What I Do in Revision

Last week I told you that my first steps in revision are to print out my entire manuscript and read it through in one sitting, creating a revision list as I go. I write down everything that occurs to me including questions, ideas, answers to questions I’d written in parentheses, repetitive words and phrases, inconsistencies, everything.

Then I take that list and I write the “big” things on a separate piece of paper. Big issues are primarily about plot problems, character problems, the lack of an ending, a sagging middle, etc. In my opinion, fixing problems from page 1 to the end instead of in order of importance may well be like painting the kitchen walls, then moving the cupboards from one wall to another.

After I’ve read the whole manuscript and made my notes, I create a one-sentence or one-notecard description of each scene. I recently purchased Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake Pro software, and I’ve been playing with that to make my scene descriptions. It seems to work equally well for constructing an outline for a new book or organizing the revision of a completed draft. I’ve also used the notecard function in Scrivener. I have to say, though, my favorite method is still notecards I can lay out on the living room floor. 

Starting with the list of big issues, I work on them in the order of most to least important. Some things may need to be reworked slightly after revising something else, but this method works best to keep from redoing scenes over and over. The notecards help me to find holes in the plot, or see that the story works better if I move a scene or two.

When I feel good about those revisions, I start down the list of everything else. I’ve never found that working on one thing before another helps much here. Whether I begin by pumping up my setting descriptions or adding an emotional layer that I’d missed in the first draft, I’m adding layers to a well-constructed story at this point. It is important, though, for me to have a list of everything I need to check – dialog, setting, descriptions, emotional layer, symbols, etc. Without a list, I always forget something.

One of my new favorite ways to go through revisions is Margie Lawson’s Deep Editing system. (Remember, she’ll be our guest every Tuesday for the rest of the month!) After hearing my friends rave about the class, I bought the lecture packet. Wow! It is intense! Be warned if you have my personality type – you can get bogged down in the details, and I’m sure that is not what Margie had in mind. But it will give you solid examples of exactly what you’re looking for in your own writing, and how to improve it. Genius.

The last step in my revision process – perhaps the most difficult step – is knowing when to stop. At some point you have to, of course, but it seems we never believe we’ve gotten it just right. Still, do your best and then send it out!