Books on novel revision?

tammay · Nov 15, 2004

Hi there,
I recently finished the first draft of my novel and now I'm looking to take an ax to it and begin the revision process. I'm so out of it as to what new (or old) books are out there that are good on how to go about revising your novel. Anyone recommend anything? I'm at a loss of where to start.

Thanks,
Tam

SFEley · Nov 15, 2004

If you absolutely must have a reference to go from, Noah Lukeman's The First Five Pages is far better than average. I bought it and read it, and although by the time I got to revising my novel I was somewhat beyond the point of finding writing books useful, it did give me a useful perspective.

That said, here's what I did:

<OL>
<LI>Nothing, for a few weeks. Started the rough draft of the sequel, and let this one ferment.</LI>
<LI>Gave it to a couple of trusted readers to tell me what they liked and what was boring. (Not all of my trusted readers -- they're a precious resource, you don't want to exhaust them all at once.)</LI>
<LI>Acted on the feedback I got that I agreed with.</LI>
<LI>Printed the manuscript and read through it slowly, with red pen in hand, doing line-by-line corrections and prose tweaking. Typed in all those corrections only after I was done with the entire book. (This took a few weeks.)</LI>
<LI>Read the book aloud, again with red pen in hand, and tuned any sentences that simply didn't sound right. Typed in corrections again.</LI>
<LI>Drafted a couple of different trusted readers to make sure that it was better this time than the time before.</LI>
<LI>Acted on feedback again.</LI>
<LI>Started marketing.</LI>
</OL>

I don't know if there's a book that tells you to do all this. It made sense to me; but the book's still under consideration and hasn't sold yet, so I have to stop just short of saying it worked for me. Perhaps soon I'll be able to say that.

Writing Again · Nov 15, 2004

I suggest: Line by Line.

And

5a) Read the book aloud, into a good tape recorder and listen to things you did not expect to hear.

Jamesaritchie · Nov 15, 2004

I like the two choices you've been given, so let me throw in a website I've found helpful.

www.hollylisle.com/fm/Wor...ision.html

There's a ton of good writing advice on Lisle's website.

Writing Again · Nov 17, 2004

I really like Holly Lisle, but I warn you, there is a lot there. One of my friends got lost in there for several months before she found her way back out.

tammay · Nov 25, 2004

Thank you all for your replies.

SFEley, I feel much as you do. I've read tons and tons of writing books in the past years and I got burned out on them as well, which is one of the reasons I'm so out of the loop. Thanks for giving me a detailed account of what you did. I'm glad it worked for you.

I'll probably take a look at Holly Lisle's site (I'm familiar with it - it's great!) and see what I come up with and also I'll take a look at the two others mentioned (the link for Line by Line didn't work for me, for some reason...)

Tam

Writing Again · Nov 26, 2004

Try this one: Line by Line

I don't know.. I can't get them to work for me either.

Try Amazon here:

tammay · Nov 26, 2004

Thanks for persevering with the link - it works now.

Tam

sc211 · Nov 27, 2004

A book I've found very useful (even after reading many others) is Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, now in its second edition:

www.amazon.com/exec/obido...ce&s=books

maestrowork · Nov 27, 2004

"Self Editing..." is a good book.

Also, Sol Stein on Writing. Good reference for revisions.

bkwriter · Dec 21, 2008

Hi, just to throw in a book I've been reading. Revision and self-editing by James Scott Bell

Nateskate · Mar 1, 2011

Books you've read to learn your craft...

I don't read Books on writing. I've read writing magazines. I read articles on writing, and glean from them.

But mostly, I read books in my Genre. I learn from them, especially other series- what works and what doesn't work. I also read outside my Genre because good writing is inspiring whatever the Genre. Reading, as much as writing, is a continual source of learning.

What books have you read to learn your craft? Do you buy books by authors you wouldn't ever read otherwise- I do.

AnnaSaikin · Mar 1, 2011

On Writing by Stephen King. An oldie but a goodie. I'm due for a re-read soon.

Also MLA Handbook for general formatting questions.

Nothing beats industry blogs like Nathan Bransford's (even though he's out of the game, his blog is still incredibly relevant).

Nick Blaze · Mar 1, 2011

Nateskate said:
I don't read Books on writing. I've read writing magazines. I read articles on writing, and glean from them.

But mostly, I read books in my Genre. I learn from them, especially other series- what works and what doesn't work. I also read outside my Genre because good writing is inspiring whatever the Genre. Reading, as much as writing, is a continual source of learning.

What books have you read to learn your craft? Do you buy books by authors you wouldn't ever read otherwise- I do.

I was recommended to read Gene Wolfe, who, since I usually study classic literature (particularly from Nordic and Asian countries), was not somebody I would normally read. I learned a great deal and enjoyed it a great deal.

However, I still generally stick to the classics... The Count of Monte Cristo never gets old to me and neither will the Sanguo Yanyi.

Deleted member 42 · Mar 1, 2011

I'd suggest reading E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel. It's short, and practical and I think might be especially helpful in terms of the way he talks about structure, and about plot vs. narration/story.

