tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post4697275937203432176..comments2023-12-25T00:38:19.500-08:00Comments on Finding Wonderland: The WritingYA Weblog (archive): Revision BluesSarah Stevensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534942492714970282noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-45728697723412719232008-12-17T00:58:00.000-08:002008-12-17T00:58:00.000-08:00What always worked for me with every bit of writin...What always worked for me with every bit of writing I've produced so far is that I set a framework for my revision time. For example, I will spend two days revising and during this time, I must revise the whole thing (hopefully) more than once and (hopefully) improve it. At a certain point I have to stop myself. I'm pretty sure this will leave a few holes here and there, but that's why this technique (if it could be graced with such a name) is useful for the <I>first</I> draft and not, say, for the final draft.Azanealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15039691415053667049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-85149775939079573712008-12-16T17:29:00.000-08:002008-12-16T17:29:00.000-08:00Ha - yes, but in an extremely messy way. ;) I avoi...Ha - yes, but in an extremely messy way. ;) <BR/><BR/>I avoided the red chapters for a while - which were of course in the most critical places, then tried going backwards from the last chapter (that was a completely mental idea), then polished a few green chapters before finally diving into the red and orange ones...which were really terrible, hair-pulling excavations...and afterward, the yellow ones didn't look half bad! So maybe doing a red chapter or two would be encouraging for the rest of your novel.holly cupalahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15012572116406283386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-42892760804998256502008-12-16T15:17:00.000-08:002008-12-16T15:17:00.000-08:00Not an author here, no tips, I'm sorry to say, but...Not an author here, no tips, I'm sorry to say, but I just want to say I like your blues song and the image which accompanies it!Jules at 7-Imphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14439756778611468303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-60746001546303645522008-12-16T11:39:00.000-08:002008-12-16T11:39:00.000-08:00Wow, Holly--that's REALLY organized!! It sounds gr...Wow, Holly--that's REALLY organized!! It sounds great. I might have to try a spreadsheet. I guess the part I'm having trouble with is the color-coding. I always feel like the chapters are yellow-green after I've revised them, and then slowly, over time, like the leaves, they seem to turn orange-red. :)Sarah Stevensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16534942492714970282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-85489922452008413462008-12-16T11:18:00.000-08:002008-12-16T11:18:00.000-08:00When I was revising my first novel, I went chapter...When I was revising my first novel, I went chapter by chapter and made good use of an Excel spreadsheet - a row for each chapter with columns for chapter #, Status (more later on this), Major event(s), Emotional arc, my own revision notes, my critique group's notes, and Action items. <BR/><BR/>For "Status," I chose a color to indicate in what kind of shape the chapter was - green for great, yellow for ok, orange for uh-oh, and red for...red alert. This was probably the most useful thing - seeing that all the chapters weren't that bad, and trying to figure out what made the green chapters good and getting the other chapters to that level.<BR/><BR/>Huh. Maybe I'll blog about this sometime. :Dholly cupalahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15012572116406283386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-12984923562823736452008-12-16T04:21:00.000-08:002008-12-16T04:21:00.000-08:00Hmmm.. it's a different case with me, in that revi...Hmmm.. it's a different case with me, in that revising, at least of my first novel, was easy I just knew as I re-read what was to go and what I felt should stay or need even more emphasis.<BR/><BR/>But the significant changes that came in the proper editing made my own revision so insignificant hehe! All I know is that at the end I sat back and told myself, this is a good book now :)Lisa Falzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02006948646900698049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-31911108188900752742008-12-16T02:34:00.000-08:002008-12-16T02:34:00.000-08:00I think you have the right idea of writing your sc...I think you have the right idea of writing your scene from a different angle, just to give yourself another way of looking at things -- but what worked for me at long last this past summer/fall was to SCRAP EVERYTHING and start with a plain blank sheet. Knowing where I wanted to go -- and walking there on a different path.<BR/><BR/>Next month we're all over revision for Craft... Holly has two great ideas, I second visiting Laini's site.tanita✿davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01671822274852087499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-57870643784055266162008-12-15T21:44:00.000-08:002008-12-15T21:44:00.000-08:00A., I feel your pain! Two of my favorite places to...A., I feel your pain! Two of my favorite places to find revision inspiration (or at least to productively procrastinate) are Laini Taylor's <A HREF="http://notforrobots.blogspot.com/" REL="nofollow">Not For Robots</A> and Darcy Pattison's <A HREF="http://www.darcypattison.com" REL="nofollow">Revision Notes</A>. <BR> They are both rife with good ideas and strategies. Bon chance!holly cupalahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15012572116406283386noreply@blogger.com