So, this is just going to be my revision process and all the things that I go through when I'm revising my manuscript and/or short story. You can add this into your process, or you can take bits and pieces of it and add it to yours. Use whatever you want with this information. I'm just putting it out there to help anyone with it. Draft (Step) One - This is the draft where you're drafting your story. There isn't much to say about this draft. You're just writing your first draft or your rough draft. The beginning of this draft is always the fun part where most writer's get most of their motivation and inspiration. I am one of those. I often write the fastest at the beginning of this draft because it's a new story and I'm all excited over it. Be warned. This is also the hardest draft to finish. Towards the middle of your novel, this is where the excitement wears off and writers start to slow down on their writing. This draft is also going to be one of the hardest drafts to finish. This is where writers would tend to fall off and stop writing because they just can't anymore. It's hard to find motivation to continue on with a story that you're not as interested in as much as you did in the beginning. Draft (Step) Two - Yay, you've just finished your novel!! There are two routes that most writers would go down whenever they have just finished their manuscript and/or short story. They either put it aside for a few weeks and then come back to it with fresh eyes, or they would go right back to the beginning and start the revision process. The most popular (and the one that I lean towards) is the waiting it out for a few weeks and then coming back to it with fresh eyes. Whatever you find works for you is going to be the one that works for you. Right, so once you've decided and you're ready to come back to your manuscript, it's time to start rereading it. In this draft, you're just rereading what you wrote and taking notes on anything that you may need to change or to add. Jot anything that comes to mind. In this draft, you're not allowed to make any changes whatsoever. All you do is just reread and take notes. The main purpose of this is to just read the entire manuscript and to see if fits and comes together nicely. Draft (Step) 3 - Now take everything that you have just took notes on and put it into your manuscript. I like to think of this draft as more of a filling in things that need to be filled in for the purpose of the plot. The biggest thing to look for is to change the big things that are wrong with your manuscript. The big things that you saw while rereading. Draft (Step) 4 - This stage is where you start to really recognize what who your characters are. This is the draft where I like to look more closer at my characters and build them up more. After rewriting a bit, you learn more about the people that you're writing about, so this is the stage where you should make the scenes pop out more. Where you add scenes that would benefit your character's arc. Here is a quote that I read from an article that I really liked and think that it portrays this draft really nicely: Real flesh-and-blood people are complicated, and while the real flesh-and-blood people we know (even intimately) are always more complicated than we will ever realize, in fiction it is our job to realize just how complicated our characters are and then convey that on the page. Just as it takes a long time to get to know a person so intimately that you might discover some long-held secret about their past, it takes a few drafts to know every intimate detail about our characters. Draft (Step) 5 - You’re halfway done, almost there – now CUT. This should be the shortest version as possible. Sometimes the shortest version of something is three pages and sometimes it’s 1,000, but this is where you take everything, every detail, every scene, sometimes even every character, and put them on trial. Does this scene really need to be here? Did you write a very similar scene a few chapters back? Yes? Well, which one is better? Then the other has to go. Does this character add to the story or are they just a placeholder? Consider tweaking the character or letting them go. In addition to repetition, look at your long paragraphs: Are they a little too expository? Maybe even long-winded? Really look at those words, those phrases, even those beautiful descriptions, and decide whether they truly help or hurt your reader’s experience. That's where the saying "kill your darlings" comes from. Look at everything that does not add to your story and cut. Then cut some more. Draft (Step) 6 - Sometimes I call this “the poetry draft” because what you’re looking at here is the use of language and how it flows in the novel. This is where you are painstakingly mine every sentence. Is each sentence perfect, not just as a sentence but also as a sentence in your unique novel? How are your word choices? Did you overuse adverbs? (A friend of mine searches for all words ending in –ly and cuts about two-thirds of them). Is there a clear narrative voice? Really craft your writing here, your words and the flow, just as a poet might. Reread each sentence a few times to make sure it all works. This draft takes time, but it’s worth it. Draft (Step) 7 - Around draft seven is a good time to get your book in the hands of readers. You might have workshopped while you were writing your first