{"id":973,"date":"2018-07-04T07:48:24","date_gmt":"2018-07-04T11:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/?p=973"},"modified":"2018-07-04T07:48:24","modified_gmt":"2018-07-04T11:48:24","slug":"the-red-pencil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/2018\/07\/04\/the-red-pencil\/","title":{"rendered":"The Red Pencil"},"content":{"rendered":"

On May 26, 2018, Bethany Meyer wrote, What is the best editing process? What steps do you do in what order from beginning to end in the process?<\/em><\/p>\n

Also, how does one rewrite a part of the story without feeling like you\u2019re not changing anything\/the story has gone flat\/wanting to pull your hair out?<\/em><\/p>\n

Christie V Powell wrote back, After I finish the rough draft, I\u2019ll put it aside for a month or two. Then I\u2019ll read it over and make a list of all the scenes. I reorder them into chapters and figure out what scenes are still missing\u2013for my current WIP, I\u2019m using KM Weiland\u2019s story structure to get the big picture–character arcs, theme, and plot–in the right places. Then I go through and get the manuscript to match the new outline. After that I\u2019ll get feedback from beta readers, and go through it several more times, checking for character, dialogue, prose, grammar mistakes, etc. Then I\u2019ll order a physical copy from staples and go over that to see what I missed.<\/em><\/p>\n

I definitely do feel that I am changing things\u2013but in a good way. The rough draft helped me to discover the themes and overall feel of the story, and then my editing will help me bring to light what I\u2019ve discovered. For instance, I was half-way through the rough draft when I realized that the relationship between two specific characters was going to be a major focus. In editing, I went back and changed the order and added scenes so that this relationship is a bigger part of the story. I figured out that one of the themes is the dangers of extremism verses the importance of communication, so I worked in two different antagonists, each representing opposite extremes.<\/em><\/p>\n

Wow! Christie V Powell is organized! That sounds like a great approach to revision.<\/p>\n

Just saying, Bethany Meyer, my hair is thin to begin with, and I feel lucky to have any left!<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m less likely to tear mine out in revision, my favorite part of the process, than in writing my first draft, my least favorite part.<\/p>\n

It may be helpful for everyone to think about revision as I do: the hardest work is over; I have an entire story\u2013beginning, middle, and end; all I have to do now is make it better.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m such a slow writer that when I finish the first draft of a novel, I\u2019ve pretty much forgotten the beginning, so I have to wait only a few days before I can dive back in. But I agree with Christie V Powell that at least some time has to go by. We need that time to be able to see what\u2019s going on in an objective way, not to feel defensive about every word and every scene that we labored to produce.<\/p>\n

The feeling that the story has gone flat may come from not waiting long enough before going back into it. Immediately after finishing we are at our most vulnerable to a doubt attack.<\/p>\n

Every writer works differently, and I\u2019m not as organized as Christie V Powell, so I just jump back in, and I tend to do everything at once as I go through: character development, dialogue, setting, grammar, word choice, pacing. For me: pacing, pacing, pacing.<\/p>\n

As I\u2019m writing my first draft, I’m often aware of aspects that aren\u2019t working well that I will need to address in revision, so I make a note at the very top of my manuscript. For example, in my WIP, the relationship between my MC and her grandfather is super important, but I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve revealed it enough, and I haven\u2019t developed the grandfather\u2019s personality fully. So I have a note about that at the top of page 1.<\/p>\n

Or, to take another example, at the beginning of the WIP, I made my MC a math genius. As I kept writing, I had to conclude that my own grasp of math wasn\u2019t good enough for me to represent hers, and I confess I\u2019m not eager to educate myself sufficiently to keep up with her (along with all the research on fifteenth century Spain). So, there\u2019s another note at the top to tone down the math. I\u2019m worried, though, that I may find that I can\u2019t do without it. If that\u2019s the case, I\u2019ll hit the books.<\/p>\n

Some of my notes are about tiny things that will take only a few moments. At one point I need my MC to be wearing, as usual, a lot of jewelry, but I haven\u2019t shown her wearing jewelry at all. I have to drop a mention or two\u2013there\u2019s a note about that.<\/p>\n

Also, I note at the top of the manuscripts words I suspect myself of overusing.<\/p>\n

So on the happy day, soon after the even happier day when I typed The End, I dive back in. As I go along, I look back occasionally at my list at the top to refresh my memory and make sure I\u2019m catching everything.<\/p>\n

But the first thing I do is save my first draft and rename the revision. That way, if I mess up the revision, I still have the original to go back to. This gives me the confidence to move forward. Every time I start a new round of revision, I do the same.<\/p>\n

And other things may crop up as well. If they do, I\u2019ll add them to my list at the top, to pick up as I continue, or to fix in my second revision. I\u2019ll also delete notes as I make the repairs.<\/p>\n

A first revision is never enough for me. I go through the manuscript one or two or three more times before I send it to my editor, and then, naturally, I revise again and again based on her feedback.<\/p>\n

For me it\u2019s a process of both amplifying and cutting. I often find that I\u2019ve glossed over moments that need more, so I go deeper.<\/p>\n

In other places, I\u2019ve nattered on endlessly, and then the (virtual) scissors come out. I cut a lot! Always. Usually over a hundred pages, taken in snips from here and there. Sometimes it hurts, and that\u2019s where my Extras document comes in. When I cut something, I copy it into Extras. I know I\u2019ve saved my original draft, but what I\u2019ve just cut may not be in that draft, and anyway I may find it more easily in Extras if I need it, which sometimes (rarely) I do.<\/p>\n

I pay a lot of attention in every draft to the minutiae of grammar, sentence structure, word repetition, word choice. Every sentence in a paragraph shouldn\u2019t start with the same word. A string of paragraphs also shouldn\u2019t start with the same word. Sentence after sentence shouldn\u2019t be two clauses connected by and<\/em> or but<\/em>. I need to vary my verbs. And so on. Even though this may not seem as important as plot and character, the minutiae determine the kind of read we provide the reader, and we want it to be smooth.<\/p>\n

Here are three prompts:<\/p>\n

\u2219 Your MC gets do-overs. When she makes mistakes she can travel back in time and fix them. What could go wrong? Make the fixes go south, causing more fixes in a downward cycle. Write a scene or the whole story.<\/p>\n

\u2219 Jacob Grimm writes the stories and Wilhelm revises them (I\u2019m making this up). But, when it come to \u201cSnow White,\u201d Jacob feels that Wilhelm has murdered his creation. Write the story of their struggle and the way the fairy tale evolves.<\/p>\n

\u2219 Your MC is the daughter in a family that has carried on a feud with another family for six generations. She wants the feud to end and takes on the job of mediator. No one cooperates. Write the story of her efforts to make peace. You decide if she succeeds or fails.<\/p>\n

Have fun, and save what you write!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On May 26, 2018, Bethany Meyer wrote, What is the best editing process? What steps do you do in what order from beginning to end in the process? Also, how does one rewrite a part of the story without feeling like you\u2019re not changing anything\/the story has gone flat\/wanting to pull your hair out? Christie […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,26],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/973"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=973"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":974,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/973\/revisions\/974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}