I hit 100,000 words on the first draft of my first novel today and feel like I’ll have things wrapped up within the next 10,000 or so. My original goal was 100k by the end of August, with the idea that I’d also have a complete story. That gives me 11 days to get to the end. I should be able to do it because I have the luxury of having 4-5 writing hours at least 5 days a week. I’m a lucky devil, I know. At the same time, I’m pretty excited that I’ve been able to make it this far, stay close to my goal and have a complete, if extremely unrefined manuscript. I read an interview with Lauren K. Hamilton where she says:
Seventy percent of a first draft is garbage and 30 percent is gold, but you have to write 100 percent to get that 30.
That’s probably conservative in my case. I figure if I get a quarter of good stuff, I’m in good shape. I have no idea how long revisions will take, but it should be a fun experience. Does anyone have any words of wisdom where revision is concerned? I’ve come across a few articles and read a few books on the matter, but I’d like to hear as many approaches as possible. I know there are probably plenty of ways to get to the same end, so I’m all ears.
Here are some articles I came across in my on line search that I enjoyed:
http://www.essortment.com/all/writebetternov_rtsk.htm
http://www.gonzalobarr.com/blog/?p=732
http://www.efuse.com/Design/wa-seven-steps.html
I found this one particularly entertaining:
http://buddha-rat.squarespace.com/shitty-first-drafts/
Hope you get something out of these.
Hi Jonathan,
The first thing I do is run my chapters through my critique group. Once I’ve fixed the errors they have pointed out, I read the manuscript out loud chapter by chapter. This gives me a good indication as to sentence flow, and I’m always amazed at how many missing words I find.
Then I go through and look for words to cut – unnecessary adverbs and adjectives. I tend to double my adjectives sometimes to bludgeon my reader to death with what I’m trying to get across, so I know to watch for these errors.
Andy Shackcloth recommended using software that will read your work back to you. I don’t have the link to that article handy, but if you go to my blog and click on Andy’s name (under Writer’s Chronicles) you’ll be able to find the article easily. He has a very nice web site.
I look for any places where I can tighten the wording.
Then I read the manuscript through from beginning to end with my eye on nothing but plot and characters. Have I given the same information twice somewhere? Did I think I put a plot point in, but in actually left it out?
Those are a few of the things I do! I envy you your time! 😉
Sorry I haven’t been around, I’ve been under the weather with a terrible cold. I’m just now getting “out and about” again.
Have a great week.
Teresa
Thanks for the feedback Teresa. I checked out Andy Shackcloth’s blog and there is a nice post there about self-editing that should be helpful. As I get into the revisions, I’ll be posting how it’s going. Sorry you’ve been under the weather. Glad you’re feeling better.
Good news for you, Jonathan! I love editing (usually).
i like to read the whole thing through before I pounce, and resist the urge to make changes as I go. I do it just to give me a feel for what the overhaul entails. I make a huge list as I go, and footnotes galore!
From there, I prioritize. First things first, make certain characters are consistent, and tie up any loose ends. Then I look at writing details. I re-write anything sloppy. Last I line edit.
My first novel, I made the mistake of just re-writing all sloppiness right away. So much the plot got changed that I wasted time re-writing stuff that just got nicked.
You’ll find your groove. Just be patient with it.
Thanks for the tips. I’m sure I’ll be borrowing them once I get into revisions. I look forward to reading the whole draft; there are days where it feels disjointed. I’m sure I’ll find plenty of disconnects as I read, but at least I’ll have had the time away from the manuscript and be able to look at it as a whole. I’ll be concentrating on the overall story arc for sure. It needs a whole lot of tightening and strengthening. I look forward to revising characters as well. It’s been hard to resist getting in there right now and start tinkering, but I’ve managed. I’m already of the mind to combine at least two characters and possibly relegate a couple to more secondary status – of course, I’ll make that decision AFTER I’ve read the draft.