Yeah, I’m Revising

In my euphoric last post, I’d finished the rough draft of my work-in-progress. My ‘next-steps list’ included … after a short break, the revision begins in earnest.

I’ve taken the list to heart. I’ve earnestly been enjoying my break. I’ve spent time with family, friends, and dogs.

But I’ve also been thinking about readers, specifically who and why they will enjoy the book.

My brother and sister-in-law will like it because it’s dedicated to them. (Vacationing in – I mean – researching the Puget Sound was hard work.) And I hope my brother’s best friend likes it; his name was used for an illegal tree poacher. (I hope he doesn’t lose his forestry department job.) My daughter will like it because the heroine’s actions are based on a comment my daughter made. My dog-lover friends will like it because a stray dog found a ‘forever home.’ My publisher will love it because she can mark the book’s (long overdue) publication off her To-Do list.

Then we party. Funny how the book’s launch party was planned long before I reached ‘The End.’

 

Drafted!

During April, I achieved my Camp NaNoWriMo goal of drafting the remaining scenes of “Forever After.” Now, after a short break, the revision begins in earnest.

I used to think authors who preferred revising over writing the initial draft were crazy. But now, in my euphoric state of being done with the first draft, I can understand. All the basic bones of the scenes are on paper (digitally), although in places the draft is very rough. (I channel Rodney Dangerfield at times like this. ‘My draft is so rough, I got splinters the size of telephone poles.’)

Writing a book is a multi-step process: draft the story; wait to gain a fresh perspective; read it through, making notes on what works and doesn’t work; revise the story; then repeat the read / revise cycle until the story is perfected. The final step is editing to make the prose sing.

Although many people write the entire draft before revising, I prefer to write a bit, then revise and polish what I wrote. And repeat ad nauseum. "Circling the drain" is how I describe my writing style. It works for me, but it’s not the fastest way from start to finish.