Does anyone else have problems with revising?

MidnightMused

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I actually have 2 NaNo drafts that have never gotten out of revision. Yes, I did finish the most recent plot before the end of November, without even leaving any large plot gaps this time. :hooray: But revising an original idea for publication is a different animal than fanfic where others have done most of the worldbuilding.

Revising has been like quicksand, so far, and it has sent my muse packing. (for that story)
 

Caitlin Black

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Mmm. I think it can vary from story to story, for me at least. I have one novel (a completed draft) that has taken a LONG time just to edit 1/3 of it, whereas another novel, I did 2 editing passes in 2 months, and it just flowed out of me and made it even better.

I also think the one that is 1/3 edited is a weaker novel than the other one, which may have something to do with it...

All I can recommend is persevering to make it as good as you can right now, and then if it still doesn't feel right, leave it alone for a while and work on something else, then come back to it.

I've found the quickest way to improve on a writing style in one book is to write a different one in a different style - it forces you to learn new tricks, which you can then apply (where applicable) to previous work.

Anyway, good luck with it. :)
 

bettielee

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I shake you warmly by the hand.

That is my way of saying, "Hell to the Yes."

Just look at my signature.

The only way to do it is to do it. You gotta crack down. I been crackin' down for over a year and a half now- feels like I'm swimming in jello pudding.
 

KSavoie

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I told myself that I was going to have my first nano edited before the next one started and I'm only about 1/3 done with my first go through. Instead of starting on editing again, and possibly, getting really into it, I'm going to do this year's nano and then in December go back to my old one.

Tons of people have told me that you should take a month off from your nano before editing it anyway, so it'll be time off my new novel.
 

Becky Black

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Revising is just like any other aspect of the writing - you have to practice to get good at it. It takes a while to learn. Both to figure out how to do it and to learn to adjust your thinking into a different mode from when you were drafting. There's no reason you should be great at editing right away, any more than you should be great at drafting right away. That doesn't mean you have a problem with it. It just means you're still learning how to do it.

Do some reading about editing, whether books or on the internet. One good thing about editing is that it's a much more conscious act than drafting, where you're probably wondering half the time "where did that come from?" and it can be much harder to consciously apply advice you've read. In the editing phase you can be much more deliberate about what you're doing.
 

EMaree

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A hundred times, yes. I hate revising. I'm terrible and slow at it. I can get a first draft down in 21 days but revising... urgh. Revising takes months and months.
 

KSavoie

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Revising is just like any other aspect of the writing - you have to practice to get good at it. It takes a while to learn. Both to figure out how to do it and to learn to adjust your thinking into a different mode from when you were drafting. There's no reason you should be great at editing right away, any more than you should be great at drafting right away. That doesn't mean you have a problem with it. It just means you're still learning how to do it.

Do some reading about editing, whether books or on the internet. One good thing about editing is that it's a much more conscious act than drafting, where you're probably wondering half the time "where did that come from?" and it can be much harder to consciously apply advice you've read. In the editing phase you can be much more deliberate about what you're doing.

You know, I've never thought of it like this before! I don't know why, it seems so obvious. Thank you!
 

robjvargas

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I have a theory. Someone in a thread a while back asked if we edit for ourselves. I responded that I write for myself, but edit for the reader.

Maybe that's the trap? We go from the story we love to the one that we think is "supposed" to sell? And that's no fun?

Just a thought.
 

GingerGunlock

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I haven't edited many of my NaNo novels, but I think in the past, I didn't really know what to do with my novels, in general. I knew little to nothing about agents, the querying process, etc. and I think in recent years, I've become more serious about my writing, about focusing on a NaNo novel as a first draft that I could turn into a "real" and salable novel, etc. As a result, I have heavily edited one of my novels, but the novel itself, while I crossed the 50k finish line, wasn't done yet. Also, it's a book 2, so as book 1 has received edits (more edits than I have done with that large a work ever), so changes have been made in the sequel.
 

chompers

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My problem is finishing the novel. I tend to have plot holes and stuff like that figured out already by the time I get to editing, because I think about them as I'm writing. Every line I write, I think how it's affected by this or that. So it makes for a very slow first draft. By the time I get to editing, it's mostly just tightening it up. For that, I also go through it line by line and look at it from an analytical point. During editing, a part of me isn't even looking at it as a story anymore. They're just sentences now. Are there repetitious words? Does this word pack the most punch? Am I showing, not telling? Is there variety in the sentence structure? Am I consistent in facts? Etc. Editing goes by much faster for me because I'm not having to use my creative side as much as when I'm first getting those words down.
 
