This Week's Topic is: For many, December is a post-NaNoWriMo revision haze! How do you approach editing/revising? Any tips or tricks or resources you can share?
I didn't win NaNoWriMo this year but I got a good start and I wrote more than I might have written if I hadn't been doing NaNo so thanks to all of you who encouraged me to participate.
My revision process goes a little like this.
1. Finish a readable draft. Send draft to readers. If readers are writer types let readers know what I'm looking for.
2. Re-read draft while readers are re-reading. Write out questions for readers and critique partners.
3. Get feedback from as many readers as possible. Let face it, lots of people might volunteer to read your stuff but not everyone will finish and give feedback. Even if someone only makes it to chapter 4 I want to know that. I usually give a window of time like this- hey I'm going to start working on the next draft so if you have feedback give it now.
4. I like to use this book in my process. Great workbook for creating complex characters.
5. Digest feedback. I try to pay attention to things that come up from more than one person and really try to think about that and address those things. The reading/feedback/digesting feedback time is my time away from that project. I usually work on other things during that time.
6. Start new round of revisions.
Repeat as needed.
8 comments:
This sounds like a solid process, especially paying close attention to repeated feedback from more than one reader.
I loooooove that workbook. Just peeking in it every once in awhile helps my work.
Feedback is key for me too. :)
Hmm, I've never heard of that book before. I may have to check it out. Thanks for sharing ^_^
I've never heard of that workbook before. My process is so willy-nilly, I don't think I could use it. :)
I try not to make my group read too many versions. But I plan on sending them my first draft, then any major changes, then it's off to betas and then hopefully we'll be ready for some querying then. We'll see what changes I need to make to the first draft.
I have not looked at that book but it's now on my list!
That pretty much sounds like my process. I'm on a new round of revisions (seventh? eighth? something like that), and I'm hoping to polish it up for readers soon!
Great process, Carrie. Number 5 stands out for me (well, Number six and the repeat as needed do too), but digesting--and taking the time to do so--is important. But hard.
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