draft, and it might have helped you a great deal to look at certain smaller parts with other writers, but now it’s time to have two, three, maybe four people, people whom you trust to be critical of your work, read your novel. How do you find these people? You might consider joining a writing workshop through a community organization, university, or a for-profit company. You might set up a meet-up to workshop a novel or go to the many sites that help authors find beta readers. Be mindful of friends and family who might not be familiar with critiquing a novel; they might not know what to look for or they might not want to hurt your feelings. Thus, their feedback won’t be as critical and will be less helpful. You don’t want a pat on the back during this draft; you want cold, hard criticism. Remember, there might be a quid pro quo attached to this, and you should plan on reading and commenting fairly on the work of those who workshop you. This stage, on your end, might involve reading someone else’s novel and not your own while your novel is in the hands of readers, but you can learn a lot about your own work by examining the approach another writer takes. Draft (Step) 8 - It’s important to understand how to look at the comments of others and to always accept feedback – any feedback, positive or negative – graciously. That being said, this novel is YOURS and it will have YOUR name on it. So you also need to be critical of the comments as well. Be sure not to get too attached to some of your darlings if a great many of your beta readers question them. But also know that the parts of your book that made your blood race, that made you feel as if you were about to stop breathing as you were writing, are probably going to have similar effects on the reader, even if people in your workshop had trouble with them. That might mean you have to tweak those parts, rewrite some scenes, or make sure you get the right ideas across if you see that readers are having trouble with them, but not every negative comment a beta reader makes means you should delete something or change it completely. Sometimes it’s just a matter of tweaking or clarifying. Draft (Step) 9 - Now that you’ve changed what needs to be changed, it’s time to check your grammar. This draft might be more daunting for some whose strengths lay outside commas and semicolons. You don’t want to do this draft too early in the writing process, as there’s no point in painstakingly going over work that’s only going to be scrapped or changed so much that you are going to have to go over it again (and again) later. Honestly, grammar is not my strong suit, and so while there are things I can check and change, I prefer to ask a professional. My grandmother-in-law is a pro at grammar, so I usually go to her. Chances are you might have to call in favors. You may want to hire a professional if grammar is just not your thing. That might cost a bit of money, but when it comes to getting your book out there, it’s worth it. Draft (Step) 10 - Here is where you read for any glaring errors. A forgotten word or something not caught in the grammar edit. You read to see that it all makes sense, but mostly what you’re really reading for is to say, “It’s good, it’s really good.” This is where you ask the question, “Does it read like a book?” And answer wholeheartedly, “YES!” If the answer is not “YES!” do not fret; go back, keep editing. Repeat draft three, draft four; consider what still needs work and revise until it’s finished. Once you answer, “YES! It’s really a book,” your novel is ready to go out into the world, whether it’s to an agent, a small press, or maybe you’re embarking on the self-publishing journey. And by the way, once an agent, editor, or small press gets their hands on your novel, there’s going to be a whole new round of drafts to go through. Take comfort in the fact that everyone simply wants your book to be the best it can be. What’s important to remember is that creating a novel takes time beyond just its writing. Just like you didn’t know how awesome and complicated and weird your best friend or lover was until you spent a meaningful amount of time with them, your novel will grow, change, and show you things about itself the more time you spend with it. So be prepared to spend – and enjoy – that time writing drafts. And there you go! That's my revision process. I have gone through this process with some short stories, but I've never gone through it with my novels
2 Comments
Sarah R.
2/2/2023 01:28:58 am
Thank you for sharing this, Cora! I really appreciated what you had to say in step two: "In this draft, you're not allowed to make any changes whatsoever. All you do is just reread and take notes." It can be hard for me to reread without immediately changing things, but I think choosing to just note things down at that stage could be really helpful.
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Cora
2/14/2023 07:39:19 pm
Thank you so much, Sarah!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it and I hope that it could potentially help you in your writing journey if you so choose.
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AuthorJust your average 18 year old girl that enjoys writing, and wants to spread awareness to things that are important to me and write about random stuff! Archives
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