"Sitting with the Story"--How I keep going in revisions

Good idea! I've been putting off revising my novel because it seems like such a huge task but I think if I took this kind of approach of just finding something to fix each time I sit down I could finally get somewhere. Rewards are a powerful motivator.

I do not like the revisions process. And sticker rewards aren't enough to raise my motivation. But I do believe there are little tricks like the one you mentioned to help writers tackle things that are giving them difficulty. I'm glad you found one that works for you. Maybe more people will add to this thread with what has worked for them. The only thing that makes me get my work all pretty and polished is a deadline. With school picking back up, I am going to have my fair share of deadlines between my thesis (which will be mostly revision work) and workshop (writing new stuff) and my out-of-school workshop (which allows me to test out new things and experiment).

Revision has always been the hardest for me. I often feel like I worked so hard writing the thing only to realize there is a lot more to do. Or maybe there's only a little, but it still feels overwhelming to have a story I know needs work after I put so much work into it already. And the way I was taught revision basically means rewrite. And, through much trial and error, a good rewrite is sometimes what my work really needs. I will say that when I make myself tackle revision, it has always come out better than I thought it would. But it ends up being just as much work as the actual writing of the story if not more. I get that revision is necessary for most of us, but it sure isn't fun for me.

If I am doing a complete rewrite of something, I often get into it because it starts to feel like writing. Okay, it is writing. But it's writing something I already wrote only hopefully better. When doing a rewrite I tend to change a lot if I'm really taking it on. Sometimes, I am left with too many rewrites, too many versions of a story or a chapter. Then I question which version is the best.

I would like to write in a way that doesn't require revision. I try to edit as I go, but it's not grammar or the way I word things that tend to be the problem. And making the story up as I go, sometimes I don't know what's wrong until I finish a substantial amount of writing. Or sometimes I don't see what's wrong at all until a workshop setting points out flaws.

That being said, not everything I write requires this level on revision. But it seems to be my writing that I actually like the best is usually what requires the most in revision. I don't know. Can someone just give me a sticker?

You could look at the text in a different format/font (fool the brain into fresh viewing), and tell yourself you're the editor of the writer, and your only emotional investment is to make the book work, scene by scene, paragraph by paragraph. A detached mechanical point of view.

I don't use stickers, but when I can't get going I'll set a Google timer for 15 minutes* and tell myself I just have to focus for that long. Often, when the timer goes off I'm into it enough to keep going. If not, I'll give myself a short break, then set another timer.


*For those who haven't come across this yet: go to Google, type in timer 15 minutes (or however many), and when you press Enter a timer will appear on screen and immediately start counting down.

Marlys said:

I don't use stickers, but when I can't get going I'll set a Google timer for 15 minutes* and tell myself I just have to focus for that long. Often, when the timer goes off I'm into it enough to keep going. If not, I'll give myself a short break, then set another timer.

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Have you heard of the pomodoro technique? It's similar except you work for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minute break. That works well for me tomato-timer.com

That's awesome! I'm on a revision as well and struggling. When I write poor material I feel insecure about my abilities, which is why I'm so behind. Thanks for the advice!