Revision And Self-Editing

by James Scott Bell

  But to start, you need the big picture. You want the feel of the story, to anticipate what the readers will pick up. Here are the steps to follow:

  1] THE COOL-DOWN PHASE

  It's essential to give yourself a break from the first draft. At least two weeks. Three is better, and if you can spare it go for a month (but if you're like me that seems like an eternity. And if you have a deadline you may not have that luxury).

  During this "cooling phase," try to forget about your book completely. Some writers use this time for a weeklong refresher and don't do any writing at all. Others, myself included, want to be working on something all the time.

  If that's you, work on another project. Pour yourself into it. If it's another novel, get cracking. If not, write an essay or a blog post or do writing exercises (such as those you'll find in Brian Kiteley's The 3 a.m. Epiphany). Or journal.

  Or write opening chapters for novels you may never write. Just start with an intriguing opening line and write without any preplanning. Who knows? You may just get an idea you'll want to develop.

  The main thing is to get all of your concentration focused on writing that is not your first draft.

  2] THE PREPARATION PHASE

  Try to work up a little excitement as you come to the first read-through. A good mental outlook helps generate insights. Make it fun.

  One thing I like to do is create a cover for my manuscript. I do a simple design, and then I put a critic's blurb on it. Like this:

  Try Dying

  James Scott Bell

  "Bell just keeps getting better. Yes indeed, the suspense never rests!" —New York Herald Tribune

  The New York Herald Tribune, by the way, is long dead. But it was alive during my favorite period for crime fiction, the 1950s. No one is going to see this, so lay it on thick. The fun is about to begin.

  If you're having some trepidation about the whole process of revision— which many writers do—you might want to write up a little list of positives you can refer to as you go:

  • This rewrite is going to make the book stronger.

  • I have the tools that will make the book better.

  • Great writing is rewriting with know-how, which is what I've got.

  • Rewriting with know-how is the mark of a pro, and I am a pro.

  Add to the list as you desire, but give yourself every possible motivation to dig in and get to work.

  3] PRINT OUT AND PREPARE A FRESH COPY

  Get yourself a clean, crisp copy of your manuscript, with that cover on top. Should you print it out on one-sided pages? Double-spaced? Courier font?

  All of these questions are up to you. Double spacing and one-sided printing allows for notes, but since I don't advocate copious notes for the first read through, this isn't a major concern for me.

  I like to use Times font, single-spaced, double-sided, because I want to create the feeling of an actual printed novel. I want to be like a reader, looking at it for the first time.

  I like to three-hole punch my manuscript and put it in a binder.

  4] GET READY TO READ

  Where do you like to read a brand-new book by your favorite author? I don't read for pleasure in my office. I have a nice soft chair by my living room window where I like to settle in with a nice cup of joe. Whatever your ritual is, replicate it with your manuscript. The only difference is you'll have a red felt-tip pen (or whatever you like to jot with) and note pad.

  5] READ

  Try to read the manuscript through in a couple of sittings—three or four at the most.

  What you want to create is the feeling of being a fresh reader, getting into this book for the first time.

  Don't stop to make changes at this point. You may jot a few things down, notes to yourself and the like, but keep going to get the overall impression of the book.

  I do use some shorthand markings the first time through:

  • a checkmark V for pages where I feel the story is dragging

  • parentheses () around incomprehensible sentences

  • a circle o in the margin where I think material needs to be added

  Using Outside Readers

  Some writers like to give their drafts to trusted readers—people who know what they're doing and can offer an objective viewpoint. Readers like this are extremely valuable. Show them their value by treating them to an opulent meal (or something analogous) every time they help you.

  You might want to include a simple response sheet along the following lines:

  • What did you think of the overall plot?

  • What did you like/dislike about the main characters?

  • Were there places where you got bored? Please explain.

  • Any suggestions for improvement?

  • What did you like about the book? (Take as much time as you want with this section!)

  6] ANALYZE

  After the first read-through, begin to make notes. Answer these questions:

  • Does my story make sense?

  • Is the plot compelling?

  • Does the story flow or does it seem choppy?

  • Do my Lead characters "jump off the page"?

  • Are the stakes high enough?

  • Is there enough of a "worry factor" for readers?

  Write a short essay about your book, as if you were a critic. How would you, objectively, rate your story? Don't be too hard on yourself.

  Don't expect this first draft to be perfection, or anything close to it. All first drafts are lousy, many professional writers believe. That's part of the point. You need to get it down on the page before you can fix it.

  At this point, go through your manuscript making more detailed notes on those spots that need work.

  The Summary Method

  In Writing a Novel, noted British novelist John Braine suggested a tech-nique following a first draft that many writers have found helpful. Braine advocated writing a first draft as quickly as possible, to stay in the flow. No looking back. No pause for major changes.