When you read it, keep in mind that the book consists of transcripts of lectures.

I'm also impressed by King's On Writing.

That said, I don't write fiction; I am, I suppose, most accurately put, a professional reader of fiction.

Leanan-Sidhe · Mar 1, 2011

I can only do this on re-reads. The first time around, I get too caught up in the story to study the mechanics of why it's working (or not).

Dandroid · Mar 1, 2011

midnight's children, the kite runner, blood meridian, house of leaves, 2666...all contributed to my wiritng on some level....

Jamesaritchie · Mar 2, 2011

Reading in your genre is mandatory. Classics, as well as contemporary. So is reading as widely outside your genre as possible. It's hard to bring something new if all you read is your own genre.

But how-to books are also a valuable tool. On Writing, and Zen in the Art of writing are my favorites. Next to these, autobiographies of writers are, I think, the best possible guides. They're about the road writers took to get where they are now, rather than how to do what it is they do now. They're about how much that writer read, what he read, what he studied, where he studied, how educated he is, how much he wrote when he first started, his successes and his failures, on and on. Highly important.

But I've read hundreds of how-to books, and I think the smartest thing any writer can do is read his way through the .808 section at the library, start to finish. How-to books work best when you read as many as possible, learn which work for you, which don't, and pick this technique from one book, that technique from another, etc.

Unless you actually read them, you have no idea what's in them, or how helpful some of them can be.

scarletpeaches · Mar 2, 2011

Leanan-Sidhe said:
I can only do this on re-reads. The first time around, I get too caught up in the story to study the mechanics of why it's working (or not).

If you get caught up, that's a very, very good sign that it is working.

Also, regarding 'how to' books, I would like to burn every copy of Bird by Bird and Writing Down the Bones in existence, and the self-indulgent, navel-gazing hippy knobrockets who wrote them.

Emualde · Mar 2, 2011

The following book helped me tremendously as I was diving into my second novel. It helped me organize my ideas and deepen my characterization:

"First draft in 30 days" by Karen S. Wiesner.

It mostly covers the work you need to do prior to starting your first draft but it helps you cut down to the chase.

Hope it helps!

scarletpeaches · Mar 2, 2011

I read that and hated it. You don't end up with a first draft; you end up with an over-processed outline. Timelines, schedules, character sketches... Okay, outline if you gotta, but don't call it a first draft.

Ooh, I'm so angry today!

Emualde · Mar 2, 2011

I'm sorry you hated it scarletpeaches. It's true the title is misleading but I found it useful. It made me brainstrom more than I thought I needed to and thus helped me structure my novel faster and as a result save me a lot of editing.

I guess in the end it's about whether you want to outline or write from the hip. I need the organization because ideas fire all over the place in my brain

Chris P · Mar 2, 2011

I'm about halfway through King's On Writing. Entertaining as well as informative. I think I like him more than his books. I've read through other how-to books, but I have yet to find one I think is highly useful, although many have good parts.

I also read books similar to how I want to write. Since coming here, I've learned how to read with a writer's eye, and to pick apart what works for me in a story and what doesn't, rather than just taking a guess that I'm writing well.

dangerousbill · Mar 2, 2011

Nateskate said:
I don't read Books on writing. I've read writing magazines. I read articles on writing, and glean from them.

Books on writing are most valuable, I think, after you've already begun to write. They're no substitute for sitzfleisch, nor can they do for you what an experienced critique group can do.

However, I've gotten quite a bit of value out of five books.

The first, by default, is Stephen King's 'On Writing'.

Three are by Lawrence Block. They're collections of columns written while he was a contributing editor at Writer's Digest.
'Telling Lies for Fun and Profit'
'Spider, Spin Me a Web' and
'Writing the Novel: From Plot to Print'

Finally, there's Browne and King's 'Self-Editing for Fiction Writers' which should be read again from time to time, and kept as a desk reference otherwise.

hyz · Mar 2, 2011

The most helpful one I've read has been George Singleton's Pep Talks, Warnings, And Screeds. I know in the scheme of books on writing, it's not lauded to be a particularly outstanding book, but paired with a fiction-writing course, and it helped me examine my own writing and figure out song problems I had with it.

I read practically everything I can get my hands on in my genre. I re-read the authors whose "style" I can see mine connecting the most to, try to figure out some of the brilliant ways they handle their plots and characters.

Thing is, I've always hated examining writing. It's one of the reasons I avoided taking English courses. I love reading, and I love writing, but I didn't enjoy getting too close and dissecting writing for every little thing. I see the benefit of it, but I just wanted to enjoy most of it.

Books on novel revision?

tammay

SFEley

Writing Again

Jamesaritchie

Writing Again

tammay

Writing Again

tammay

sc211

maestrowork

bkwriter

Nateskate

AnnaSaikin

Nick Blaze

Jun-Ikkyu

Deleted member 42

Leanan-Sidhe

leaving trails of fairy dust

Dandroid

Jamesaritchie

scarletpeaches

Emualde

scarletpeaches

Emualde

Chris P

Likes metaphors mixed, not stirred

dangerousbill

Retired Illuminatus

hyz

hurricane