I'm midway through draft 2 of my first novel. I'm surprised at the amount I've cut already; most of it was cut while getting rid of weak words. Whether you learned on draft 2 or draft 8, what did you learn revising your first?
What Did You Learn from Revising Your First Novel?
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I'm midway through draft 2 of my first novel. I'm surprised at the amount I've cut already; most of it was cut while getting rid of weak words. Whether you learned on draft 2 or draft 8, what did you learn revising your first?
I learned I don't like revising... I also learned you can revise forever but sooner or later you have to let the book go. For the "let go" date is usually the day it's due at the publisher.
I learned that some books are meant to stay in the trunk. I can tweak and arrange and rearrange forever, but some stories are just fatally flawed in some way and need to be laid to rest.
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I'm not at this point yet, but I'm definitely interested in hearing what others have to say. And hoping I won't have to cut much seeing as my novel is already short.
Tomorrow, I begin the last chapter of my first wip, so I'm not quite there yet. What I have learned, however, is to never reread while you are in the process of writing because you'll get bogged down in editing. I should have been done a month ago.
I didn't do a whole lot of editing to my first, because I realized I hate editing my own work. So, it's trunked for the time being.
However, I've learned a whole lot from editing my second.
1. I still hate editing.
2. Info dumps are a very good thing in a first draft, because it helps you to get to know the characters. It's a bad thing in a second draft and needs to be cut.
3. I can write pretty good dialogue.
4. You should get everything down on paper before making any changes. It's a whole lot easier to fix something that is wrong than it is to quit writing, decide where you want to go and start back again. For me, I would probably not start back again.
However, I've learned a whole lot from editing my second.
1. I still hate editing.
2. Info dumps are a very good thing in a first draft, because it helps you to get to know the characters. It's a bad thing in a second draft and needs to be cut.
3. I can write pretty good dialogue.
4. You should get everything down on paper before making any changes. It's a whole lot easier to fix something that is wrong than it is to quit writing, decide where you want to go and start back again. For me, I would probably not start back again.
I didn't really do a "second draft," per se. This was how it went with my dearest number one:
1. Write 20% of novel.
2. Scrap and start over. Write 50% of novel.
3. Scrap and start over. Write 80% of novel.
4. Chuck certain parts and write over. Write 100% of novel.
5. Take out once a year and do a read-through. Edit for awkward phrases and other little mistakes.
6. Sigh and put away in trunk again, dreaming of the day when I am famous enough to make this quirky thing commerically viable.
1. Write 20% of novel.
2. Scrap and start over. Write 50% of novel.
3. Scrap and start over. Write 80% of novel.
4. Chuck certain parts and write over. Write 100% of novel.
5. Take out once a year and do a read-through. Edit for awkward phrases and other little mistakes.
6. Sigh and put away in trunk again, dreaming of the day when I am famous enough to make this quirky thing commerically viable.
I got to your #2 and forbade myself to do #3. Of course I'm nowhere near done yet, but what I've learned from revising my WIP is that it's something you really, really shouldn't do while you're still writing the first draft.
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I learned that my goals were too weak. I also learned that I had too many stereotypes in my first draft.
I learned that I have trouble finishing things, and that I dislike editing in general. Also, three years ago, my capitalization was atrocious.
I haven't finished my novel yet, but I already learned that it takes me 6 months to edit a short story. I'd hate to think how long editing something 2-3 times as long would take...
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This was also asked a while back on Share Your Work. This was mine, plus you'll find all the other responses, too.
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1183068#post1183068
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1183068#post1183068
"If writing is hell, then re-writing is sheer hell."-- Somebody I Can't Remember.
For me, that's not true. Revision is a pleasure compared to the the first draft, which is stumbling around a maze in the dark at speed enough to hurt.
For me, that's not true. Revision is a pleasure compared to the the first draft, which is stumbling around a maze in the dark at speed enough to hurt.
I didn't bother revising the first two. They were just to see if I could do it. I never planned to try to publish either of them. The third one, I learned that polishing is a hell of a lot harder than just puking out the story. 
I learned that all the women in my book were weak victims. Oops! I went back in and added three strong women to balance out the men.
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I absolutely hate revising/editing. Especially when you can't fix what is wrong without changing the entire story.
I just started revising my first finished novel and I was surprised how much I enjoy editing out weak words and scenes and seeing how much stronger the piece became. It was like finding the muscle of the story.
But I was also surprised that the more I read it, the less I'm certain it's a good story because I've read it so many times. I guess this is why so many people suggest letting it rest for a few months. (Which just seems weird because it's been part of my life for 6 months now.)
But I was also surprised that the more I read it, the less I'm certain it's a good story because I've read it so many times. I guess this is why so many people suggest letting it rest for a few months. (Which just seems weird because it's been part of my life for 6 months now.)
I learned that what I thought was good writing, was considered unnecessary prose - professional editor read first chapter and sent it back with a note, "Use this idea and rewrite from scratch.."
I learned that my first drafts have too much tell, so I spend a lot of revising time turning tell scenes into show scenes, with more dialogue. And I build in plot holes that I have to resolve on revision.
Wow, that was a while ago . . . but I learned my grammar and punctuation weren't as good as I thought they were. Improved that right away.
And I learned I can, in fact, write.
And I learned I can, in fact, write.
I learned that I don't know where to start stories. I took off the first two chapters.
I learned that I have too many characters. I took out two characters and attributed the their dialogue and influences into one.
I learned that I write lean on the first draft and have to add chapters and scenes to bridge gaps.
I learned that 2 drafts isn't enough. with all of that added writing, I have to read the whole thing and edit it again.
I learned that I have too many characters. I took out two characters and attributed the their dialogue and influences into one.
I learned that I write lean on the first draft and have to add chapters and scenes to bridge gaps.
I learned that 2 drafts isn't enough. with all of that added writing, I have to read the whole thing and edit it again.
I learned I wasn't the bastard love child of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens after all.
Too many commas, head jumping, dialogue tags, personal pronouns, run-on sentences, telling-not-showing...
And a novel that deserved to be trunked.
The one I'm sending to agents just now is a lot better. A thousand times better. Even if it's never published I can still see the improvement in my writing over the past few years.
Too many commas, head jumping, dialogue tags, personal pronouns, run-on sentences, telling-not-showing...
And a novel that deserved to be trunked.
The one I'm sending to agents just now is a lot better. A thousand times better. Even if it's never published I can still see the improvement in my writing over the past few years.
I found it very helpful to imagine someone actually reading my novel. Then I would try to imagine what this person might find interesting. It forced me to focus more on the story. Because I teach, I am very conscious of when people get bored because they yawn a lot and look at their watch. That's taught me a lot about pacing. So I tried to put all that together, somehow.
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