  Write the maximum number of words you can at every session and push on until finished.

  Then, after some cooling off, produce a summary of the novel. A synopsis, but one that's subject to change. Because you're going to try to make it better and deeper. You may even change it significantly.

  The summary should be no more than 2,000 to 3,000 words, and you should produce several versions.

  As described by Stephen Koch in The Modern Library Writer's Workshop:

  Tell yourself your emerging story again and again until you have, in capsule, a potent credible version that is propelling you into the new draft. If you like, summarize your first-draft version in the first. Then try some other ways of telling it. Change the beginning, change the ending, shift points of view and perspectives. Keep each summary short and try never to devote more than a day's work to any one of them. You are not rewriting. You are summarizing; you are testing possibilities. ... Don't talk to yourself about the story: Tell it to yourself in this concentrated form. Don't indulge in fancy meditations on the theme and do not theorize. But do include images and motifs and moments that you know drive the story forward ...

  If you produce several of these summaries, and finally fine-tune the best version, the method will give you a roadmap for an organic second draft.

  Such is the John Braine method, and I'd advise you to give it a try sometime just to see if it works for you.

  The Mess Factor

  So, what do you do if your manuscript is a big fat mess? You have no idea where to go, where to begin. There are too many plot strands and characters and scenes that seem to go nowhere.

  Perhaps you arrived here because you're an NOP (No Outline Person) who likes to write something new every day. I know several novelists who work this way, and they simply can't join the ranks of the OP (Outline People). They're willing to risk the "big mess."

  How do you handle it?

  Realize that there's nothing inherently wrong in this approach.
If you roll right through a first draft this way, what you're doing in essence is writing a jumbo novel outline! Many OPs write 50-word, single-spaced "outlines." Maybe you've just done one that's 80,000 words.

  Congratulations. Now find out what your novel is supposed to be and start over again. Don't rewrite, but, as Ray Bradbury says, relive it.

  But what if you just can't escape the feeling that you're lost at sea? You don't even know which direction to run to begin swimming. You're flailing away with no land in sight.

  Let me throw you a few life preservers:

  1] Embrace Your Desperation

  I know I sound like some yogi from the land of easy answers, but I do have a point. You can either be defeated by your desperation, or you can use it.

  2] Practice Ping-Ponging

  One the most prolific authors in history, Isaac Asimov, wrote an astounding array of books and articles and stories, on subjects as diverse as the Bible and robots. How did he do it?

  He was obviously a smart man, conversant in a number of areas. But still, he had to physically write all those books. And he had to do it without his brain going on strike. Furthermore, he had to do it before the existence of the computer.

  From reading about Asimov and his methods, here's what I discern were his secrets:

  • First, he knew how to type. Fast.

  • Second, he had several typewriters around his writing space.

  • Third, he had a different project in each typewriter at various stages of production.

  • Fourth, he roamed from project to project. If he ever got stuck on one thing, he would simply move to another, unrelated project and work on that for a while.

  • Fifth, he wrote every day and produced a quota. Day after day. Year after year.

  Why was this method so successful? Asimov, either intuitively or by design, figured out that the brain, marvelous instrument that it is, works in curious ways. When it gives its attention fully to one thing, it gets tired of that thing after awhile. By switching to another focus, it begins again with fresh energy.

  But even while occupied with that new item, the subconscious continues to work, effortlessly, on the previous project. When it comes time to concentrate again on the first thing, the brain is ready. It has new things to say.

  Even when you're working on one primary project, I advise that you have others in the works. When you're hot and heavy in revision, you can still "ping-pong" between projects. This will spark a different part of your writer's brain, and when you come back to revise you'll have fresh insights.

  This gives the mind a rest but keeps it active as a writer. So the boys in the basement will be on call, sweaty, warmed up, ready to work.

  When I'm revising a manuscript, I'm either writing the first draft of another or, at the very least, doing some preplanning on my next project.

  I will also have ancillary projects going, just to keep my writing muscles toned. A short story, an essay, an opinion, or a blog entry.

  When I get a little tired on the revision, I find my mind fresh for one of these other projects.

  After I've spent a little time away from the revision, and come back to it, I'm primed again.

  7] REVISE

  Now you're ready to follow the Ultimate Revision Checklist. That's the subject of the next chapter.

  The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon.

  —Robert Cormier

  [ THE ULTIMATE REVISION CHECKLIST ]

  Celebrate.

  You have a completed manuscript. Most people who think they ought to write a novel someday never get to this point.

  You learn things by finishing a draft you can't learn any other way.

  And if you apply the principles in this book every time you write, you'll learn even more.

  The learning experience never stops. Or shouldn't. Don't let it.

  Keep writing.

  When it comes to revision, I've found that most writers need a more systematic approach. Too many writers just sit down and read a manuscript page by page, making changes as they come up. Big or small, each item is dealt with the moment it's seen.

