Revision 101: A binder full of…writing strategies

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

No matter what I want to call it (Revision, Slash-n-Burn, Rewrites, Dialogue Spice-Ups, Killing My Darlings), editing my first draft means bringing out the Big Gun.

Specifically, my binder full of strategies.

I subscribe to various writing magazines such as Writers’ Digest, Poets & Writers and The Writer. Over the course many years, I ripped out articles I thought might come in handy, packing them away in my strategy binder for that special, Some Day far, far away in the future.

And thus, Some Day has finally arrived.

Right now, I’m working my way through gems such as Secrets of Creating And Sustaining Suspense, Understanding the Minor Character Role, Spin Subplots like a Master Weaver, The First 50 Pages, The Last 50 Pages, How NOT to Write a Novel, and so forth.

I’m making notes, jotting down questions, re-thinking the plot spin.

For example, The Protagonist’s algorithm, an oddly left-brain termed process, details a typical book outline. (Non-writers, just tell me you haven’t seen this in your favorite books!)

1. The main character finds herself in a comfort zone (ordinary life).
2. She wants something (to satisfy a desire or to solve a problem).
3. She enters into an unfamiliar situation (a call to adventure).
4. She must adapt to it (and overcome resistance, objections).
5. She gets what she wants (a mentor appears to guide them and provide the key to solve their problems or satisfy their desires) but has to pay a price for it (the call to action).
6. She returns to her familiar situation (she applies the solution you provide) having changed for the better.

Other helpful hints focus on spicing up dialogue, aka, DO NOT BORE THE READER!

1. Dialogue is not conversation; it’s conversation’s greatest hits. (Read: make it snappy, fun, witty, quick).
2. Dialogue can feature arguments, wheedling, whining, refusals and head games. (Read: make good use of your teenager).
3. Tense dialogue contains lots of short sentences, fragments and white space. (Read: Feel the need for speed).
4. Exchange discussions for confrontations, arguments, teasing and misunderstandings. (Read: See number 2).

This is good stuff.

No, sorry, that’s not quite true. Actually, it’s humbling stuff. It’s the Oh-my-gosh-this-is-so-logical-how-could-I-not-have-done-this, stuff. It’s the I-feel-like-such-a-rube-and-my-draft-is-a-POS, stuff.

So correction. It’s good stuff if you want your writer’s ego rudely smacked back to earth. Did I also mention the stuff’s also really good for spotlighting glaring weaknesses in a once rose-colored first draft?

Yeah.

Ouch.

So after allowing my ego to pout for a bit, I shoved it back into the closet and am once again reading, jotting notes, questioning, and re-thinking.

Humbling? Uh-huh.

Worth it? Yeah, every bit. I’m already seeing how my novel is morphing into something better.

The finished draft: As holey as a block of Swiss cheese

Courtesy DreamTime/Ksena 2009

Doesn’t it look wonderful? Yes sir, that’s my baby, the first draft of my novel.

Ok, so I admit it’s more like a pockmarked block of Swiss cheese than a real novel, but that’s not the point. The first draft, the biggest milestone (in my opinion) is done. I feel like a huge weight is lifted off my shoulders.

Hoo baby!

No more nagging from the Writer’s Conscience shaming me into writing when I dare take a day off to rest the creative juices. (Ok, so I hung out watching old TV show reruns but in my defense, it was the Midsomer Murders series and they gave me creative shots in the arm).

No more hair pulling frustration over why the last fifteen pages simply refused to step out of the shadows onto the pages. And of course, no more caffeine over-indulgence. Ugh, I can feel the withdrawal symptoms even as I write.

Nevertheless, the first draft is done. Hallelujah, on to the next phase!

Call me weird, but I’m one of those people who actually like revising. Note: I didn’t say copyediting. I hope to hire a freelance copy editor to help with that side of things because it’s just way too detail-oriented, even for me.

Nope, I’m really looking forward to the chance to make this baby stronger, give it more impact, make it sing for its supper. The best part is that these are smaller, more easily achievable milestones (again, in my opinion) than the humoungous milestone of getting the monstrously bulky first draft completed.

So I’m taking a few days off to relax and regroup. When I come back, it’ll be the start of the substantive editing phase.

The proverbial mile

Image courtesy of Tom Curtis/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

“If you want to understand someone else’s perspective, walk a mile in his shoes.”

Typically, I’m the reliable one others turn to for getting things done, getting them done promptly, and getting them done well. I pride myself on it. My current career depends on it. So you can understand that for the longest time, I couldn’t quite fathom how creative people managed to operate on a daily basis let alone feed themselves regularly.

How could they?

Artists, writers, actors, dancers and the like are total flakes living in their own dreamy, self-absorbed world. They’re constantly late to appointments, never seem to pay bills on time or meet deadlines.

These people are completely unreliable sops put here on this earth to drive the rest of us who are living in the real world, batty.

No wonder these people need managers, I’d sniff.

Spoiler alert: freshly baked crow coming up!

Then I decided to devote a block of uninterrupted time to my novel and walk several miles in the artist’s shoes. Boy, have I discovered a few things!

First, the creative muse has no interest in respecting personal boundaries. Meaning, at any time and place, a brilliant flash of insight could strike, leaving me mumbling incoherently while scrabbling for a piece of paper, pen, pencil, even blood to capture the idea before it disappears.

