Melissa's Revision Mondays

As always, my revision tips are posted in the hopes that new or beginning writers will discover the tools they need to do a thorough revision of their work, before sending it to agents or publishers. I am far from an expert on the subject of revision, and am learning as I go through the process myself. I call upon my more experienced collegues to offer up their wisdom and tips.

This week, I've been working on organizing my manuscript. Being a died-in-the-wool pantser, I wrote 80,000 words, with only the barest outline to guide me. Now it's time to take what I wrote and try to make some sense out of it. To uncover those plot holes that need to be filled in. To address changes to plot, setting, and character that evolved as the story unfolded.

I turned to one of my favorite reference books to help me bring some sanity to my crazy manuscript. It's called "Thanks, But This Isn't For Us." By Jessica Page Morrell. In it she suggests creating a blueprint of your story. So I deconstructed my MS scene by scene and put together a blueprint, that I can use to illuminate stuctural issues that need to be addressed. I have a long way to go on this, but hope to have a solid blueprint by next week.


http://www.amazon.com/Thanks-But-This-Isnt-Compassionate/dp/1585427217/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1294602017&sr=8-5

Another great post that addresses this issue is Elana Johnson's post from Friday which talks about where to start your book. She has some awesome things to share about revision, so if you haven't seen it, check it out.

Do you have any tips for creating organization and structure in you manuscript?

Melissa's Revision Mondays

I don’t claim to be an expert on the revision process, but I came across a series of blog posts last year that really changed my thoughts about revising. Mary Kole’s series on revision from December is no doubt more helpful than anything I could share, (see Revision O-Rama)  but I’m going to invite you to join me on my revision process anyway.

I finished my WIP during NaNoWriMo, and after dutifully putting it away for one full month, I’m ready to begin revising. A lot of people dislike the revision process, but not me. Now that I’m finished with my WIP I feel like I have a raw lump of clay in my hands, ready to be shaped into something beautiful. But first I have to push out all of the air. If I don't, there will be holes in my manuscript, or the whole thing might blow up when I put it in the fire.
 






The very first thing I have to get rid of is my first chapter. I don’t even want to read it first. When I wrote it, I had no real sense of my character, my setting, etc… (this comes from being a pantster, what can I say?) So the whole thing has to go.



 
What about you? Have you ever banished a whole chapter from your manuscript? Do read it first to see what can be salvaged, or just let it go?