I’m sure you’ve heard how writing a first draft is akin to running a marathon. If so, then revision is like completing an Ironman Triathlon. It pushes your writing muscles to unimaginable lengths. But like any endurance sport, half the battle is overcoming your mental limitations. So today, I want to address some mental tools that I’ve used.
The graveyard: There’s nothing more difficult than selecting an entire chapter and pressing that delete key. I’ll admit there’s even been times when I bend whole scenes to work in that perfect joke. I know a lot of writers do this. It’s understandable. We’ve poured blood, sweat, and precious time into those letters and to kill them seems inhumane. However, most of the time, they’re bad for the manuscript. So what I do is every revision I create, I make new document called THE GRAVEYARD. Now, instead of the delete key, I cut the chapter and paste it into here. The idea being that all that good stuff is there for me to come back to should I need it. Honestly, I rarely use anything from these graveyards, but it eases my mind to know that my darlings live somewhere, even if in purgatory, and lets me focus on what I need to do.
Separate yourself from the words: Sometimes, I fall in love with my own work so much that it’s hard to asses the story, arcs, etc. when revision time comes. Or sometimes, the opposite is true where every word flat out stinks. Neither is a good position to be revising. That’s why it’s critical to practice techniques such as Talia’s outline or Katherine’s index cards. Mentally, it removes us from the text enough to see the structure, the arcs, and the holes.
Note…I think a lot of pantsers cringe at the outlines and the index cards because, well, it’s not the way they are hardwired. As a plotter, I resist redoing these techniques because I did them at the onset – though, inevitably, things changed from what I had planned and the original exercises are no longer 100% correct. But, pantsers: DO THEM. And, plotters: REDO them. It’ll help you see things clearly and you’ll save time in the long run.
Be a sniper, not an A-bomb: Most the time, revision is about tweaking and massaging, rather than blowing the whole thing apart with a complete rewrite (of course, sometimes it might need that – just don’t start with that mindset). A well-crafted, perfectly placed line line will clear up that confusing plot point, character’s motivation, or world building detail. Suddenly, the whole issue is resolved. Of course, it’s not easy to find these sniper points, but keep pouring over the text to find them because, over all, it’ll save you a ton of rewriting.
Drink from the fire hose, but on low flow: Revisions are often overwhelming. If the issue is about a character arc or particular plot thread, it likely resonates through the whole work. Add a few of these and I find myself going, “by golly, nuke the whole thing and begin again.” Stop before you toss any babies out with the bath water. Try to separate all the changes into different buckets, then go over the story and just focus on that single thing. When you finish, hit the next bucket without looking back. Like anything in life, most challenges aren’t so hard when you break them down into manageable chunks.
See it differently: Seriously, see your manuscript differently. The next time it’s time for a revision – change the font, the margins, text color, and/or the line spacing. Our brains are programmed to bypass the familiar. So if you’re used to the look and feel of your manuscript, it’s easy to miss stuff (and not just typos or added words, but bigger stuff too). Changing the formatting is akin to getting a whole new set of eyeballs.
Ask the robot to read it: One of the reasons I enjoy my Kindle so much is the text-to-speech option. On my commute, I plug the sucker into my auxiliary input and that robotic voice reads to me. Recently I had an aha-moment that I’m dying to try on my next revision. Loading my manuscript onto a device that’s capable of text-to-speech and have it read to me. It’ll be clunky, but it’ll force me to hear the words in a completely different cadence than just reading it to myself – and hopefully unearth any glaring issues too.
What other kinds of mental tools do you employ?
Bret Ballou writes Middle Grade fantasy-adventures and is a graduate of the Nevada SCBWI Mentorship Program. He pays for his writing addiction by developing medical devices to help treat Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms. His awesome (though sassy) wife, brand new son, wacky extended family, and red-devil dogs keep him on his toes.
Great ideas! Hard to do though.
Something I find useful is reading something else for a bit, then coming back and reading a scene by itself. Sometimes something that felt dynamic before suddenly seems flat.
Great ideas – love the graveyard file
I haven’t had my kindle read it to me yet – I’ll have to do that! thanks
Needed to hear the don’t blow it to bits reminder, as this is usually the source of my feeling lost or stuck in a loop. Also, great Kindle suggestion.
GREAT article! So many helpful ideas and strategies here.
Love the Graveyard and the Sniper. I will never look at revisions the same again. =) Some excellent points here. Sometimes the hardest thing to do will make the manuscript stronger. I tend to see it as the first draft is for me, the subsequent ones are for my readers.
I try to read my manuscript aloud at least once, to fix things that don’t sound right or don’t make sense–but I love the idea of having it read to me. I’d probably catch many more problems. Thanks for sharing your tips.
I need to stock up on index cards. That’s one thing I haven’t tried.
I *love* the idea of literally changing the way you see your MSS. It’s not something I’ve ever thought to do before but it totally makes sense. This is incredibly helpful advice. Thank you!
Wow the graveyard. that is hard core. I call mine Cuts and Edits. Boring huh? Thanks for all your great tips with fun headings.
Nice suggestions!
I’ve played many sports, and my folders are called, “The bench.”
Maybe not the best analogy because people can come off the bench and make all the difference, but, that could also be said of something that didn’t work at first and may work now or even later.
I find, for me, I NEED to print out my manuscript.
This is akin to seeing it differently, but once I can put pen on actual paper, things get moved around.
So many times I thought I was done and I printed out the manuscript only to change words and cut words!
I mostly write picture books, so that’s a bit easier on my budget, but I’m writing some longer stories, and love all these ideas. Again, thank you Brent!
I love the graveyard and different font techniques. Implementing them immediately. Thank you for great information!
I love these ideas! You could even copy and paste a page or two at a time into IM Translator, if you don’t have another text-to-speech option (yes, even in English).
These are a great list. I have a graveyard too for favorite site characters that take over my MS. I’m big o the kindle to speech, issuing are glaring so it’s helpful, but I have to be mentally ready for it.
I also read my chapters awkward and out loud (the ear is the best editor), and I print out my MS-it’s a lot of paper and ink, but it really works for me.
Thanks for being a part of WriteOnCon!
Great post! I love the part about having Kindle read it to you. I do that and am always amazed on how many more typos I catch.
I definitely need to implement the graveyard idea – I’m sure it will make it easier to kill my darlings. *sniff* Thank you for the great tips!
Often I change the font size, text or color when I’m stuck–works! I do it on revisions as well, but mostly on later drafts because I see the typos better. And I like to do the line edits on paper.
Lauren
Oh my gosh, I loved this post! The graveyard- such a great idea! I’ve kept a few scenes here and there, but what a great way to keep the stuff we love even when it’s not necessary.
And changing the font in the MS- that’s one I’ve never heard before and I’m going to try FOR SURE.
Thanks Bret.
Thanks for the post. I’ve learned how to have my computer read my MS to me. That has helped me look at it differently.
Nice list! Revisions can be brutal so it helps imposing some method on the madness! =)
Great tips! I will definitely be keeping them in mind, especially the one about changing the formatting in order to look at my manuscript with a brand new set of eyeballs. Thank you for taking time out of your day to help make WriteOnCon one of the best conferences ever.
Excellent post.
I use Natural reader – I pick up so much with it.
Love the “see it differently” bit of advice. Thanks for the article!
Thank you so much, Bret! I appreciate the awesome tips you shared.
I really glad to find this internet site on bing, just what I was searching for
likewise bookmarked.
I’m participating in Camp NaNo at the moment and have already changed the font size, style, color, and line spacing many times to help when I’m feeling sluggish. It’s a great technique.
I enjoyed your sniper analogy.