In the name of revision

Hi all. I love the writing process, but get stymied when it comes to revision. I've completed two drafts of my novel, but I don't know how "rigorous" my second revision was. Sure, I cut scenes, added scenes, fleshed out characters, and more, but I still feel like I have "miles to go before I sleep." Does anyone out there have revision tips? Do most of you start from scratch (i.e. open a new document and start over--may be too difficult for novels) or do you do a lot of cutting, pasting, and reworking of scenes?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Candy Fite on January 18, 2012 at 5:42am

I just tried to send you a message, not sure if it worked. My internet is freaking out at the moment. Yes, I have a blog: On the Trail to Publication Please feel free to check it out. I just gave myself a mini-revision party this morning there. :))

My YA is way toooooo long at the moment. Head over to my blog or email me, we can trudge through our crappy first drafts together. candice.fite@gmail.com

Permalink Reply by Autumn on January 26, 2012 at 10:11am

I'm not sure if you guys started this or not but I'd like to "jump onto the wagon" as well ~ as far as trudging through revision together ~ I find I stay on track when I have a goal/a "check-in".

Permalink Reply by Candy Fite on January 11, 2012 at 11:19am

Wow, what a wonderful bunch of replies you got here, Katie! I'm really enjoying the replies. I hope you don't mind me jumping in your wagon to learn!

Off to read Diane's blog post...

Permalink Reply by Candy Fite on January 11, 2012 at 11:24am

Great blog post, Diane! Thanks for giving us the link!

Permalink Reply by Diane O'Connell on January 11, 2012 at 11:38am

Glad you found it helpful, Candy. I also have a little e-book I wrote called 50 Ways to Avoid the Rejection Pile that has a lot of helpful suggestions on the kinds of things you would be looking for in a revision. If you (or anyone else) want to download a free copy, click on this link:

http://forms.aweber.com/form/84/522448384.htm

This will also put you on my email list. But don't worry -- I promise not to bombard your in-box with offers. I hate when others do that! It's more of an alert when I put blog posts out there or have some useful bit of news.

Permalink Reply by Candy Fite on January 12, 2012 at 12:35pm

Thanks, Diane for the link! I'll look it up soon.

Btw, I've gotten myself down to 100,000-words! Goal: 75,000...

Permalink Reply by Katherine E. Hinkson on January 11, 2012 at 5:59pm

I have a closed critique group that I read aloud what I have revised. They are great to bounce ideas off. If you don't have a critique group then find a beta read to help you. Another place to help you revise is a free site: www.prowritingaid.com. I find it helps tighten the prose. I don't start over, but I do save the manuscript under each new revision name.

Permalink Reply by Diane O'Connell on January 12, 2012 at 12:15pm

What a great link, Katherine. Thanks for providing that. I will recommend it to my authors as they go through the revision process. This certainly takes the guesswork out of the more obvious writing errors that new writers are prone to.

Permalink Reply by Candy Fite on January 12, 2012 at 12:35pm

Katherine, I also found this link last night when I was researching Autocrit.

Permalink Reply by Katie Checkley on January 14, 2012 at 8:00am

Thanks for this, Katherine

Permalink Reply by Nancy E. Frank on January 13, 2012 at 4:25pm

I do a lot of working in my revisions, based on what seems to be consistent commentary on my manuscript. It is a long, tedious project.

Permalink Reply by Katherine E. Hinkson on January 13, 2012 at 6:23pm

Hi Candy,

I can't take credit for the website. A discussion about a month or so back talked about editing and revisions on this website actually. I found the free site by clicking a couple links from the sites that were recomended by other ladies here. I am very grateful for these ladies.