  Much better is to go from large to small. To start with the most crucial aspects and work your way down to the final step, which is The Polish.

  Think of this chapter, then, as your ultimate revision checklist. Apply it to every manuscript you write.

  Feel free to vary the order if you prefer, and add your own checklist areas.

  And feel free to use this as is for the rest of your writing life.

  It will serve you either way.

  CHARACTER KEY QUESTIONS ABOUT LEAD CHARACTERS

  • Is my Lead worth following for a whole novel? Why?

  • How can I make my Lead "jump off the page" more?

  • Do my characters sufficiently contrast? Are they interesting enough on their own?

  • Will readers bond to my Lead because he ...

  ... cares for someone other than himself? ... is funny, irreverent, or a rebel with a cause? ... is competent at something?

  ... is an underdog facing long odds without giving up? ... has a dream or desire readers can relate to? ... has undeserved misfortune, but doesn't whine about it? ... is in jeopardy or danger?

  COMMON FIXES Use the Jump-Off

  Lead characters must "jump off the page." The key to compelling fiction has always been characters that live, breathe, and have the capacity to surprise us.

  If your main characters seem flat, try the "opposite exercise." Imagine they're the opposite sex. Close your eyes and replay some scenes in your mind. What's different about their behavior? What sorts of feelings do they show? What nuances suddenly emerge?

  You're not going to change their sex in actuality (though you might!). You're trying to find different shades and colors.

  A variation is "switch casting." First, cast your Lead. Who would you sign up for the movie role?

  Next, cast someone else just for contrast. Watch some scenes in your movie-mind. Does the character click better as Tom Hanks or Robert De Niro? Does your lead sound more natural being played by Susan Sarandon or Sandra Bullock?

  Color Passions

  In her book Getting Into Character, Brandilyn Collins offers acting techniques for novelists. One of these is coloring passions. "Just as in acting," Collins writes, "three-dimensional characters in novels require three-dimensional emotions. ... When you focus not on the general passion of your character, but on its component parts, its opposite and its growth, your character will deepen in richness and represent human nature to its fullest."

  To begin coloring the passions of your character, identify the overall emotion, the primary feeling at any point in your novel. This will usually be found in the character's desire in the scene (a character without desires is dull).

  Push the desire to its limit. How far does it go?

  Break the passion into parts. Revenge, for example, can come from anger, shock, resentment, embarrassment, shame. How can you explore each?

  Now look at the opposite of that desire, which will give you the seeds of the character's inner conflict. How will you illustrate, in dramatic fashion, the character's emotional struggle?

  At every significant juncture in a story, consciously look at the situation from the viewpoint of every character involved—and let each of them make the best move they can from his or her own point of view.

  —Stanley Schmidt

  Revise the Voice Journal

  After you've written your novel you should know your characters pretty well. But, as with people, there are lots of inner corners to explore and deepen.

  If you did a voice journal for your main character (see page 25), consider a revision. You want the characters to tell you, in their own voices, what the events of the story have done to them. How are they different now? What do they wish they'd done differently?

  Who do they love (or hate) as a result of the story?


  Are they mad at you, the author? Let them vent.

  The number of areas your characters can give voice to is infinite. So just let them go and see what comes out.

  Then you'll be in a position to deepen and expand your characters in t he novel. And what they say will also direct you toward a possible theme (see chapter twelve).

  Chart Character Change

  Track the inner change in your character through the three acts. List the plot elements that are working on the character to instigate the change.

  Make the change understandable and logical.

  • Go through your manuscript and, with a highlighter, mark all the passages of inner life you've given us. These can be everything from one-line realizations to full-on reflections.

  • Now, read through the highlighted sections only, in order. Is the flow of the interior life you're showing understandable and believable? Are there places that seem inconsistent? Are there gaps that need to be filled with other interior insights?

  KEY QUESTIONS ABOUT OPPOSITION CHARACTERS

  • Is he just as fully realized as the Lead?

  • Is his behavior justified (in his own mind)?

  • Are you being "fair" with the opposition?

  • Is he as strong or (preferably) stronger than the Lead, in terms of ability to win the fight?

  COMMON FIX The Moustache Twirler

  If your opposition character is a "villain" and you've made him too one-dimensionally evil (common flaw), do the following:

  • Write a biography of this character from the point of view of his sympathetic mother. Force yourself.

  PLOT

  KEY QUESTIONS ABOUT PLOT

  • Is there any point where a reader might feel like putting the book down?

  • Does the novel feel like it's about people doing things?

  • Does the plot feel forced or unnatural?

  • Is the story out of balance? Too much action? Too much reaction?

  COMMON FIXES Keep Nabbing Ideas

  All through the revision process your mind will be working on your plot. When you sleep, eat, shower, drive. The boys in the basement never stop.