Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Revising in Bites

Source: ourvanity.com
One of the reasons I was so overwhelmed with the thought of revision was that I had a huge manuscript in front of me. It was like contemplating how to eat an entire garden (this image is for my vegetarian friends) all at once. It can't be done.

The course on revision that I'm taking took me step-by-step through finding all my book's problems. Then it taught me how to break the book down by scenes (not chapters). I can see the wisdom of that now as I revise one scene at a time. I can focus on one scene. I can re-write one scene. I can eat that one carrot comfortably.

I still have a lot of paper in my "Revision" pile, but I feel accomplishment as I put a scene on the "Finished" pile. It might take me all summer, but I'm going to eat that garden, one bite at a time!
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5 comments:

  1. nutschellMay 23, 2012 at 2:47 PM

    love the analogy:) I'm revising too--one chapter at a time. good luck with revising your WIP!
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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  2. ChautonaMay 23, 2012 at 3:19 PM

    Oh, Dawn dear. I love you to bits (not bites, I'm not a vampire) already, but here I might have to bang you over the head just a bit...

    I am still doing week three of this thing, and I am choking down huge gulps every week. This is NOT easy. Week three was supposed to be a breeze in comparison to weeks one and two. Well, I got done in time for weeks one and two to begin the next week pretty much on schedule... not week three. I'm only 50 pages into the novel. 50.

    In the last weeks, I felt like I was eating a whole row of that garden each week. Now I feel like the row is filling as I eat it... the never-ending row of carrots. Bugs would be thrilled. I'm panicking and stuffed. ;)

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    Replies
    1. Dawn M. HamsherMay 23, 2012 at 5:04 PM

      Chautona,
      I know! I told you it wasn't a quick revision fix. LOL! The course is intense, but I learned SOOOOO much. Now that I'm actually cutting stuff (Lesson 17), it is scene by scene and I'm taking it at my own pace. No way to get that done in 1 week.

      Hugs for you....keep plugging along. I really hope you find the whole experience as valuable as I have. You probably know a lot of it already, having written several books already. I'm just on my first novel, so this whole course was a real eye-opener!

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  3. CharlieMay 24, 2012 at 9:22 AM

    So glad you're sticking with the book. Your perseverance awesome. I would have quit long ago. Keep it up Dawn, you challenge me to get to some of my projects that have been idle for a while.

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I appreciate your comments! I try to respond to each one.

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