Okay, so we’ve finished creating our first written piece. Our brain tells us that it’s shiny. Now we want to let others pay us to put it in their publications. You’ve started to print it out, stuff it in envelopes, and seal them closed.
Hold it!
Those words aren’t ready for the light outside of your writing room just yet. The first sitting, the first writing that everyone calls a first draft, gets the idea onto the page. That’s great. This first draft now needs smoothing.
Imagine if a carpenter built a bookcase, then tried to sell it without any sanding or painting.
We can say the same for a story.
When first written, a story is rough and has sharp edges, missing pieces. No writer that I’ve spoken to, read about, or worked with has EVER put out a perfect first draft. Perhaps there’s a slip on the point of view, or a shift in the tense. Maybe your protagonist ran over the same dog three times. (If this is a Groundhog Day story, then that might be okay. Other stories, so not good.) In any case, you’ll need to get out the pen and start to “sand” the edges of your story.
During your first time going after your own writing, you may not know your personal writing weaknesses. Everything looks great to you. The more you write and edit your personal works, the more you will learn where you frequently err. That allows you to correct the problems. Even professionals will miss errors sometimes, as seen in printings of popular authors. Of course, experience will also allow you to repair those errors during the creation of the first draft, and new problems will present themselves.
When you finish writing a piece, set it aside.
Begin a new project.
Take care of that week’s worth of household chores you ignored while creating the story.
Let the words percolate on the page. Let the rush of the initial story creation leave your system. Some writers require a greater break from a piece of writing than others do. I have to let something sit almost six months before I can edit it honestly. If you go to the piece, but still feel the initial glow of creation, step away again. The idea is to get away from the piece long enough that when you look at it, the inner editor can push past the artistic creator and poke at the holes it finds.
Yes, we are about to free the dreaded inner editor.
Once you can look at the words objectively, (Oh, who am I kidding here?) you’ll want to review the story.
Read it aloud. You’ll feel foolish at first, but it does help. Listen to where you stumble. Notice where maybe you filled in words that didn’t appear on the page. Consider how you pause when you read the sentence. Does that sentence have the proper comma or other punctuation? If you have a printed copy that you can mark, do so. If not, make the corrections to your story right there. Another thing you’ll learn as you write is which editing style works best for you: on screen or on paper.
Pay attention to spots where the sentence structure doesn’t change. If a subject verb combo shows up multiple times in a row, chances are there’s a problem, unless it was done for stylistic reasons. If you start more than two sentences in a row with the same word or pronoun, it’s a similar problem. Consider how boring it might be to read something like this.
The cat walked through the room. The cat pounced on a moving object. The cat chewed the mouse. The cat walked away.
It contains little push to the story. Yes, there’s movement, but not anything that might drive a reader.
After this first pass, you can start poking the deeper problems. Does the description run for three pages with nothing else happening? Has your research taken over a character’s mode of speech so he sounds like an encyclopedia? Did you spot a plot hole that a mouse could wiggle into and start to widen?
The first draft will never be perfect. Even big writers like Stephen King and Piers Anthony both admit this in their autobiographies. Your job, once the story is written, becomes to polish it until it shines.
Showing posts with label revision. Show all posts
Showing posts with label revision. Show all posts
04 February 2012
Your First Edit Pass – Glaring Errors
17 December 2011
I Though the Sky Was Blue
As writers, we are designing new worlds, new plots, all for our reader to consume as they invest their time in our book. This is great! We show off our creativity, our knowledge of life. However, this also comes with an added requirement.
What’s with the surprised blinking?
Our requirement is the need to remain consistent with our creation throughout the story.
For instance, if you created a new colony world where the sky is purple all day, that sky must remain purple for the entire story. If it’s purple in chapter one and two, then suddenly becomes blue in chapter four, the reader will expect a plot point that changed the color. If the sky fluctuates color, it also needs to be mentioned early so the reader doesn’t get confused each time the characters look up.
External details are obvious choices to use when talking about consistency.
Another comes about when dealing with dialogue. Suppose that your character has a southern drawl. If you’re attempting to write it out (*shudder* NOT recommended by this writer, in case you’re curious), you’ll want to make each of his ‘y’all’s or other mannerisms of speech the same throughout the book. Fricking is always fricking when dealing with consistency. Don’t change it from Fricking to Fraking to Farking to … well you get my point.
