Do your novels grow or shink with revisions?

I'm a putter-inner. I'm very dialogue-focused, so I often need to add in description.

I do both -- I add in what I missed first time around, and take out what has turned out to be superfluous. I usually have a net addition though

I voted both because my methods are shifting, but I used to be a taker outter all the time. I finally had to stop at Clarion West because I didn't have enough time to write 8-10k "short" stories and trim them down before the due date each week. ^_^;;

Sometimes I need a bit of that attitude back when I'm trying so hard not to overwrite in the first draft that I don't put anything down on the paper* at all.

*Paper, of course, meaning the computer screen.

I do both.

I write long first drafts and revisions are mostly about cutting. Along the way, though, I always find spots where I need more detail, and sometimes whole scenes that need to be rethought.

I'm a bit of both. I tend to be very sparse with my description the first time around, so there's a lot of that to be added in on the first round of edits. Then when I come through for second revisions, I end up taking more out.

Mine do both. Generally my first revision shrinks everything down. I cut out all the unnecessary. Then I build it back up, filling in parts that needed to be expanded and so forth.

I revise as I go and I nearly always add more than I remove. I don't do outlines before writing and I quite often change my mind about where the story's going, which usually means going back and adding in more to develop characters or subplots to make the later stuff make sense. Sometimes it means removing or changing things, but usually I add more than I remove.

I love cutting, but I usually have to add...however, it depends a lot on the project.

I do both. How much I take out and put in depends on the project. For Sunweaver, my revisions have led to a net reduction of about 1K words (though there are parts where I added stuff). For Empire of Chains, I cut it from 207K to 158K, then added in another 5K that really helps the book.

Neither, or none of the above. However you want to look at it. I edit/rewrite/revise each page as I go, so when I reach the end, I'm done. I control length as I write through structure and content, so it comes out the length I want it.

I overwrite somewhat intentionally. I mean, I'd love to write the exact perfect amount of everything the first time through, but since that seems to be impossible I intentionally err on the side of overwriting. It's SO much easier to cut unnecessary paragraphs than add stuff during editing.

threetoedsloth said:

Do your novels tend to shrink or grow during the revision stage?

Click to expand...

Yep.

But seriously...my most recent ms is a YA-UF, intentionally written ‘lean’ (word count of 45k). I’m typically a pantser, because even I want to get to know my characters as they develop. I always know the beginning, the middle (-ish), and the end, but it’s the evolving characters that keep me hooked. I’ve only just now (a few weeks in) started a ‘proper’ outline on a SF manuscript. I get the outline process—its concept, importance, and reason for existing, but it bores me. I have to stop myself from being a putter-inner mid-outline. I’ll admit that my first ms and its sequel are gigantic monsters that need taking out. I’ve decided to shelve it since I can’t figure out how to cut its fat based on ‘The End,’ and neither could the beta readers. Therefore…onward and upward!

It's a scene by scene thing for me. Usually I need to cut back on the introspection, add more try/fail cycles to the action scenes, and keep dialogue about the same length, but inject it with a lot more meaningful conflict.

Don't ask me about travel sequences/narrative summary because I still don't have a clue how to balance that.

Both. My drafts always have the frustrating tendency to be both over and under-written.

I do cut things out of stories I write, but overall they get longer in second (etc.) drafts. I'm not sure I'd call it a glorified outline though.

I usually add material with subsequent drafts. There are always subplots or scenes that need to be fleshed out. Sometimes they grow a lot, and other times just a little bit, but I can't say I've ever revised a novel and had it turn out shorter than the first draft.

Both. I tighten up my writing during edits but often the scenes lack cohesion and I have to add some. I rarely simply cut a scene/chapter out; most times I reduce it to a little fill in narrative. Many times I need to add entire scenes for various reasons.

In my first book I trimmed about 15K words, but added 10K of other scenes. Everything depends on the story, how it's paced, and how well the various characters are developed.

Well it starts out 2,000. Then becomes 7,500, then becomes 16,000. Then 30,000. So yea I'd say grow.

Not sure if that hurts or helps its still a novella. I must have used honker paragraphs.

Mine definitely shrink in revision. In early draft, they work like the monster in the classic 1950s horror move "The Blob." They expand in all directions, consuming everything in their path; when they run out of prey, I have to trim. I'm pretty good at trimming.

caw

I'm usually a taker-outer -- my first drafts generally are loaded with extraneous details, especially details of character motivation and plot that I'm working out on the fly, and then remove or streamline on the second draft. I am also prone to verbosity (ha) and often my scenes need to be reduced and clarified more than they need added material.

There are also times when I expand a scene on the rewrite, or add new ones, but I think on balance I tend to take out, trim, or streamline more than I put in.

I do both. Sometimes, I'll have scenes with dialogue and I'll take another look, only to add action and description later; while, in other scenes, a fat trim necessitates itself.

I put both, but overall it tends to shrink. I usually have to add clarification as to motivation and world building, and I delete and combine scenes. In the end, it usually has a smaller word count than my rough draft!

Both.

First revision usually adds, fills in the gaps, second revision cuts what's unnecessary and trims it to the proper level.

It usually averages out. I write fairly tight, so if I had to choose, I'd have to go with add.