Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt.
Don’t forget to click the link to see what everyone else has to say on this week’s subject. It’s at the end of my post.
Discuss: “Write the book you want to rewrite—because most of writing is revising! Don’t agonize over every word in a first draft; that will only slow you down. Just write the story. Get it onto the page. Drafting is the stage where you capture the idea. Revising is where you figure out how to really tell the story well.” -Beth Kander, author of I Made It Out of Clay
One of the first pieces of advice I received as a writer was to write. That was it, just put some words down. The reason was that you can’t edit a blank page.
That’s so obvious and yet so true.
I don’t have a problem with doing that. The reason, as I’ve said so many times before, is that I just copy down what I see on a screen in my mind. It’s complete and occurs in chronological order, like watching a film in my head.
By the time the performance is finished, I have a story that contains everything I saw. It’s all there, the worldbuilding, technology and characters. Every bit of dialogue, too. It just needs tidying up.
My editor is the first person to see it. She fixes the grammar and reads it through to get a sense of the story, making notes and suggestions.
Very often, there are things that I might have assumed the reader knows, or missed out from what I have written. My editor spots these and brings them to my attention.
When I get the corrected draft and her notes, the work of filling plot holes, refining dialogue and making sense of it all begins.
That’s where I start to watch the film again, and again. Each time, I see what I missed. I can rewind and slow the action down, as I fill in the gaps. I can even move the camera about, to capture all the nuance. At this point, the story becomes a complete narrative. Often, I’ll add thousands of words, sometimes I might remove a few, as I turn the record of what I saw into a novel.
It all takes time and requires multiple viewings and readings of the story.
By the time it’s ready for the next stage, the beta readers, I’ve seen it in my head so many times, it feels more real than reality.
Which brings me neatly to another piece of advice that I’ve been given. That is to write the sort of book you’d love to read. I thought this was obvious at the start, that it meant write about what interests and moves you.
Later, I realised that it was because, as you rewrite, revise and restructure your words, you will be reading it, a LOT.
What do you think about this week’s subject?
Let me know by leaving me a comment.
While you’re here, please click the InLinkz link to check out what my fellow writers have to say about this week’s topic.
Until next time.
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P.J. MacLayne
I do more deletions in my revisions than additions. I may add a few words here and there to add flavor to my story, but if I don’t remove several thousand words, I’m surprised.
Richard Dee
Surprisingly, I’m the opposite. The more I watch the film in my head, the more I see.
Samantha Bryant
Sounds like you’ve found a great editor. @samanthabwriter from
Balancing Act
Richard Dee
I have, they get me and what I’m trying to say.
Kelly Williams
We work similarly! The movie thing, I fully get. I love replaying the show, rewinding, and setting up alt scenarios. It’s like a mental holodeck.
Richard Dee
Exactly. Sometimes I wish I could interact more, rather than just be a passive observer.