Continuing to focus on characters for a moment, let’s also look at character details. If the child is six in the first chapter, unless a year passes per chapter or you’re in a flashback, the child should be six in the second chapter. Eye color, hair color, skin color, these all need to remain the same through out the story, unless the plot specifically changes them. Also something that falls in this category: Names. A character could be George in chapter one and become Greg in chapter two. Or worse, three paragraphs down Chapter 1!
A great example of this is Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings by Tolkien. He’s Gandalf the Gray throughout the Fellowship of the Ring. As part of the plot, he suffers then becomes Gandalf the White. It took the plot to change. For my newer readers that haven’t read it or seen the movies, I won’t ruin the plot by stating what happens.
If you’re running through an edit on your piece, this is something that you’re looking for when trying to find errors. It’s very good odds that the longer the piece, the more likely a glitch slipped into your writing. Talk to your critique partners, your helpful readers, and see what they spot. Their eyes might catch something that you don’t.
If you’re critiquing another’s work, this is one of those things to watch for to help the other writer out. Even if they ran a fine-tooth comb over the manuscript before letting your red pen loose, it still may have one or two that they missed.
I can see the question coming, so let me save a little typing. How can you remain consistent when writing? A few methods exist. I’ll offer the ones I’ve heard from other writers, as well as my own.
A few writers I talk to keep what they call a “Notes” file on each piece of writing that they create. This file contains tidbits about names, characteristics of each character, each town, etc. This way, as they type along, if they run into a question, they flip to the other file, find their answer, then return to typing. This is especially helpful for the writer that does no preplanning of their writing. In some cases, this isn’t a computer file but a physical file in a cabinet, or a notebook. It is whatever works best for that writer.
Other writers create documents for their writing. Depending on the extent of their planning, this could be a simple list of plot points, character and location descriptions, and anything else that they feel that they’d need to remember. I know some writers that create ten page dossiers on each character, three pages of form information regarding each location, and timelines about their history and plot. Sometimes, their planning has more writing than the actual written piece. If it allows them to remain consistent, I think it’s great!
Just remember, a blue sky remains blue until the plot changes the atmosphere.
What’s with the surprised blinking?
Our requirement is the need to remain consistent with our creation throughout the story.
For instance, if you created a new colony world where the sky is purple all day, that sky must remain purple for the entire story. If it’s purple in chapter one and two, then suddenly becomes blue in chapter four, the reader will expect a plot point that changed the color. If the sky fluctuates color, it also needs to be mentioned early so the reader doesn’t get confused each time the characters look up.
External details are obvious choices to use when talking about consistency.
Another comes about when dealing with dialogue. Suppose that your character has a southern drawl. If you’re attempting to write it out (*shudder* NOT recommended by this writer, in case you’re curious), you’ll want to make each of his ‘y’all’s or other mannerisms of speech the same throughout the book. Fricking is always fricking when dealing with consistency. Don’t change it from Fricking to Fraking to Farking to … well you get my point.
Continuing to focus on characters for a moment, let’s also look at character details. If the child is six in the first chapter, unless a year passes per chapter or you’re in a flashback, the child should be six in the second chapter. Eye color, hair color, skin color, these all need to remain the same through out the story, unless the plot specifically changes them. Also something that falls in this category: Names. A character could be George in chapter one and become Greg in chapter two. Or worse, three paragraphs down Chapter 1!
A great example of this is Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings by Tolkien. He’s Gandalf the Gray throughout the Fellowship of the Ring. As part of the plot, he suffers then becomes Gandalf the White. It took the plot to change. For my newer readers that haven’t read it or seen the movies, I won’t ruin the plot by stating what happens.
If you’re running through an edit on your piece, this is something that you’re looking for when trying to find errors. It’s very good odds that the longer the piece, the more likely a glitch slipped into your writing. Talk to your critique partners, your helpful readers, and see what they spot. Their eyes might catch something that you don’t.
If you’re critiquing another’s work, this is one of those things to watch for to help the other writer out. Even if they ran a fine-tooth comb over the manuscript before letting your red pen loose, it still may have one or two that they missed.
I can see the question coming, so let me save a little typing. How can you remain consistent when writing? A few methods exist. I’ll offer the ones I’ve heard from other writers, as well as my own.
