I believe most authors consider revision an excruciating process. I know I do. But I think what most of us who slave day after day on our key boards don’t realize is that good writing comes from bad writing.
We labor over stories in fast paced frenzy and get caught up with, I’ve got to get this done. But we forget that our story, our first drafts are simply scaffolds, an early look at a shape and style to come.
Walk down the street in any major city and you will see buildings under construction. Sometimes the scaffolds are ugly red ladder-like structures holding up the bare essence of a building, you can barely see what will be there. Sometimes you can make out the shape of a building. Scaffolds, like the first few drafts of our novels are just that, the beginnings of an unfolding piece of art. And it isn’t that you don’t take those drafts seriously, you do. But it’s unfinished work. Pure and Simple. You have to be willing to change it, to fashion it, to edit it.
The editing process begins when you finish a first draft. Don’t spend a lot of time on the first few drafts.. Just get the story down no matter how ugly the writing appears to be. Don’t correct anything. Once it is written, let it rest. And you can rest too. You’ve worked hard after all!
How long should you leave it alone? The time frame isn’t important, but what is important is getting away from it long enough to be able to see the work differently. So if you go back a few hours later and you can’t see too many reasons to change anything, it’s best to leave the story alone for a while more. Sometimes it takes a year, sometimes a week. It really depends on the story and the author and their willingness to make changes.
Editing takes place in stages. Start by looking at phrases, words, sentences or paragraphs that don’t bring meaning to the story. Every word has to be chosen for a reason. Look at verbs, nouns and adverbs. Eliminate those. You rarely need adverbs and adjectives if nouns and verbs are strong enough. Use the strongest verbs possible considering the setting and the characters involved.. Stroll is a better verb than walk. Leap is better than jump. Well you get the idea.
Make sure characters are complex, believable, look at everything about them, their names how they talk, react, and dress. Make sure it all rings true and especially look at how they fit into a scene. It should feel natural, like they belong there. A well-plotted story can fall apart if the characters are not well developed.
And speaking of plot, make sure your story line makes sense. Draw a line and use plot points to high light major arch points, those events that are linked together that drive the story forward. Look at how characters interact. Do they help to unfold the plot? Every movement, every word, every look coming from your character must bring meaning to the story. If it doesn’t, eliminate it.
Colored markers work quite well for looking at grammar issues, plot issues and character issues. Develop a chart. For instance when looking at words, designate red for nouns, blue for verbs, pink for adjectives, purple for adverbs. Look for all the pinks and purples. Those are the words to eliminate.
When the work is the best you can make it can be, take it to a workshop and let other writers look it over. Listen to what they say about it. Writing is subjective so not every topic will appeal to every person. A good critique partner will be able to comment on your writing. Try to find someone you respect and trust. How do you do that? Join a writer’s group in your area.Ask published authors, take courses. Check out your library, nearby colleges and universities. Remember not every writer’s group works for anyone. I went through four or five before I found the right one.
Be open to change. Writers grow over time and sometimes making a bad piece of writing into a good piece of writing is all about changing yourself. And that’s the joy that comes from revising, seeing your work as the best it can possibly be.
Linda Bilodeau, who writes from her home in Florida, has published three novels and is working on a fourth. She is a student in the MFA program at Spalding University in Louisville Ky. Visit her website at www.lindabilodeau.com.
Great post, Linda! I’m one of the few writers who love writing the first draft. But I’ve learned that revision can be just as creative. One other element I look for when I revise are the scenes that were left out–those gaps in time in the story that your mind filled in as you were laying out the story but didn’t make it onto the page. Just as unnecessary scenes that don’t move the story forward need to be cut, sometimes scenes need to be added to fill in the gaps in logic.