Revision Cycle

In my recent post on revision, I noticed that I didn't actually spell out the process by which I am revising my second novel.  It requires a Kindle or some other e-book reader.  Here's the process:

1. Create an e-book of the draft and put it on your e-book reader.  This is preparatory step.  You do it once and then never again, unless you repeat this whole process.
2. Read one chapter of the book, using the notes feature in the Kindle (or what other feature there is in your e-book reader) to leave yourself comments.
3. The next day:
1. Incorporate the comments from the chapter you read into your draft of that chapter and then print out a copy of the chapter.
2. Repeat step 2 with the next chapter of the book.
4. The next day, read and markup the printout you made.  
5. The next day: 
1. Incorporate the comments from the printout.  This chapter is now complete.
2. Incorporate the comments from the Kindle on the next chapter and print it out.
3. Repeat step 2 for the next chapter of the book.
6. The next day, repeat steps 4 through 5 until the whole book is revised.

I admit that it takes a while this way to revise the novel.  But I want to go slowly so I can think about each scene one at a time and make revision on a scene that are needed.  Using this approach, I've already expanded several scenes that needed more detail and cut melodrama from several others.

Of course, I could edit faster, but my goal is to get each scene complete and correct.  I will pay an editor to do a copy edit on anything I miss.  But only I can look at a scene and know if it is doing what I need it to do, what I want it to.  So my time here is an investment in the novel to make it better so it can sell.

Hope you find this approach helpful.

On the Road of Revision

I did some checking about the amount of time I spent writing Book 3.  It appears it took five months to belch out that draft.  During that time I did little else in the way of side projects and other distractions.  Now that it is complete, a great weight has been lifted from me.  Revision takes much less work because I go more slowly and only do small bits of work here and there.

This approach works well for me when revising and it gives me time for other things in my life.  This is good timing because with Spring arriving I will want to spend time outside to tend to the garden, the tree, and the yard.

This means a lot more time thinking about the events in Book 2 and the new characters that are introduced. Given that the book is over 100,000 words (a personal best) it means I've got a lot of work ahead of me.  Hope it it ready to go by December.

But that's not the only potential pitfall.  In Book 2 several of the main characters get fleshed out.  The issue here is the fine line between drama and dramatizing scenes and melodrama (the type of thing you see in soap operas and reality TV shows).  I want drama; I eschew melodrama.

But the whole young adult crazy in fiction now seems to thrive on melodrama.  I find myself slipping down that path.  The good news is now is the time to revise it out of my story.  This is one reason I am proceeding slowly through the book.  I need to find the words and scenes that don't belong and remove them or change them so that the text sings.

Essentially this means I'm doing a developmental edit, a copy edit, and a review for word choice and sentence variation all at once.  I doubt I could go much faster even if I wanted to.

I think the editor is getting this after I'm done, just to make sure nothing fell through the cracks.

Back to the Future

Time to return to the 21st century, I think.  Over the weekend I completed the draft of Book 3 (67,000+ words) so it is time to go back to revising Book 2.  The plan is to revise and polish the novel so that is ready for release by the end of the year.  That should be possible, but we'll see.

The method I used for writing Book 3 was very old school; I was chained to my desktop computer typing.  There is no point to that in an age of mobile devices, but the iPad keyboard does not work well for typing.  I make many more typos that I would at my desktop computer.  I have since purchased a wireless keyboard for the device so perhaps the iPad will work out better for Book 4.

The technique I'm using for editing Book 2 is one of my own devising.  I read it on my Kindle and make notes.  Then I transcribe the notes to my draft on my computer.  This is a little labor-intensive but it worked really well for Book 1 and avoids the need of editing on paper.  I want to avoid using paper and printer ink for environmental reasons.  That's why I devised another approach in the first place.  It also seems to me to the way to go in the future.  I'm thinking that printers attached to computers may very well be as obsolete now as typewriters.

Theoretically, if I want a less labor-intensive approach,  I should be able to edit the draft of my novel on my iPad more easily.  The problem is edits are not setoff in anyway, the way one might Track Changes in Word.  And I need to track my edits so I can review them after I make them.  Only in this way do I know if the edit is right and does what I want.

As you can see, I am taking a lot of care in the editing process -- perhaps too much.  But I think it is worth it.  I need to make sure the text says what I want to convey and that is often hard because English is such a blunt instrument.  Nevertheless, this is how I got Book 1 to sing.  And this is how I will polish my work.

And in case you are thinking of trying this yourself, please don't.  My methods work for me because I am the one using them.  You will need different methods because you think differently and have different associations.  So experiment and see what works for you.

I Have a Dream Too

Today is a holiday in the United States to honor a man who had a vision and dream of a better world for all.

It would be hubris to compare myself to such a one but I too have a dream-- a writer's dream. I dream of being published. While that time may be close at hand it does not feel that way.

But I am also concerned about the walls that still exist along the road to publication. I think they are still quite high. I may have scaled them at last but many have not. Of course many do not want to. They take the path of least resistance: self-publishing. But I think that's because there is tyranny surrounding the publication process. I dream of a world without this tyranny, one in which all voices can be heard.

Then there are personal dreams of finishing the fantasy series I started. Seven books is a lot to write and I only have partial drafts of Books 4 to 7. So I wonder of I will finish it. I don't have any intention to abandon it but accidents happen. I would hate to leave my readers hanging.

But today is a day to envision the world as it should be and not as it is. To dream our dreams and find ways to make them happen. To strive to make the world a better place.

So what's your dream?