It's That Time Again

Image: http://brc-adidas.blogspot.com/

Yup, revision time! Finally I feel that I have enough time to dive into revisions again. I have a list of things to do before Christmas, but if I don't start revisions NOW, it will continue to nag me until I do, and I hate that internal nagging voice of mine. 

So, I've decided to start with my Icelandic project before I rewrite the first chapter of my English one. I have let the Icelandic MG sit undisturbed for two months now, so I should have very fresh eyes when I look at it today. 

I have thought about how I'm going to do this. I wondered if I should print it out and read it like that, or if I should just dive straight in and read off my screen, editing as I go. The latter is what I did with my English YA, but I'm going to use the first approach this time (I just re-read Stephen King's On Writing part about revisions). So, I'm just going to read and write comments in a notebook. 

What approach do you use when you do your first revision after you've completed a manuscript? Do you let it rest? Do you print it out? Do you have some formula you always follow?

Rediscovered Quote

I'm in the midst of cleaning a desk and found several old notebooks from conferences I covered as a reporter. Written on the inside cover was this quote. It's probably not mine, but I'll claim it if no one else will. It sounds like something I'd write.

If you stand around waiting for destiny, you will only meet fate.

It seems appropriate today, as we start a new month. I've had a sense of destiny lately. Some things are clicking, and the revisions of my "completed" manuscript are moving ahead nicely, though I've put the work-in-progress on hold for the summer. Of course, as we discussed in a previous post, we're always writing and I know of some significant changes I'll be making to that manuscript once I return, and I'm sure it'll be much improved.

So, welcome to August, friends and fellow writers. What are you working on?

Chapter 57: Progress Report

I was on vacation this past week. Nothing exotic. The living room table -- my wife's "branch office" as she likes to call it -- where my laptop lay waiting. I had two goals for the week: get a good head of steam on editing my novel, and run at least twenty miles. The running was relatively easy (as of Saturday -- with my long run still to come -- I've already got 19.2 miles under the waistband of my sweatpants). While I've not yet completed the edit (nor did I expect to in a week), so far I've gone through the first 280 or so pages of what was the second draft (of 350 pages) and culled it to about 230. At this point, I expect the third draft to weigh in at less than 300 pages. My wife's amazed. She might even read it this time!

Her inability to get past page 110 or so was actually quite helpful, as was the inability of one of my brothers to get that far. I figure I can expect about 50-60 pages from these folks out of love and family. But if they can't finish it, I can't expect anyone else to either -- especially an agent. The key is listening to my early readers and finding out why they couldn't get farther. It turns out that all the well-written character development didn't move the story along as well as I'd thought. So, much of it went bye-bye. Indeed, of the first four or five chapters, I retained two scenes, both used as backstory -- one of them much deeper in the book.

It's still not perfect. I had to add a scene, but as I was jogging yesterday I ruminated over the new scene. I'm not sure it works, and I'll need to re-read it. The two-year anniversary of my initial completion of the novel is just a little more than a week away. That is my goal: have the new edit done by that date. I won't need to take another vacation to do it, but I must say it's been one of the most satisfying vacations in my adult life.

Chapter 53: Looking to 2007

Throughout the year, I've had many friends and acquaintances ask how I'm progressing on my novel. With few exceptions, the answer has been, "I've barely touched it lately." That remains true right now. I've had self-appointed deadlines that have passed by barely noticed. And the latest is fast approaching and will likely be met with similar results. Life has just gotten too darn busy.

Although there's no one with an ax over my neck to inspire me to get back to the book, I pledge to get what I hope will be my final pre-agenting draft complete before the end of March. I'll take a week off from work to get it into gear if I have to; it'll probably take that kind of decision.

And once that version is done and I start looking into getting an agent to sell my book, then I'll start on the next novel. Again, it'll be difficult to stay to my schedule, but I'd like to think that having a new project to work on will be the creative kick in the butt that I need. There's still a lot of research I need to do on that one to make sure some of the settings are believable, but I can start to write the character development, which is really the heart of any story. All in all, it should be a busy 2007, especially if I do what I am setting out to do.