Books Read in 2011

Tessa's books-read-2011 book montage

Clockwork Angel
The Hunger Games
Mockingjay
Catching Fire
Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer


Books Read in 2011 »

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

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?

10 comments:

  1. I usually put mine aside for a week or so. No formula, just whatever works for the manuscript being revised.

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  2. I print mine out as I finish each chapter and put it into a binder so it has that book feel. When I'm finished, I let it sit for at least a month. Then I'll go back and read it -- NO editing. I just read it to see how it reads, checking it for things like flow and bigger issues like that. After that, then I go through and do line edits.

    I would never be able to do it on the screen.

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  3. I haven't gotten there yet, but I imagine I'll give it a bit of a rest before I go into revisions.

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  4. I still have to finish writing my first draft, but I'd definitely wait a while before attempting revisions--good for you for waiting a whole two months. I would have looked at it before then. :P

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  5. Yeah, Quinn, I saw on Rach's page that you put each chapter into a folder and then let it simmer for a while before looking at it again. That's SO organized.

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  6. I don't usually print, because I feel guilty about killing trees, but I have a hard time reading through on screen without making changes. So I think I'll have to give in and start printing.

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  7. These days I have to print - I pick up so much more that way. Good luck with revisions :)

    Rach

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  8. I don't have a set formula. It depends on how I feel and how long ago I worked on the project. Sometimes I like to print, but sometimes I waste too much paper doing that so other times I dive in to it and make corrections on the computer. Best wishes.

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  9. I like to let it sit for awhile, but then I print it out and edit that way. I catch SOOO much more when I have a hard copy. I've also taken author Holly Lisle's FAN-FRICKING-TASTIC 'How to Revise Your Novel' course, so I now use that to go through and fix up things!

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  10. Sheesh, Faith. That course of hers looks so, so tempting.

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