow writers and revised several times.

I love this quote from Harper Lee, “To be a serious writer requires discipline that is iron fisted. It’s sitting down and doing it whether you think you have it in you or not.” And as Patricia Wrede said, “Talent is way down on the list of things you need to write; it comes in a distant fourth, after persistence, motivation, and discipline.”

Posted in Craft, The Nitty Gritty of Children's Writing

Recreating

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

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We see the word recreating and usually think “kicking back” or doing something for the enjoyment of it, as in recreation, and that’s true.
But, what if we pronounce the word re-creating?
Re-creating could be a “big picture” look at a novel. Sometimes, we honestly know a manuscript we’ve written isn’t working. Sometimes, it’s our critique group, agent, or an editor who points out big problems. Either way, re-creating can include slashing scenes/chapters, or creating brand new ones. We might need to re-create our character, who is either too flawed or not flawed enough, or not likable enough. We might have to re-create plot, or fix the tension or chronology in the story. It might take starting the story in a different place or at a different time. We may be restoring the story to fit the bright shiny vision we first had. Re-creating might change the whole story into a different shape. It may feel like going backwards. But if the end result is a better story, it’s worth it. I love this quote: “Don’t hold onto a mistake just because it took a long time to make.” -Lucy Ruth Cummins
Once the overall story is working well, then we can move on to scene by scene revisions. With this step, we might be strengthening our characters, going deeper into their emotions and motives. Perhaps we’re adding in sensory details that ground the reader or removing unnecessary description. Is a conversation compelling or is there trite dialogue that needs to be cut? Is everything in a scene necessary? If not, take it out.
Next is revising individual paragraphs and line by line editing. We refresh tired words, overused phrases, and check the pacing of our sentences. It might include tightening. Our goal is to make the words stronger, clearer, and more compelling. Here’s a great quote I found on twitter: “I keep going over a sentence. I nag it, gnaw it, pat and flatter it.” -Janet Flanner
We may not do our revising in such separate steps, but however it’s done, it’s necessary. I like what Linda W. Jackson says, “First drafts are paper plates. After many revisions, they become fine china.” Now that’s quite the re-creation!
Recently I was recreating, as on vacation, where I got to add another state to my list of those visited. Which reminds me that sometimes it’s time to visit a new project–not just return to those we’ve written before, or those in progress. In that case we are re-creating the story from our mind onto the page or screen. (At least if you’re like me, they’re always different in my imagination than what ends up in actual words.)
Sometimes, we’re re-creating ourselves as we try something new. I remember hearing Kirby Larson talk about taking a poetry class while working on a novel. That something new helped her write her Newbery Honor book Hattie Big Sky.
And back to the usual definition of recreating. We do all need time away from our writing so that we can come back refreshed and ready to go.