What is your revision process?

I actually tend to revise as I go. I'll write until it stalls a bit, print it out and go through it. I find that works better for me than to keep pushing when it doesn't feel right. Usually, I can find what's hanging it up and keep going from there.

But when I actually write 'The End', it gets printed and I go through it line by line for my first edit. Then another printing and another edit. I CANNOT edit from the screen, I miss everything but the very obvious!

I usually make notes while I'm writing the first draft. Then I'll go through all my notes, and do a read-through to figure out what need to be changed, etc. etc. Then I just start rewriting from the first page.

Rewrite and edit are two different things for me, BTW.

I make notes during the first draft -- usually timelines, ages, that kind of thing. When I'm finished, I print it all off and read through, taking notes again, this time noting details (ages of characters if the novel bounces around, physical characteristics, etc.) as well as changes & additional scenes I need to add. After I do those revisions (crossing off my "to do" list of changes), I print off the copy again for a hard copy line edit.

I don't let the manuscript sit.

I don't print it out.

I get through the first draft ASAP, so the doubt can't set in. Then, as soon as I'm done, it goes off to the betas. I take their edits, I make my edits...I add A LOT of words, because my first drafts are short. I basically just change plot points, make sentences prettier...I do whatever needs to be done, without getting emotional.

Then off to the betas again.

More edits.

Queries.

I carry along several documents with my first draft -- the novel, of course, a timeline, a characterization document, and an as-written scene outline.

I then go start to finish, start to finish, start to finish in my edits, making notes and backing up to add things as needed. At some point I take a rest from it. Then I start again. I'll rest again if I need to. I need to move quickly through a novel at some point to see where I've put everything after messing around with it.

I give it to trusted writers to critique, and then I go through it again with their comments beside me.

I also find a final scene-by-scene outline is helpful once I think I've got it the way I want it. The outline helps me evaluate pace, lets me see if every scene has a purpose, and highlights anything that's repetitive. It's been quite helpful.

I write my first draft with pen and paper making notes on the borders as I go.

My second draft consists of me typing in the first draft onto my pc's word program, making changes as I go.

Third stage is a line by line edit for spelling and a read through to make sure it works.

I write the first draft, then I immediately reread it and start the editing process.
It goes something like this:
Rewrite.
Repeat.

I tend to revise as I go along, like shaking out the wrinkles in a sheet. I only revise if I have a solid reason for doing so. Like having a specific problem I know I need to fix because it affects another section I'm working on. If I only have a vague feeling about it like "It doesn't feel right" or "it isn't working" but I don't understand why, I do not revise until I know why. Experience has taught me that revising to solve an unknown problem is just spinning my wheels

After I finish, I might let it sit, might not. Then I'll pick random chapters and start working through them. In one case, I picked a chapter because of its size. In another case, I went through the entire manuscript searching for repetitions and made another pass just for idioms. The hardest part has been revising to correct story setup issues, each of which required a major revision to fix. I'm trying to solve that problem by working out the story before I write.

maestrowork said:

I usually make notes while I'm writing the first draft. Then I'll go through all my notes, and do a read-through to figure out what need to be changed, etc. etc. Then I just start rewriting from the first page.

Rewrite and edit are two different things for me, BTW.

Click to expand...

This is my usual practice as well. My first draft tends to be just the bare bones of the story. Once that is complete, I go back and do a re-write, adding in all the setting, descriptions and what-not until the entire story is complete.

Then comes the edit process.

From about February to September of this year I wrote the completed first draft. And then I read through it, editing as I went, from beginning to end (on screen) and made sure it all fitted together well. Now I'm working with betas to get it into 2nd draft status and, by the end of this year, I'm hoping it'll be ready to start querying agents. That's it for me, basically.

I write the first draft. No editing as I go. Make notes of things I know will need to change.
Print it - re-type the whole thing into a new document, correcting things, tying loose ends, adding reference points of things brought into the story later. It gave me the opportunity to change language as I went and to lengthen some chapters as well as add a couple of chapters that help the story along and fill it out.
Third stage is printing the second draft and using a red pen to edit.
I'm in that stage now.
After I make those changes (I'm half way through it with the pen) including adding sentences, and even a paragraph or two as needed, I will read it again and see if there's anything else.
(all the while working on a query letter.)

I get through the first draft with a certain amount of edit-as-I-go, because I just can't help myself sometimes... let it sit for at least a week after that, and read something I consider a genre standard, or Self Editing, etc.
Then I do a first pass for spelling, continuity, flow, and note any gaping plot holes or problem areas. 2nd pass is to cut down word count - whole scenes get snipped, adverbs are slaughtered wholesale, it's very sad.
I print it out on the 3rd pass and fix whatever's left to fix. Then I read it once more on the screen, and it goes to betas. Usually while I'm waiting to hear back from them I work on the query and the (ick!) synopsis.


Of course, I haven't done this too many times yet, so it's all subject to change.

I'm writing the first draft of my second novel now, and I'm following a very similar process to what I did on the first one.

Put together chapter outline at least through the first half of the book to have enough planned to get started and put things in place.

Make general notes for remaining plot, and allow to grow organically while writing first draft.

Write first draft. No stopping. No editing. Beginning to end.

Paste entire first draft into new document and edit it. Save first draft for later, in case I want to return to it for notes or to start over on a scene. Print out first draft for backup copy.

Gradually give to my critique group and tell them to quote "make it bleed". I'm a firm believer in scorched earth editing. Take the emotional beating up front. Of course it helps if you also trust your critique group enough to let them do that. I do.

Rewrite/retype from critique group's written notes on editing. I don't follow everything they say, but retyping it line by line makes me think about every comment and red mark they've made. Sometimes I ignore what they say. Sometimes I follow it. Sometimes I consider it and do something completely new.

Workshop it. Take it to a writer's conference and get at least the first 50 pages and synopsis critiqued.

Edit/rewrite again.

Send out to beta readers, who are not necessarily writers. Do not expect line by line editing. Request any comments they want to make. Consider them carefully, making changes to any parts you agree with.

Print out new draft. Do a final line by line edit to catch any final typos, grammar mistakes or consistency errors.

Somewhere along the way there's a draft to add in new scenes that I hadn't thought about or some other consistency problem or something I've missed. Or two drafts. Or three.

Rinse and repeat.

I take FOREVER on my first draft.

* First I do a basic outline, draw pictures of characters, scenes and images that I picture in my mind. (Just so I can get the story out on paper.)

* Then I create a character sheet for my MCs.

*Create a character arc.

*Then do a detailed outline.

*Then I type the first chapter. Evaluate it for voice, tense, POV, and rewrite it.

*Then I complete the next chapter.

*Then I start back to chapter 1, edit it, and edit chapter 2.

*When I write chapter three, I go back and re-edit chapter 2, then edit chapter three. And so on.

*If that isn't bad enough.. I could be up to chapter 8, suddenly decide I want to go back to the beginning and re-write a few scenes and do some more editing.

It takes me a LONG time to complete my first draft. However, by the time it is done, it is practically polished enough for betas. It's an odd process, but it works for me.