Friday, March 26, 2010

Revision Update

I'm not quite knee deep in revisions on my novel (yet). It's more like ankle deep. I'm wading in, like trying to acclimate to cold water.

I'm reading Darcy Pattinson's Novel Metamorphosis as a jumping off point. But I realized that I need a couple of bridge chapters. It feels weird that I'm adding chapters in the middle, but it occurred to me that some stuff was happening "off camera" that should have been "on." Has this happened to anyone else?

Once I really get going, I'm going to do the exercises in the book. I think it will help me tweak. If anyone wants to read my short synopsis, it's right here.

I still love my story - which I think is a good thing_- but I'm trying to be objective enough to cut stuff that isn't needed. It's kind of like pruning last years blooms off my hydrangea. The plant won't be healthy unless the deadwood is cut off - but part of me still hates to do it.

10 comments:

Kelly Lyman said...

I'm in the process of revising as well and trying to decide what stays and what gets the boot. I think it's hard because each sentence is important to me, but I understand that not all of the sentences furthers the story along or helps the character out and it needs to...this is the what I find difficult! I never heard of Novel Metamorphosis- can't wait to check it out!

D said...

I know how you feel. Revising can be so stressful...revision times are when I'm most likely to look to Wendy's or Macdonalds for comfort. The fries and burger wrap me in their fat, loving arms while I trim away. Sigh.

Kristine Asselin said...

Thanks Kelly and Dena! I'm glad I'm not alone!

Ann Marie Wraight said...

I'd much prefer to write something from scratch, rather than the REVISION JITTERS!
Make sure you are surrounded by strawberries or at least by red objects....would it help?
By the way, I love the colour scheme you chose for your blog. The autumnal shades are the colours I wear and my house furniture kind of goes along that look.

Jody Hedlund said...

Oh, I definitely know what you're going through! I've had to hack scenes, add new ones, and even add new character arcs! Revision is definitely painful, but as you said, makes the story so much more healthy!

Kristine Asselin said...

Thanks Ann Marie and Jody! I love to see the story evolve - but in the trenches, it's hard to "see the forest for the trees" sometimes.

And thanks, Ann Marie - I like to look at my blog just for the colors! I was so happy to find the design...it also matches the cover of my Earth Signs book!

Tina Laurel Lee said...

Kris- It's nice to hear where others are at in this process. It is so hard to know what stays and goes. I just tossed and added a ton of stuff to my manuscript and the whole while with trepidation. I hope you have readers and utilize them a lot! Fresh eyes can help you see these things a lot better.

Kristine Asselin said...

Thanks Tina. I'm deep in line edits right now, but I've got to move on to big picture stuff. Character development and pacing and stuff. I have some great readers, but I'm hesitant to overwhelm them!

Kiki Hamilton said...

Good luck! I've found that I now like first drafting best - even though that's hard sometimes. Revision is hard!

Anonymous said...

What you're doing is a hard step for me - actually every step is hard step. Just do the best you can!!