While some people can make their way through rough drafts without having a map (worldbuilding and such in place) others can't even write their first sentence without knowing in great detail who their characters are...what their motivations are...the conflict and plot and so on. Some people don't start until they have built their world complete with cultures and languages and designs for clothes. But I would say most writers are somewhere in the middle. They don't write without having SOME idea of what comes next. They don't start unless they have SOME idea of the theme they wish to express.
I have been able to get through rough drafts without much planning and come away not too badly burned. Revision is a different monster. Lethal even if you make the wrong move. If you don't plan your attack before you actually make your move you can end up cutting what matters out of your novel.
If you don't have some idea of where you'd like to end up at the end of your revision...you aren't going to reach the end. Or you are going to end up with a tangled mess that doesn't make much sense. So I propose that you figure out what matters to you before you revise. If you didn't figure out your theme in your first draft...or it has changed since then...figure it out now. And write it down on paper. Use it as a guide to get you through these next months. You will need it to keep you on track. Figure out what conflict is essential to your theme. Ask as many questions as it takes to get what you need. This is important. Without knowing the heart of your book you will end up with something that doesn't quite sing...that gets rejections and you won't quite know why.
Author Holly Lise goes into depth about this and her entire writing process with her online course How to Revise Your Novel. I am not an affiliate. I do not get money from reffering you to her course. I just love her class. It has helped my writing in ways I cannot express. If you don't know how to get through a revision...how to do it right the FIRST time...then this is something you might want to look into.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Wow...*coughs* It's been a long time since my last post!
Okay...I honestly didn't mean to leave you all in the dark without any idea as to what is going on in my life. I guess when life throws punches at you it doesn't stop with just one. Which I guess would explain my absense quite a bit...wouldn't it? :p
Some good things have happened. I've made great progress on my WIP thanks to Holly Lisle's How To Revise Your Novel course. I know what is wrong with it and why. I even know how to fix what's wrong! It's just...getting to the end that is taking forever. Apparently when you write a novel in a month it can leave you with extensive revisions. Or at least that's how it is in my case *blushes* I had no idea I'd still be working on this book almost a year later. And yet here I am. Good thing about this though : I haven't just written one thing. I have another first draft finished. Which I told you guy's about as well. I have some awesome ideas for a new book too. All in all...I have lots of stuff on different levels of completion...its just I haven't reached the end of revision yet. I'm hoping to get there by July as that is when I start school...which brings up my next subject!
I'm going to be attending school for Massage Therapy and I'm really excited. I know there aren't a lot of spots open right now and it'll be hard work finding a job...but its what I wanna do. I'm not going to give up. I mean...I'm trying to be a published author. I think being an LMT is easy in comparison. Or maybe I'm pushing my luck with that one. We'll just have to wait and see. I just hope I can get good grades. I wasn't the type to get A's in high school. I did the minimum for everything unless it was a subject I was obsessed with like English.
There are other things going on as well...but if I get into them it'll be like turning this blog into my personal journal. I'd assume that equals boring!
Anyway that ends the updates on my life.
I'm thinking on a post in the future I should dig into my revision process and the lightbulbs I'm having. Maybe it'll help some people. Like one thing in particular: writing down my scenes on index cards has become a huge part of my process for first drafts AND revision. This is partly because of Holly Lisle...an author I admire. She also writes courses for aspiring writer's like myself. She has changed the way I look at revision forever. I always thought you just started from the first line on the first page...changing words and sentences as you went. Plot as you saw fit. But its much more than that. How can you write the book you want without first knowing your target? These are things I'd like to address in later posts.
Well I think its time to say goodbye again. Sorry for the rant and very random post. Just thought I'd give you all a bit of everything today. Write and rock on!
Some good things have happened. I've made great progress on my WIP thanks to Holly Lisle's How To Revise Your Novel course. I know what is wrong with it and why. I even know how to fix what's wrong! It's just...getting to the end that is taking forever. Apparently when you write a novel in a month it can leave you with extensive revisions. Or at least that's how it is in my case *blushes* I had no idea I'd still be working on this book almost a year later. And yet here I am. Good thing about this though : I haven't just written one thing. I have another first draft finished. Which I told you guy's about as well. I have some awesome ideas for a new book too. All in all...I have lots of stuff on different levels of completion...its just I haven't reached the end of revision yet. I'm hoping to get there by July as that is when I start school...which brings up my next subject!
I'm going to be attending school for Massage Therapy and I'm really excited. I know there aren't a lot of spots open right now and it'll be hard work finding a job...but its what I wanna do. I'm not going to give up. I mean...I'm trying to be a published author. I think being an LMT is easy in comparison. Or maybe I'm pushing my luck with that one. We'll just have to wait and see. I just hope I can get good grades. I wasn't the type to get A's in high school. I did the minimum for everything unless it was a subject I was obsessed with like English.
There are other things going on as well...but if I get into them it'll be like turning this blog into my personal journal. I'd assume that equals boring!
Anyway that ends the updates on my life.
I'm thinking on a post in the future I should dig into my revision process and the lightbulbs I'm having. Maybe it'll help some people. Like one thing in particular: writing down my scenes on index cards has become a huge part of my process for first drafts AND revision. This is partly because of Holly Lisle...an author I admire. She also writes courses for aspiring writer's like myself. She has changed the way I look at revision forever. I always thought you just started from the first line on the first page...changing words and sentences as you went. Plot as you saw fit. But its much more than that. How can you write the book you want without first knowing your target? These are things I'd like to address in later posts.
Well I think its time to say goodbye again. Sorry for the rant and very random post. Just thought I'd give you all a bit of everything today. Write and rock on!
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