Revising the Novel: A Resource
When I first began drafting the novel in June 2012, I knew only one thing: Write. I had no sense for structure, not sense for balance between flashback and present narrative, and very little understanding of the actual physical and psychological energy drafting a novel requires. I suppose that’s good, because I might have held myself back that ignorant summer, cutting the novel off at the cord. I even recall seeking feedback on those early pages. I had to, due to a deadline from an agent. The feedback certainly helped me continue believing in my story, but those early scenes and pages have come so far from their original structure. My friends (who had drafted novels before) thankfully knew better than to provide line-level feedback. They listened for the pulse of the story and they looked for catchy moments that might hook an agent. They were wise to do so.
Since then, I’ve tried to keep my process as transparent as possible–both for myself and for followers of this blog. I needed help drafting my novel and, while I had a lot of support and there were countless “how to” books I could buy, I never found an expose voice that “told all” through the highs and lows and dead ends in between. To that end, today’s post is a recap of most my version of these “tell-all’s” so far. Searching through my posts over the past few years (I know, I know, I should be “tagging”), I was surprised (and proud!) of how many kernels of advice I’d been able to put together, adding up to something I might even call insight. I hope these provide a resource for others, and I’ll continue to title all novel process posts in the future with the subheading “Revising the Novel” for easier searching online. Here goes:- The Writing on the Wall
- Increasing Tension in a Novel
- Living Inside a Novel
- Saying Something You Didn’t Know You Could
- Taking Time to Wonder
- On Being Precise and Direct
- When NOT Writing a Novel (to Write a Novel)
- Put Your Manuscript in a Drawer
- Getting Back In
- How to Revise for Discovery
- Trail Crew of the Mind
- Taking the Time to Wonderbook
- Reflections on Revision
- Thawing Out Your Novel
- Ruts & Subzeroes
- Don’t Look Back
- Write Poems Instead
- Reverse Outlining
- Character & Setting Maps
- Everything in its Place
- Expanding a Scene
- Logistics on Paper
- Logistics on the Screen
- Sewing, Surgery, & Equations (Part 1)
- Sewing, Surgery, & Equations (Part 2)
- The Terrible Middles
- What is Your Vision?
- Knowing When You Need Help
- Absorbing the Advice
- It’s Perfectly Normal (to Hate Your Novel)
- Out of the Drawer
- Finding a Good Reader
- Revision is a Physical Act
- On Interruption
