Things that I am a self-proclaimed expert on*:
- Disney World
- Sims
- Procrastinating
- Overthinking things
- Avoiding adulthood
- Writing a term paper in eight hours the day before it's due
- Smiling at rude people when I really want to punch them in the face
- Making lists
*Disclaimer: May not be 100% accurate
Notice how nowhere on this list does it say, "Revising a novel". Also notice how the title of today's post does not, in any way, promise advise from a pro. This is advice from an amateur, aka someone who is 0% sure of what she's doing 100% of the time.
Then again, when do I ever?
I've written first drafts before. Dozens...maybe even hundreds of them. Trust me when I say that I'm very, very good at writing crappy drafts. But do you know how many of them have made it to the active revising stage? Like, .7 of them. And none of them have made it past that to the end.
Honestly, I find that revising can be very overwhelming sometimes. You have to sift through all 50,000+ words of your story--which, come on, is a lot--figure out what works and what doesn't, what to cut and what to add in. Are you telling me that after 30 odd days of pouring my blood, sweat and tears into these words, I'm supposed to cut half of them out? Or, God forbid, start over completely?! No, thank you! Me and this sorry excuse for a novel will be over there in the corner if you need us. Who needs to be published, anyway?
I suffer from a little thing I like to call Perfectionist Writing. That is to say, I have a very strong tendancy to edit as I write--to change something midway and double back to fix the beginning, or to rethink every word or phrase I type as soon as it appears on the screen. You know what that results in? A big wad of nothing. A mountain of unfinished projects, half-assed premises, and characters that are flatter than my nonexistant rear end.
So yeah, that's my first tip. TIP #1 - DON'T DO THAT. Complete your first draft à la NaNoWriMo. Get it down first and leave the rest to Future You.
TIP #2 - LET IT BREATHE
Your novel is finished, and it is flawless. Perfect. A true classic in the making. Go ahead and allow yourself to live in that beautiful fantasy for the time being.
Let your novel sit for a few weeks, maybe a month. Work on something else. Go for a walk, enjoy the sun and the fresh, beautiful oxygen. Appreciate the world around you, because it's not gonna look so great once you dive back into your fiction.
When you come back, read it. All of it. And try not to cry.
TIP #3 - OUTLINE. TWICE.
Or three times or four, however many it takes to work out that muddled plot of yours...but make at least two. The first will be sort of a reversed outline of your first draft. It'll have everything that happened and with accompanying notes of the things you already know need fixing. (It's okay if this list is a mile long; that's normal.)
The second is where you fix them--or attempt to, anyway. I think I'm on outline number four right now. But hey, sorting through a broken outline is a hell of a lot easier than sorting through a broken draft, so have at 'er.
TIP #4 - POST-ITS
I am enraged to have neither been introduced to this method sooner, nor to have thought of it myself.
PLOTTING. WITH POST-IT NOTES.
Clear that bedroom wall of those ancient Jonas Brothers posters and grab yourself a fresh pack of post-its (or several, of varying colours and sizes, if you're an absolute dork like me) and a sharpie. Make a few headings for chapters and leave space underneath for your plot points.
Plot points. On post it notes.
Dedicate each post-it to a different event. Major, minor, whatever you want. Put them in their designated chapters, move them around. Add new ones in, throw old ones out. Reverse the entire plot! SO MUCH EXCITEMENT AND FUN! This method allows for complete scatterbrains like myself to actually organize our thoughts and get our act together!
TIP #5 - THE MASTER OUTLINE
This is the most extensive, in depth, pain in the ass document you will ever create, but holy crap will it ever be helpful! I recommend doing this digitally, but if you would rather use the equivalent of the Amazon Rainforest in paper, then be my guest.
Because this document? It's gonna have your plot--extensively. Like, Wikipedia-synopsis-of-your-favourite-movie extensive. It's gonna have timelines, from years before your story starts to years after it ends. It's gonna have character biographies and backgrounds--everything from their favourite colour and whether or not they still love Let It Go, to their deepest fears and bigger-than-life dreams. Do they have a weird habit of waking up exactly seven minutes before their alarm everyday? Include it. Include everything.
Keep this massive beast saved. Everywhere. Twice. Keep, like, twelve back-ups of this thing, because it'll be hell if you lose it.
TIP #6 - REWRITE. LIKE, A MILLION TIMES.
Or rather: don't be afraid to rewrite it a million times.
Rewriting is scary. It's like throwing everything out and starting from scratch again, which can seem super discouraging; almost like all the work you originally put into it was a waste.
But it wasn't a waste, as unlikely as it seems. You can't get everything right on the first try, and your novel is no exception.
Rewriting takes a lot of time, though. The more you work on your plot outline beforehand, the fewer times you'll have to rewrite it later--so if you're not satisfied with the outline, take another look before you dive back into writing. But if you're getting restless, go ahead and dive back in. Planning is boring sometimes, and all work and no fun will just make it harder to find the motivation to work on it.
TIP #7 - KNOW WHAT WORKS
There's a difference between giving up and knowing that a story just isn't working. Unfortunately, the line between the two can be blurred and faded when you're feeling down and discouraged.
I haven't quite mastered the art of telling them apart (like....at all). I'm not sure that there is a way. All you can do is set it aside and let it breathe for a bit. If you find yourself letting it breathe more than drowning it in the sweat of hard work...well, maybe that's a sign.
I will admit: most of these tips and strategies are still in the experimental phases. But they've been working okay so far, so hopefully you'll find some use for them, as well!
Until later,
- Justyne
No comments:
Post a Comment