Revision is Everything!
I prefer revising (literally, "seeing again") over the actual writing. I always revise from the beginning before I write anything new. Wording and structure issues that need correction seem to stand off the page when I come to my work with fresh eyes, and I can eliminate something more easily if I wrote it yesterday or last week instead of five minutes ago.
Revising before I write also gives me a sense of where I am in the project and where I need to go when I begin to write for the day. Not only can I see what needs to be eliminated, but it also helps me "see" the things that aren't there, the details or even whole scenes that need to be added to make the story complete.
Another benefit of revising is I go is that I'm much closer to having a solid draft by the time I get to the end of the actual writing, because the first 90% has been exhaustively revised. Which is good, because by the time I finish writing I am barely able to spell my own name, much less make quality decisions about my work. :)
I also keep a separate document where I put every sentence or lengthy phrase I cut. It's not like I'm going to go back and use any of it; I just like knowing nothing I've written will be lost until I'm absolutely certain I don't need it. If I look at all the discards after I've finished (which I rarely even bother to do), they seem painfully out of place compared to my finished product and in fact remind of how far it has come!
For yesterday's writing, I was planning to write about Kate's first day back to work after the tragedy. However, most of it ended up being about Kate's drive into work, struggling with her grief and preparing herself to be with people, with only a brief summary of her actual day at work. Next, I'm going to write about her first evening at home after returning to work, being by herself for the first time all day. This may sound tedious, but I'm trying to stay in her head and show how she's coping with day-to-day tasks so recently after the Event.
I've come up with a great twist to heighten Kate's internal conflict, which should be interesting to explore. I also found the last sentence of the book, which is cool.
WRITTEN TODAY: 2.5 PAGES (double-spaced)
Revising before I write also gives me a sense of where I am in the project and where I need to go when I begin to write for the day. Not only can I see what needs to be eliminated, but it also helps me "see" the things that aren't there, the details or even whole scenes that need to be added to make the story complete.
Another benefit of revising is I go is that I'm much closer to having a solid draft by the time I get to the end of the actual writing, because the first 90% has been exhaustively revised. Which is good, because by the time I finish writing I am barely able to spell my own name, much less make quality decisions about my work. :)
I also keep a separate document where I put every sentence or lengthy phrase I cut. It's not like I'm going to go back and use any of it; I just like knowing nothing I've written will be lost until I'm absolutely certain I don't need it. If I look at all the discards after I've finished (which I rarely even bother to do), they seem painfully out of place compared to my finished product and in fact remind of how far it has come!
For yesterday's writing, I was planning to write about Kate's first day back to work after the tragedy. However, most of it ended up being about Kate's drive into work, struggling with her grief and preparing herself to be with people, with only a brief summary of her actual day at work. Next, I'm going to write about her first evening at home after returning to work, being by herself for the first time all day. This may sound tedious, but I'm trying to stay in her head and show how she's coping with day-to-day tasks so recently after the Event.
I've come up with a great twist to heighten Kate's internal conflict, which should be interesting to explore. I also found the last sentence of the book, which is cool.
WRITTEN TODAY: 2.5 PAGES (double-spaced)
posted by JJ | 12/17/2005 05:18:00 PM
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