A few writers I talk to keep what they call a “Notes” file on each piece of writing that they create. This file contains tidbits about names, characteristics of each character, each town, etc. This way, as they type along, if they run into a question, they flip to the other file, find their answer, then return to typing. This is especially helpful for the writer that does no preplanning of their writing. In some cases, this isn’t a computer file but a physical file in a cabinet, or a notebook. It is whatever works best for that writer.
Other writers create documents for their writing. Depending on the extent of their planning, this could be a simple list of plot points, character and location descriptions, and anything else that they feel that they’d need to remember. I know some writers that create ten page dossiers on each character, three pages of form information regarding each location, and timelines about their history and plot. Sometimes, their planning has more writing than the actual written piece. If it allows them to remain consistent, I think it’s great!
Just remember, a blue sky remains blue until the plot changes the atmosphere.
23 October 2011
Finding the Breaks in the Levee
I’ve covered a lot of different topics so far this year. Recently, I’ve concentrated on other’s writings. Through it all, of course I expected you to continue working on your own scribbles.
You’ve not forgotten your own writing, have you?
For this post, let’s grab one of your completed pieces. We’d prefer one that’s been percolating and away from your writing consciousness for a bit. I’ll explain why in a minute.
Now that you have all this writing, I’m going to take you through a very basic outline of revising your work. This won’t be the best way to work for some people, obviously, and I don’t claim this as the “only way to work.” With each unique journey, you can’t hope to get it right for everyone who writes. Take what I offer, use what works and trash the rest. I’ll understand.
To run through this task, I tend to have a pencil or pen and spare paper. Some people suggest that you use a specific color pencil or pen, like red. As long as it contrasts with your print out, meaning you can see your changes, any color will do. For me, the color has to do with my mood or the holiday. I edit in green on St Patrick’s Day.
My story print is a draft on standard copy paper, so I can mark it to my heart’s content.
Plus, it’s mine.
Now, why did I ask for an older piece? Here’s why. When writing, psychology has shown that a person immerses one’s self in the piece. That means that a newly completed piece will still rest fresh in your mind and you’ll have more difficulty poking it for problems. With a completed piece that hasn’t been looked at in a while, it’s easier to look at the words objectively.
I know – that will never happen. But one can always hope.
Another way to put this: It’s time to release the inner editor on your writing.
If you’ve read through my critique series, you’ll notice a similar set of steps. I’ve tried to create similar steps for easy learning and streamlined thought processes. It helps that revising and critiquing cover similar ground, as well.
Step 1: Read the story. If you’re home alone or have a quiet space, read it out loud. Just because you wrote the story, it does not mean you can skip this step.
Step 2: Use the pencil to note places of difficulty. I bracket questionable sentences. A karat ( ^ ) is added where I want to add a sentence or other note. This can be done while reading or once you’ve completed the reading. I find during more useful, because the inconsistency is fresh.
Step 3: Taking your spare paper, write out a revised version of your bracketed sentence that flows better for you. If you added a karat, write the sentence or sentences that would clarify the scene. Because you may have multiple instances of changes, it helps to number the changes and place the number with the corresponding karat.
Step 4: Enter your changes into the computer.
Step 5: Reprint.
Step 6: Repeat.
Nothing says these steps can’t happen on the computer screen. The difference is simply placing the changes directly into the document without writing them out. Again, this is personal journey dependent. Some people can revise on a computer screen and some can’t. I’m one who can’t.
Another important thing to realize – not everyone writes straight through to completion. Some people revise the previous day’s work before continuing with new writing. Nothing wrong with that technique, provided you finish writing the piece! Don’t get so hung up on revising the second paragraph of chapter one that you never write the third paragraph.
I’ve offered thoughts on how to do it, but not what to look for when revising. We again refer back to the critique series.
Glaring show stoppers, obvious plot holes, character inconsistencies, dialogue issues, information dumps. Anything that slows the pace of the story or otherwise impinges on the story’s readability, you’ve got to catch with revision. Oh, and things you look for here but don’t in a critique: GRAMMAR ERRORS!
Get back here. They aren’t that scary.
Obviously, your brain won’t catch every mistake on the first pass. That’s why I included that final step – Repeat. Brandon Sanderson has mentioned on his weekly podcast that he sometimes does as many as seven revisions before he’s happy with a book. Tracy Hickman mentioned that he revises at least five times. Stephen King does at least two passes as well.
