Revising: Going from One Draft to Another

Storyteller5 · Oct 9, 2006

Do you have any personal rules/habits/superstitions you follow when rewriting/revising/editing between drafts? Anything you've found makes it easier for you? Things you can't do without? :e2BIC:

PeeDee · Oct 9, 2006

I don't know if it's a personal habit or a superstition, but it is a good idea: take some time and read your stuff out loud. If you're in doubt about a particular scene, read it out loud like you're reading it to an imaginary crowd. That does more for me than anything in terms of finding out if something works or not.

Shadow_Ferret · Oct 10, 2006

I don't have the money to buy ink for my crummy printer to print it.

THe only thing I do that might be considered odd is I create a new copy of the document, and save the previous incarnation. So I have one called "first draft," one called, "first revision," "second revision" and so on.

PeeDee · Oct 10, 2006

Shadow_Ferret said:
I don't have the money to buy ink for my crummy printer to print it.

Man, do I know. I keep getting told "print two copies, one for reading and one for editing," and I look at my several-hundred-page novel and think "I can barely print directions off Yahoo! Maps, I'm sure not printing off you."

Jamesaritchie · Oct 10, 2006

drafts

No. I just go back to page one and start reading and revising. Don't print out copies. I find doing the work on the screen is just as easy as doing it with a hard copy. And usually much faster.

PeeDee · Oct 10, 2006

Jamesaritchie said:
No. I just go back to page one and start reading and revising. Don't print out copies. I find doing the work on the screen is just as easy as doing it with a hard copy. And usually much faster.

Faster, yes, easier, yes, cheaper, yes....but it doesn't do my eyes much good, especially if I'm scrutinizing really closely.

That said, I just invested in a pair of glasses and mostly kept on going on the computer screen.

sassandgroove · Oct 10, 2006

I used to print out my WIP at work, (on scrap paper....) but where i work now is a smaller operation and I like my boss, so I haven't done that here.

sassandgroove · Oct 10, 2006

Jamesaritchie said:
No. I just go back to page one and start reading and revising. Don't print out copies. I find doing the work on the screen is just as easy as doing it with a hard copy. And usually much faster.

That doesn't work for me. I messed up my WIP when I made changes as I read through. This time, I am noting where I think I need changes, so if I find I already addressed something a few pages later, it's not all out of whack. And I find it is easier to just read through on paper. I bit the bullet and paid to print it out. I even splurged on three hole punch paper. I felt all important and such.

icerose · Oct 10, 2006

I love printing out the manuscript after it has gone through every edit I can think of putting it through, as I catch more when it is printed out because it's like looking at it in a whole new way. I also read it backwards because it forces me to analyze the sentences and paragraphs and individual words rather than as chunks of the story. This is of course after I make sure everything in the story is squared away.

But that darn ink is so expensive!!!!!!!!!

Siddow · Oct 10, 2006

I always print out the first draft. I put it in a 3-ring binder and read it all the way through. My first drafts are a total mess, so I end up with a bunch of large red X's on the scenes that have to go away, and I make notes of scenes to be added (inserting looseleaf paper, if needed). I'm guilty of adding whole new characters and removing whole sub-plots between first and second draft. It also helps me to create a synopsis between drafts, and I do a written outline. I spend some time letting the new structure brew in my mind, then I open a new doc and start over.

LeeFlower · Oct 10, 2006

I printed out my current project to do edits, and found it astoundingly unhelpful. It helped me catch typos because I changed the typeface, and a lot of friends wanted me to read it aloud to them, so that was helpful, but I could have done it just as easily off my laptop. I'm pretty sure working with a print copy actually slowed me way down.

But then, I can't write longhand (seriosuly-- when I write longhand, my work blows. I can't figure out why), so that might be a part of it.

Doug Johnson · Oct 10, 2006

I delete the crappy parts. It makes a big difference.

Rolling Thunder · Oct 10, 2006

Since I use MS Word I take advantage of the track changes option under 'tools'. Highlight changes turned on, will show everything with a red underline. Deletions will show up in red with a strike through line. After I'm done I'll use 'accept or reject changes' to clean the MS up and file it in a new folder; 3rd draft/4th draft/etc., with the draft number included in the filename.

