Overwhelming amounts of writing advice

Time away definitely helps. Take a look, tweak it and take another break. Then go back again. You'll find stuff as you go.

Don't beat yourself up over it. It will come.

Honestly? I don't. Revising is like writing -- you figure out what works the best for you by learning as you go.

Perhaps you can try some of the ones that you are reading about, do them one by one, and see which one works for you. I'm sure there will be repeats on methods and/or overlaps as well.

Time away from a work is crucial. Try summarizing the entire work by chapter to a) comprehend the story b) determine if it's written interestingly c) discern what is necessary to the story, in terms of information and scenery, versus what can be cut.

Once you've kept what should be kept and lost what should be lost, you can then visit each scene individually. Check on the line-by-line work only then.

Uh, well the real key is to know what your weaknesses are. For example, no one can tell me how to plot, but I tend to listen when people comment on confusing word choice or a technical grammar/punctuation issue.

Basically, don't read books about editing issues unless the book deals with a specific issue you know you have to deal with. Let your story be edited by a writer or reader of your target audience who can tell you specific things to you. Books are too generic. Besides, if your story is enough fun, you can get away with certain literary errors.

Ah, books can't tell you what you need to know. That's like saying a book can teach you to draw -- the only way to draw is to put a pencil against a piece of paper. Same deal with writing.

Just write the best you know how, and find some in-person writer friends to help you edit. Or a very trusted internet one. And remember, when you sell a book, most of the time you're not selling to english professors. You're selling to eager people who want an adventure.

Probably better to spend the "cool down" phase gardening or something. The fact is, you'll revise in your own way.

The good thing is, when you're done, you'll be able to tell everyone else how you did it.

But they never listen...

I know you are using examples, but subplots are plots, and probably shouldn't materialize like one might stitch initials into a scarf.

The sole difference is between major and minor character developments.

Raising the stakes requires that you have the characters' truest, profoundest desires in mind and express them. If you summarize your story with the characters' goals in mind, you can easily assess whether or not they are attempting to attain them, and why it should it matter. I like Edgar A. Poe because he began at the end. He claimed to have the image of the climatic scene in mind at the start of writing, working his way toward that moment. I'm not sure his method is practical, but provides an insight into your 'weakness'. I would suggest thinking of the end result, the fulfillment of your characters' wishes, at the beginning of your revision stage.

It might help if you try revising one aspect, or a few, at a time. For example, you could go through first and make sure your chapters are all in the right order, told through the right POV lens, etc. Then go through and make sure you've maximized the stakes and conflicts in all your scenes and that the dialogue is as strong as possible. Then edit for character and world details.Then go through with an eye toward pacing and cut what drags or expand important points so they don't move too quickly. Then do a once-through for continuity. Then once for syntax, word smithing and polishing. And then you're done. See? Nothing to it!

agergen53 said:

I suppose the act of preparing to revise is what's really overwhelming me. I'm sure that in the end, the only way I'll be able to hone my revision technique is to practice and practice and practice some more.

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It can certainly be hard to start revising. Hell, I'm in the middle of it (well, almost at the end, for now) and there are always times when I say "eh, I can certainly do this first, doesn't matter if I start 20 minutes later" and then it can still get later.

But it's not too bad if you actually start revising. Sure, sometimes I get stuck for an hour, trying multiple approaches until I'm finally satisfied, but you'll get there eventually

Just don't try to be perfect or you'll never get it done^^

chompers said:

Honestly? I don't. Revising is like writing -- you figure out what works the best for you by learning as you go.

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Me either. Never even entered my mind. I just set it aside for a couple of months, printed out a hard copy and went over it page by page.

I've tried a few different revision methods. Let's see...for the first WIP I bothered to revise, I printed out a hard copy, read some stuff in a writing and revising craft book and followed their advice, which was to highlight different aspects--one color for dialogue, another for narrative, etc. It resulted in a very colorful manuscript,but I wasn't sure what to do with it otherwise.

I'm currently on my fourth draft of another WIP. For each revision, I've searched around and read up on things---including a book by James Scott Bell. I know, for instance, that I'm weak on plotting and I knew the story's structure needed work, so I studied that a bit. Put each draft aside for a week after I've finished it, printed it out, scribbled all over it. I then handwrote an outline for the draft I'm working on now.

I don't know how your first drafts turn out, but mine are always a mess, so I end up concentrating on bigger issues. You have to pinpoint what you know you're weak on and learn how to take in and let out the writing advice you read. What works for one writer (or even one project) is not going to work for you or for your next project. So, for example, highlighting elements doesn't work for me,but scribbling all over my text in colorful pens does. You learn what feels intuitive to you.

agergen53 said:

Interesting input. So from what I'm gathering, it's kind of a do-what-works-for-you thing? My worry is that I'll only spot errors in subjects I know a lot about (characterization, dialogue), and without using these critiquing guides, I'll miss important errors concerning subjects I'm still learning (such as weaving in appropriate subplots and raising the stakes to their breaking point).