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Insomnicole

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I've spent most of this year revising my first two NaNo novels, and oh yes, it's hard.

Me in November 2012: "Hey, this story is actually pretty good! I bet I'd want to read it even if I didn't write it!"

Me in 2013: "What was I smoking when I thought this was good? The first four chapters are pointless rubbish, most of my cast disappears halfway through the book, and that 'twist' ending I thought was so awesome will make a complete mess of the next book if I let it stand -- and it's also a total cliffhanger that will probably enrage everyone."

I go into each NaNo knowing that whatever I finish is going to need a crap-ton of work before it even approaches coherence, but it can be shocking and a little discouraging to realize just how much work will be involved.
 

Old Hack

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I've edited a few books (!) now, and have talked to a few writers who struggled with revisions. They tended to try to do everything at once, which meant they'd get a few pages beautifully polished but then realise that those pages needed to be rewritten because of something that happened later, they were reluctant to do so because those pages were so lovely now...

I suggested they read through their work without changing anything; but as they read through, to make notes on the biggest stuff (missing information, places where the scenes needed rearranging or deleting, dull passages, and so on). Then work to resolve those bigger problems, being ruthless about cutting parts which are flat or dull or which don't move the narrative forward, before getting down to the effort of polishing sentences.

It might not help you all to work this way, but I know it has helped a few people already. Often, we think so much about writing that we don't have a plan for revision, and we can get stuck in the mud of it a bit.
 

Becky Black

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I agree with Old Hack. I always work big to small. I see no point at all in picking up the draft and starting in with the red pen on page 1. There's a lot of work to do before I ever touch the actual prose.
 

Insomnicole

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Yes, I'm much better about working big to small now. I've also learned that when I start a new round of revisions I need to do my first re-read in a format that won't let me start meddling with the manuscript, or else I'll be down the rabbit hole in no time.
 

Old Hack

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One thing that I've found really helpful is to work with a paper copy rather than to work on-screen; and to use the blank side of each page to make copious notes about the text which faces it (does that make sense? If not, give me a shout and I'll explain more). It means I get everything written down that I want to make note of, but it leaves the text clean so that I'm not tempted to start correcting commas.
 

bearilou

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One thing that I've found really helpful is to work with a paper copy rather than to work on-screen; and to use the blank side of each page to make copious notes about the text which faces it (does that make sense? If not, give me a shout and I'll explain more). It means I get everything written down that I want to make note of, but it leaves the text clean so that I'm not tempted to start correcting commas.

That...I never thought to do that.

Excellent suggestion. I will do this thing.
 

EMaree

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Seconding bearilou! I've never tried that method before, it sounds like it just might work for me. Thank you Old Hack.
 

Racey

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One thing that I've found really helpful is to work with a paper copy rather than to work on-screen; and to use the blank side of each page to make copious notes about the text which faces it (does that make sense? If not, give me a shout and I'll explain more). It means I get everything written down that I want to make note of, but it leaves the text clean so that I'm not tempted to start correcting commas.

This is great advice. I usually print it out (find it easier to edit this way) and then go at it with the red pen. I didn't think to read through and look at the bigger picture first before I got all grammar nazi on myself. This might help, I'm going to try it this way for this years Nano novel :)
Thanks Old Hack
 

Yeshanu

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My first drafts tend to be incomplete messes. I too was "swimming in quicksand," but a couple of weeks ago I was googling outlining a novel and came across this gem of a video.

Finally! A method for outlining (to find those pesky plot holes and plug them, and to get my book into some sort of order) that I'm actually able to see myself doing.

I think editing is like writing, though. Each writer is an individual and might need a slightly different method. I know that a lot of the advice I looked up on the internet went something like:

Let it sit.

Figure out where the plot holes are.

Fill them.

Line edit.

Etc...

I get stuck at the first step and never come back! Or if I do come back, I end up writing more scenes to fill the plot holes I think might be there, and end up with an even longer mess.

So I'm going to try the method in the video. I'll tell y'all how it turns out. :)
 

chompers

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No, revising is the easy part for me. It's getting that first draft down that kicks my butt.

I also do the big picture first. Why spend the time to chisel away at the sculpture when the I don't even have the size of marble I need yet?
 
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shahrazad

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I'm taking a break from mine, maybe start revising in two weeks or so.