Then, if I want to see previous versions I go back to the previous folders (1st draft, 2nd draft, etc.). This way I can see where I started, especially with the plot and characters, and see if I'm making sound improvements.

Shadow_Ferret · Oct 10, 2006

PeeDee said:
Faster, yes, easier, yes, cheaper, yes....but it doesn't do my eyes much good, especially if I'm scrutinizing really closely.

That said, I just invested in a pair of glasses and mostly kept on going on the computer screen.

Use the magnifying tool.

PeeDee · Oct 10, 2006

the whut?

IrishScribbler · Oct 10, 2006

Writers aren't eccentric!

I will sometimes write biographies of characters to help me nail them down as I'm writing/revising.

I also have to edit a paper version. I can't go through an ms on the computer and change things. I have to read the hard copy and use editor's marks before I change a single character on the saved file. If I come to a passage I want to delete, I'll cross it out. If I want to change the wording, I'll rewrite it on the page and read it aloud to make sure I like it. I've even rewritten whole scenes on the backs of a draft. Then I take the edited hard copy and make changes on the computer.

As for superstitions...I have to have something to drink while I'm writing, and it has to be Dr. Pepper or sweetened iced tea.

Amythest · Oct 10, 2006

Read the chapter from start to finish after having ignored its existence for at least a wekk. Then honestly go through as if it were a published novel, feeling free to say things to yourself like "This completely and totally sucks" or "who the hell let me get near a typewriter."

Shadow_Ferret · Oct 10, 2006

PeeDee said:
the whut?

Change the zoom from 100% to 150% or greater if you can't see. :tongue

Andre_Laurent · Oct 10, 2006

icerose said:
I love printing out the manuscript after it has gone through every edit I can think of putting it through, as I catch more when it is printed out because it's like looking at it in a whole new way. I also read it backwards because it forces me to analyze the sentences and paragraphs and individual words rather than as chunks of the story. This is of course after I make sure everything in the story is squared away.

But that darn ink is so expensive!!!!!!!!!

I have to print it. I miss things on the screen. I was printing it at work and they moved the #$%^ printer and now I won't risk it, lol. :rant:

Sunshine13 · Oct 10, 2006

Hm, well, I'm a bit different sorta. I write some chapters. I also have a beta reader/critter who goes back and forth with me on her work and my work. After I write a chapter, I continue writing another chapter while she is critting that one. I'm usually two chapters ahead when I get it back. I take into consideration her crits and change as needed. So on.

Then, a week or more later, I'll go back and read through it again. Realize some things that could work better, etc. For instance, once I got to almost the middle of my WIP, I took a break, and went back to read through all the other chapters. This helped because my story ended up changing a little, so I could rework some things in the earlier chapters. Takes me a week to do that. Now I'm going back to finish the ms. Once I'm done, I'll go through it one more time on word, and then print it out and read it outloud, and put down notes, etc. Then, I plan on using that and going back to do my hopefully last revision.

ORION · Oct 10, 2006

What has helped me is to let my first draft sit for several weeks -sometimes a month - while I work on something else. It gives me fresh eyes and allows me to see things I would otherwise miss. It gives me a better perspective so I can address plot issues and characterization.
JMHO

triceretops · Oct 10, 2006

I have to concentrate on one element at a time. I have multiple revisions that are specifically designed to cover one element only. It takes months, but I have to do it that way. I revise for:

Passive voice
Missing and compound words
Clunky sentences
Paragraph structure and formatting
Continuity
Overstatement
Over-the-top scenes
Spellcheck
Excessive dialog tags and overuse of personal pronouns.

Tri

Shadow_Ferret · Oct 10, 2006

I tried that separate chapter thing with my first novel. It just became so unwieldy I abandoned it.

Sunshine13 · Oct 10, 2006

I save as seperate chapter files too.

It just works for me.

kuatolives · Oct 10, 2006

I have a folder called /current which is my working folder.
Watermark folders are created as the milestones are reached
/firstdraft
/secondraft
/publishabledraft
/pulizterdraft
/nobeldraft

I steal paper and ink from work so my house looks like a giant recycling bin.

Revising: Going from One Draft to Another

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