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This is where your betas' feedbacks will be invaluable. They can point out your strong and weak points so that you know the areas where you need more work on.

And so your revision process can actually vary from project to project, although after a while you tend to have a basic system in place.

I don't want to add to the heap of advice you're struggling with: but when you're revising, try to work from big to small. There's no point getting your punctuation perfect if you're then going to rewrite long chunks of your book to plug up a few plot holes, for example.

Assuming one has a reasonable grasp of grammar, POV, and technique, a lot of it is commonsense.

If you can forget that you wrote it and what lies ahead, try and read it as a reader and see if it flows with clarity.

The problem arises when one doesn't understand what flowing with clarity means. Not necessarily you, but there are folk to whom flow and clarity seem like foreign words.

Keep asking yourself - Is there a Chapter question? Is there an overriding story question? Am I adhering to the POV? Is this needed? Was that clear? Is that what I meant to say? Is it obvious who is speaking? Why did my eye hesitate there? Am I explaining too much or saying the same thing over and over?

Good luck.

A lot of people like this:

http://hollylisle.com/one-pass-manuscript-revision-from-first-draft-to-last-in-one-cycle/

Cheer up. It gets easier somewhere around book 21 or 22.

Treat advice exactly as what it is -- advice. Use what helps, discard what doesn't and don't let your brain outsmart your common sense. All revision amounts to is chipping away what doesn't fit.

Jeff

There is far, far, far too much conflicting writing advice out there. Bad advice always says this or that is something you should do, or that this or that is critical, etc. It may be a should do for the writer who give sit, it may be critical for teh writer who gives it, but this does not mean it is for you.

I know more writers who don't let their novel "rest" than those who do. I know more writers who don't outline than those who do. Which just means both are right, and both are wrong, depending on the particular writer. Letting a novel "rest", taking time away, is not crucial for me, it's a complete waste of my time. But that's just me.

The best advice I ever received came from an article in a Writer's Digest book. I chanced on the book, a collection of essays and articles about writing, and one of those articles said the entire secret of writing was, "Read much, write often." I believe this.

Another said that the difference between good and bad advice is simple and obvious: "Bad advice is any you don't want to take, and good advice is any you do want to take." I believe this, too.

I think the advice about walking away from it is great. You need some time away from it. Then go back to it and just use common sense and trust your instincts more than anything. It's your book, other people's tips may not work for your particular piece of work.
And yes, as ever, read as much as possible in the genre you're writing in. Good luck.

Doing the rewrite for my first novel, I would get an idea, do a rewrite and repeat. It meant going through the whole book pretty much word for word several times. I read a good book, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers (Browne and King) before starting on my second novel. I've approached the rewrite by first looking at 'meta-issues' (changes in plot, adjustments to character), particularly those brought up by my several readers. That finished, I'm pretty much following the chapter heads in the book. THat approach seems to be producing a better ms, and it's less wasteful of time. Not finished yet.

agergen53 said:

Interesting input. So from what I'm gathering, it's kind of a do-what-works-for-you thing? My worry is that I'll only spot errors in subjects I know a lot about (characterization, dialogue), and without using these critiquing guides, I'll miss important errors concerning subjects I'm still learning (such as weaving in appropriate subplots and raising the stakes to their breaking point).

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The problem with editing your own work is you can't fix what you don't know is a problem. Don't stress too much right at the beginning. Read through make notes on what you DO know to fix, then go back and look at it again with a purpose. As you're reading focus on that subplot. Read again and judge action and rising tension.

When you've done as much as you think you can, hand it off to someone who has more experience. This is where you'll learn your weaknesses and be shown the things you're missing. Once you can see those problem areas, you can go back and revise with more understanding, not only of your particular foibles, but how to approach your personal edits next time.
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

Go into SYW and critique other people's writing. Read other comments as well, paying particularly close attention to the ones that repeat. Then look at your own again with that in mind.

Ultimately, is anything either confusing or boring? Then fix it.

It's a big old learning process, that's for sure.
My process so far:

• Floor map, timeline & character plotting
• First draft

• Revision / rewrites / editing

• Deciding to change from third to first person: revision / rewrites / editing

• Send to a couple of beta readers

• Get really awesome, fresh perspective critical feedback that has let me look at my book in a whole new way

• Revision / rewrites / editing (currently what I'm doing)

From here my plan is to lure in at least one other beta to read through, see if I've nailed it and then hopefully query!


But, from the sounds of things, everyone has a different process.

Oh wait, I had a point. I think others have said it, but use your common sense. When you start the process, you'll see what a good chunk of what needs to be addressed.

My experience was between starting the novel and finishing the novel with the first draft, I already had in my head rewrites and I was also a stronger writer than when I started out. Not to mention, you know your characters better! Sometimes what you think they would do when you first start out can differ from what you think by the time you've gotten to the end

I think I've gotten better the further I've progressed with the novel, and when you're ready to share it with beta's, getting that fresh perspective will also do wonders. You'll constantly be learning as you go, so just apply what you learn and try not to get overwhelmed!