The Place For My Writers Notes

Original posting 10 March 2009

Revising again, again?

Writer's Digest, July 2005, pages 18 to 19 in the Fiction Essentials column by Nancy Kress, talks about revision. Almost everyone agrees that revision or rewriting is a necessary part of making your fiction the very best it can be. The problem is that while there are those who enjoy rewriting, most of us find it difficult at best. Nancy talks about two different aspects of this problem that might help.

First, Nancy lists five different approaches to rewriting. You might want to try a different one, and even if you have a preference, from time to time you may want to change it. So what are the five possibilities?

1. Write the entire first draft without stopping and rewrite only after it's done. This is especially common for discovery writers, people who write without an outline, plunging ahead by the seat of their pants. When you do this, go ahead and concentrate on those great ideas, exploring the characters, playing with the plot, and just ignore any inconsistencies and wrong turns. Keep moving -- forward momentum! Then after you've beaten the path out, go back and clean it up.
2. Write until the story comes together, then stop and rewrite up to that point. Write some characters into a dramatic situation, and when you figure out how it hangs together, make some notes, then go back to the beginning and rewrite so that everything points to that climax that you finally figured out you're headed for. Then go ahead and fill in the climax and any missing scenes and steps to get there. Again, this is one for the discovery writers.
3. Rewrite at the end of each scene. Scenes are the basic unit of fiction, and there are many writers who stop at the end of each one and revise it to be the best it can be at that point. That gives them a solid basis for the next scene.
4. Revise at the end of each chapter. Most chapters have several scenes in them, so this is using a slightly bigger chunking than number three, but it's very similar. Write a chapter, clean it up, write the next.
5. Revise as you go along, sentence by sentence. This is probably an outliner, someone who knows the shape of the story from the very beginning. So instead of trying to figure out what the story is all about, they can focus on making each sentence the best it can be.

Okay? Write it all, then revise it all. Or write enough to figure it out, then clean up that much. Or write and revise a chapter at a time, a scene at a time, or even sentence by sentence. Pick the way that works for you.

Of course, one of the problems is what do we mean by revising or rewriting? Nancy recommends four layers.

1. Story arc. Look at the beginning of your story. Make sure you know the characters, and look at what each one knows. What's the driving conflict in the story? Now check out the end. What changes about the characters and their situation between the beginning and the end. That's the story arc. It needs to be strong enough and interesting enough for readers to spend the time with your story. Make sure it reveals what you want to.

And that's the first level of revision or rewriting. If the story arc needs tweaking to make it stronger, you'll need to look at changes in the ending or in the beginning. Make the difference between the two clear.

2. Scene changes. Each scene has a beginning, a middle, and an ending. Check each one against these questions:

• do you need it? Does it contribute to the story arc? If not, cut it. Especially watch out for unnecessary setups at the beginning.
• are there missing scenes to help make the character arc as strong as possible? If so, figure out where they belong and write them.
• does each scene orient the reader in time and space? Where are we, what time is it, and who's there? The reader should be able to answer those in every scene -- revise as needed.
• are there large chunks of exposition? Can you make a dramatized scene instead?
• does this scene move the plot forward and reveal character? If not, rewrite so that characters take actions.
• is the scene vivid? Can you sharpen the dialogue or add setting details? Remember all five senses -- sight, sound, smell, taste, touch.
• is the end of the scene interesting and does it push the reader into the next scene? Emotions, new story elements, a rise in conflict, a new insight can help make it interesting. Hooks and hints to get the reader to turn the page are yours to add.

3. Sentences and paragraphs. With the story arc and scene changes under control, the worst is done. The final polish is taking a look at the real details. Try focusing on individual sentences and paragraphs.

• is the dialogue natural and does each character have their own voice and personality? Make sure that the character is talking, not the author.
• are descriptions vivid and detailed? Keep them short, and they should fit together to produce the impression you want. You may want to break up long passages and bury them in the middle of dialogue and action.
• does it read smoothly? Read it out loud. Correct anything that is hard to read, and watch out for ambiguities. Check your facts. Remove repetitious material.

4. Final cleanup. Check for spelling -- spellcheckers don't always catch everything. Grammatical errors is to be avoided. And watch out for silly things

• font changes, format weirdness, changing the protagonist's name.

So that's it. Pick one of the approaches to revising -- from the entire work at once down to a sentence-at-a-time. And check out your story arc and scenes. Then polish up the dialogue, descriptions, and readability. Last, but not least, spelling, grammar, and formatting.

And your story will be what you want it to be, not just a pile of words tossed together.

Rewrite!