Second, in order to really get inside my characters, I have to live inside my head–not in the real world. Character personalities, plot twists, witty repartee–I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve ignored passing neighbors because I was so lost in thought.

My long-suffering better half now understands that when I suddenly stop talking to him and stare off into space, I’m not annoyed, I’m just thinking about why Character X drove one way when taking another route makes so much more sense.

Third, mundane tasks like returning library books on time or paying bills promptly–well, I simply can’t be bothered when my character’s struggling to stay conscious after suffering contusions, a broken leg, a mild concussion and the loss of several fingernails. The character’s fighting for her life and you want me to stop everything to pay the rent? Good God, man, where are your priorities?

And let’s not talk about what’s for dinner, either. Dinner’s whatever’s still scrounge-able in the cupboards.

Yes, it’s true. I’ve morphed into all I once looked down upon…and I’ve missed out on SO MUCH FUN! These creative types are on to something and I’m gonna get me some more of it.

Although I suppose I should make a grocery run one of these days. Maybe even pay the utility bill, too.

Time to suffer

It’s time for my main character to suffer.

Whether she’s pushed or merely falls through the rotten floorboards into the old abandoned root cellar, one thing’s for certain, she’s going D-O-W-N. Don’t worry. Someone will come along to rescue her but until that happens, she’s gonna lie for several hours in a dark, wet, muddy old root cellar.

And I need to figure out what creepy crawly things she’ll meet.

I’m talking viscerally repulsive creepy crawly things. Mice? Rats? Spiders? Centipedes? Snakes? Since she’ll probably be all scraped and bruised from the fall, I’m also thinking maybe something that’s attracted to the smell of blood.

What about earwigs? You know, the nasty thing reputed to crawl into people’s ears and bore into their brains? Yeah, an urban legend for sure but still, just looking at that picture gives me the heebie jeebies.

So right now, I’m leaning toward earwigs, centipedes skittering over her bare arms and maybe a black snake or two.

Ugh, now I’ve grossed myself out.

Any other ideas?

Writing Help #3: NaNoWriMo

For some reason, NaNoWriMo strikes a nerve in the writing community.

Some people say it’s ridiculous to expect anything but dreck to come out of a month’s worth of firehosed words. Others say buzz off, I’m having fun you loser, or something a little more spicy.

I happen to like NaNoWriMo. Been participating for a couple of years now but this year is a little different.

This year’s NaNo is going to help me finish an already started novel. That’s right, I’m totally going against the NaNo rules of starting at a zero word count and writing frantically until my fingers fall off from typing, my voice fails from dictating, and my souper-dooper mind reader/translator breaks down.

I’m cheating. I already have 50,000 words. Actually, by the end of today, I should have 75,000. So why even bother?

Because I need to finish the novel THIS MONTH. I’ve got a personal deadline for the first draft. If I’m ever going to have a wisp of hope to make the PNWA deadline (initial revision, polished first 25 pages, and a summary) I’ve got to get this thing done.

NaNo is going to get me there. Oh yes, it will.

Just thinking about the legions of other writers across the country scribbling, typing, babbling, and quaffing countless cups of Jolt, Red Bull, Monster (apparently, coffee’s for losers in this contest) is inspiring me to push on. I’m tired, I’m slowing down mentally, but I’m so damn close to the end.

NaNoWriMo, take me away!

Besides, maybe this will be the time when my book joins the list of published NaNo-ers.

Shake your groove thang

Image courtesy of ImageryMajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Writing is wonderful but the side effects can be deadly–e.g., the dreaded spreading backside.

So in an attempt to combat the dreadful threat of having to buy an entirely new set of clothes, I’ve incorporated a morning workout routine into my day. First thing in the morning, yes that’s right, before coffee, before breakfast, before anything completely in the realm of civilized behavior, I force myself to work out.

The routines vary. One day it’s brisk walking, the next, a 30-minute workout on the elliptical, and the next, a couple miles worth of jogging. Rinse and repeat.

I’ll be honest. I hate getting out of a warm, comfortable bed in the morning. The mere idea of slogging around in the chill is so unappealing that I have a tough time tying up my laces. But for some strange reason, the internal whining stops the minute I walk out of the house and into the fresh, crisp air. There’s just something about getting outside in the early morning that perks me up.

Another thing that gets me going is that I make this small amount of exercise time completely and utterly mine.

Deadlines are not allowed to intrude. Likewise problems. The time is all mine, all about me, my time to think of absolutely nothing but the push/pull of muscles and the steady intake of chilled air into my lungs.

Funny thing is, once the workout is done and I’m showered and ready to start my day, the writing seems to come easier. The words seem fresher. I get more done.

But I still whine the next morning when that alarm goes off…

A little bit of inspiration for a rainy day

Quote: “Follow your dreams, and the money will come. Follow the money, and you lose your dreams.”

Yeah, we’ve all heard it.

Most of us think it’s some kind of sappy nonsense…except it actually seems to work for Robert Dugoni. I attended one of his talks several years ago when he was finally breaking through and in a business full of divas and rejections, he’s one of the nicest writers you’re ever going to meet.

Note: The video link in the webpage doesn’t work so here’s  a link to the YouTube interview: http://youtu.be/2R9m5kXBzzk