The Hell I'd Like to Call Revision

I'm embarrassed to admit this: I don't know how to revise. I'm an English teacher. I encourage my students to revise all the time. So what's wrong with ME? Why am I struggling so hard to revise my novel and get it ready for submission this summer?

I don't think this makes me a terrible English teacher. I can help my students revise essays, especially the persuasive ones that the state and district seem so fond of using in writing assessments. But my novel? My baby? It's so hard! (And yes, I know I'm on the verge of whining. I can't help it!)

After spending an entire week feeling overwhelmed, I received an email that helped me see the light at the end of my revision tunnel. A couple of months ago I signed up for the Writer's Boot Camp at WIFYR (Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers). The class will be taught by Ann Cannon, author of several books including The Loser's Guide to Life and Love. She sent a welcome letter yesterday that gave me nearly three pages worth of questions to think about during the revision process. Thank you, Ann! This was exactly what I needed. I have about three months to whip my baby into shape because 55 pages will be read by Ann and nine other strangers (I cringe just thinking about it!). 

But now I have direction, and I intend to approach each question one step at a time. I'd love to hear any suggestions about how you tackle revision.

Does anyone have any sage advice about revision? Tricks that have worked well for you? Website links of golden information? 

Attack of the Inner Editor

I have a very strong inner editor.  In arm wrestles, she always wins.  What does this mean for my writing?  Sometimes it takes hours for me to write a chapter.

I envy those who can sit at their computer and just write.  Even when they know it's not perfect and it will ultimately need some serious revision.  

I can't do that.  I've tried, trust me.  But I can't stop myself from going back to reread and rewrite.  In fact, before each writing session, I review the previous chapter and rewrite words, sentences, even entire paragraphs.  I suffer from a bad case of perfectionism.

In her book Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott spends one chapter championing bad first drafts and another chapter denouncing perfectionism.  She states, "Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people.  It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft" (28).  She continues, "Perfectionism will ruin your writing, blocking inventiveness and playfulness and life force ... Perfectionism means that you try desperately not to leave so much mess to clean up.  But clutter and mess show that life is being lived" (28).

Do you agree with Anne Lamott?  What do you do to restrain your own inner editor?

Novel Revision Retreat

I had the most amazing weekend: my first SCBWI regional retreat.  If you ever get the opportunity to attend Darcy Pattison's Novel Revision Retreat, do it!

In Pattison's book Novel Metamorphosis, she breaks down revision into smaller, manageable chunks like characters, plot, and setting.   At the retreat, she gave us mini-lessons in each of these areas, providing us with several examples from published novels and picture books.  

Pattison is a strong supporter of whole manuscript critiques.  Before the retreat, each participant exchanged completed manuscripts with three others.  We didn't do line-by-line edits; instead, we looked at the "big picture" for inconsistencies, strong and weak chapters, and good examples of characterization, setting, and language.  I stayed with this group throughout the retreat as we discussed each of Pattison's mini-lessons and how they pertained to our own manuscripts.  It was so helpful to receive input from three other people who knew my manuscript.  

Another suggestion that Pattison gives is to use a shrunken manuscript.  She describes this more in her book, but it's a way to visually represent your entire manuscript in about 30 pages to look for places where your conflict, dialogue, and scenes may be weak.  I'm a visual learner, so seeing my manuscript this way was amazing!

I admit that my brain hurt when I left Idaho and headed back home.  But it was a good hurt.  I have so many ideas of how to revise my manuscript.  Now I have a summer project: to make my novel better so I can start querying by the fall.  Of course, there's that other WIP that I'd like to finish.  It's going to be a busy (but productive) summer!

Revision Tip

At ... and this time, concentrate!, Summer introduced me to Wordle, a website where you can post an entire manuscript and it will visually display the words you use the most.

To better see my Wordle results for my WIP Again, click on the image below.  

Wow, what an eye-opener!  I'm aware of some of my overused words, but others surprised me.  Now I can go through my manuscript and utilize the "search and edit" function to change these words.  

Thanks Summer for this great revision idea!

The Big "R"

Revision. It's a word that makes my students groan ... every time. To them, when they finish a first draft, it's their last draft. I used to be the same. Mostly because it was a writing assignment that I didn't enjoy. Once I got to the final period, I was finished. Period. :)

Not anymore. I've learned to love revision. It's my chance to fine tune every word, phrase, sentence, paragraph, and so on. I've lost count of how many times I've revised the first 1-2 pages of my manuscript. I jumped into the hook faster, I changed the tense from the past to the present to the past again, I made it less telling and more showing, etc. Each time I revise, I'm confident that it's so much better.

And then I discover another error I've made. Sometimes I wonder if the revision will ever end. I know that my manuscript needs to be the best it can possibly be before I seek representation and/or publication.

So, here's my question to my wise readers: How do I know when my revision is finished? Or will it ever finish? Will I ever be fully satisfied? I know, that ended up being more than one question, but I'd really love some advice!

In the meantime, I'm sure I find find something else to revise.

Constructive Criticism

Accepting criticism is hard, no matter who you. As a writer, it's been difficult for me to put my "baby" out there for others to see. Lately, I've had to learn to suck in my pride and accept help from others. It hasn't been easy, but it's been worth it.

My crit group, Writers in Paradise, has been supportive and helpful throughout my first draft. But I knew I needed additional help. A couple of months ago, I stumbled across Miss Snark's First Victim, a blog that has random contests where writers can anonymously place parts of their writing for others to view and comment. Excited for a new opportunity, I submitted an excerpt of of my manuscript in the Talkin' Heads contest.

Then the comments began. Fourteen people wrote essentially the same criticism over and over again: my characters sounded stiff and unnatural. Although I was frustrated, I didn't give up. I went back to my manuscript and started reworking all of the dialogue to make it sound more authentic (more like teenagers were speaking).

I decided to try again. This time I entered the blog's Secret Agent contest that examines the first 250 words of a manuscript to see if it "hooks" the reader. When I entered the contest, I knew that my beginning needed work. And I was right. Some liked it, but others thought it was "unremarkable." So I went back to my manuscript -- again -- and reworked the beginning. In fact, I changed my beginning so much that now it's in the present tense instead of the past tense.

The biggest lesson I've learned is that I need to stay humble and be willing to accept criticism. Revision is a long and challenging process, but it's necessary. After each new revision, I feel like my manuscript is stronger and better than before. I can't wait until I learn more at the two workshops I'm attending in April/May and June. After those workshops, I hope to be one step closer to sending my manuscript off to an agent.

In the meantime, I've started my second manuscript. It's a long, hard road as a writer, but I'm loving it!