This covers my brief overview of revision. Obviously, more details exist than I could cover in this short piece. Look for future posts where I expand on those details.
I’d love to hear from others on their techniques, maybe so I can fine tune mine.
Today's post was inspired by the topic “Revisions” as part of the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour, http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com/. This ongoing tour allows you, the reader, travel around the world from author's blog to author's blog.
Don’t miss tomorrow’s posting over at: http://suesantore.com/
If you want to get to know nearly twenty other writers, check out the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour: http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com/
You’ve not forgotten your own writing, have you?
For this post, let’s grab one of your completed pieces. We’d prefer one that’s been percolating and away from your writing consciousness for a bit. I’ll explain why in a minute.
Now that you have all this writing, I’m going to take you through a very basic outline of revising your work. This won’t be the best way to work for some people, obviously, and I don’t claim this as the “only way to work.” With each unique journey, you can’t hope to get it right for everyone who writes. Take what I offer, use what works and trash the rest. I’ll understand.
To run through this task, I tend to have a pencil or pen and spare paper. Some people suggest that you use a specific color pencil or pen, like red. As long as it contrasts with your print out, meaning you can see your changes, any color will do. For me, the color has to do with my mood or the holiday. I edit in green on St Patrick’s Day.
My story print is a draft on standard copy paper, so I can mark it to my heart’s content.
Plus, it’s mine.
Now, why did I ask for an older piece? Here’s why. When writing, psychology has shown that a person immerses one’s self in the piece. That means that a newly completed piece will still rest fresh in your mind and you’ll have more difficulty poking it for problems. With a completed piece that hasn’t been looked at in a while, it’s easier to look at the words objectively.
I know – that will never happen. But one can always hope.
Another way to put this: It’s time to release the inner editor on your writing.
If you’ve read through my critique series, you’ll notice a similar set of steps. I’ve tried to create similar steps for easy learning and streamlined thought processes. It helps that revising and critiquing cover similar ground, as well.
Step 1: Read the story. If you’re home alone or have a quiet space, read it out loud. Just because you wrote the story, it does not mean you can skip this step.
Step 2: Use the pencil to note places of difficulty. I bracket questionable sentences. A karat ( ^ ) is added where I want to add a sentence or other note. This can be done while reading or once you’ve completed the reading. I find during more useful, because the inconsistency is fresh.
Step 3: Taking your spare paper, write out a revised version of your bracketed sentence that flows better for you. If you added a karat, write the sentence or sentences that would clarify the scene. Because you may have multiple instances of changes, it helps to number the changes and place the number with the corresponding karat.
Step 4: Enter your changes into the computer.
Step 5: Reprint.
Step 6: Repeat.
Nothing says these steps can’t happen on the computer screen. The difference is simply placing the changes directly into the document without writing them out. Again, this is personal journey dependent. Some people can revise on a computer screen and some can’t. I’m one who can’t.
Another important thing to realize – not everyone writes straight through to completion. Some people revise the previous day’s work before continuing with new writing. Nothing wrong with that technique, provided you finish writing the piece! Don’t get so hung up on revising the second paragraph of chapter one that you never write the third paragraph.
I’ve offered thoughts on how to do it, but not what to look for when revising. We again refer back to the critique series.
Glaring show stoppers, obvious plot holes, character inconsistencies, dialogue issues, information dumps. Anything that slows the pace of the story or otherwise impinges on the story’s readability, you’ve got to catch with revision. Oh, and things you look for here but don’t in a critique: GRAMMAR ERRORS!
Get back here. They aren’t that scary.
Obviously, your brain won’t catch every mistake on the first pass. That’s why I included that final step – Repeat. Brandon Sanderson has mentioned on his weekly podcast that he sometimes does as many as seven revisions before he’s happy with a book. Tracy Hickman mentioned that he revises at least five times. Stephen King does at least two passes as well.
This covers my brief overview of revision. Obviously, more details exist than I could cover in this short piece. Look for future posts where I expand on those details.
I’d love to hear from others on their techniques, maybe so I can fine tune mine.
Today's post was inspired by the topic “Revisions” as part of the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour, http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com/. This ongoing tour allows you, the reader, travel around the world from author's blog to author's blog.
Don’t miss tomorrow’s posting over at: http://suesantore.com/
If you want to get to know nearly twenty other writers, check out the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour: http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com/
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