Revision
There seem to be two schools of thought when it comes to revising fiction. Some writers (and teachers) insist that you finish a first draft before doing any real revision. Other writers describe their process as writing for the day, starting the next day’s writing by reading and revising the previous day’s work, then proceeding on new pages/scenes.
Though wheel-spinning is a potential hazard with the latter process, I’ve embraced it with the hope that I’ll be able to write a stronger first draft if I don’t postpone answering the hard questions about what’s not working with my page/scene/chapter before moving ahead.
I’m spending a lot more time considering what a reader would need to know–and when s/he would need to know it–than I used to. I want to build in the story elements that make a reader want to keep turning pages, rather than trying to figure out how to get them in later.
Obviously, revision will still be necessary. But by working to create a stronger first draft, I’m hoping to build a more solid story, figuring this may result in fewer drafts in the end.
I like Keith Gray’s suggestion in this last installment of his creative writing masterclass for the Scottish Book Trust that when it’s time to revise, put the book or story away for a few weeks, or preferably a month before reading it to mark changes for revision. When it’s time to read it again, he advises that we look for three Cs: clarity, construction and color.
On a personal note, I’d like to celebrate my 100th post. Though there have actually been more than 100, the number won’t again dip below that. My numbers go up and down because of the wonderful journal prompts written by poet Sarah Busse.
She writes each prompt to correspond to a specific week in a specific moon, using the Celtic names for each moon of the year as her reference. (Currently, we’re in the willow moon.) Sarah’s journaling prompts ask us to look at this moment, right now.
So at Sarah’s request, when the week is up and a new prompt appears, I pull down the previous prompt. The point isn’t to to “catch up” or go back, but to step in where we are and forge ahead. In the world of the web, where everything seems to stay out there forever, I appreciate the ephemeral quality of the journal prompts, the “here today, gone tomorrow” nature of them.
Because that’s life. Yesterday, my children were babies. The day before that, I was in college and hadn’t yet met my husband. And last week, I was learning to ride a bike. Tomorrow, both of my children will be teenagers; the day after that, they’ll be gone to college. Today is a good day to pay attention.
Thanks for reading the last 100-plus posts–I hope you’ll keep reading. And special thanks to Sarah for her contributions to this blog.