Revision – at times, the word is enough to strike fear in the heart of most any writer. You’ve slaved, toiled, labored over your novel. You’ve worked for months infusing the pages with brilliance, developing your characters, actually figuring out a plot and *finally* you’ve finished your book. Now what?
Start over from the beginning and revise to make the story better.
Say what?
Revision is hard work. There’s no two ways about it. But it is necessary to improve the story – sometimes it’s the way the writer finds the real story. Though there can be times when it feels like the process of revision never ends – it doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
I like to think of it as making a cake. You have to work in layers.
The first layer is the plot structure. There are lots of different ways to draw out the plot or story arc of your novel. I use a color-coded Excel spreadsheet, others use sticky notes – either way is fine – as long as you have some way to see the overall scope of the story.
Divide your story into acts:
Act 1 is the set-up: identify your characters and the conflict.
Act 2 begins with a Turning Point which results in rising action.
Act 3 the conflict increases until it reaches a Point of No Return. This is where we know what the character wants.
Act 4 begins from the Point of No Return and we rise to the Crisis, which is where we learn what the character needs. From there we move to the Resolution and The End.
So, in the beginning of your revision – make sure that the story arc has the structure that you want and one that makes sense.
The second layer includes: characters, theme, emotions, plot. Once you’ve got your structure in place, take a look at the elements that create your story: Characters, Theme, Emotions, Plot.
Are your characters three dimensional? Is your protagonist well-developed? Do we care about them? Do we want to know what happens next? Is there a theme present in the story? Here’s a big one for me – is the plot believable? Even in fantasy, there needs to be rules of the world that are adhered to which makes the story real for the reader. Do the protagonist’s choices make sense?
The third layer contains the supporting elements. This is the time to look at side characters, dialogue, scene transitions, and pacing. Are the side characters necessary? Do they get enough time on stage? Some people use the rule of three: if a character doesn’t show up in three different scenes then they are not named.
Dialogue is a biggie. Do your characters speak in a believable way? Do they say the things real people in their situation would say? This can make or break a book, so pay attention to this one.
Scene transitions are also important. Cliffhangers are great but make sure that when you move from one scene to the next, or one chapter ending to a new chapter, that you do it in a way that your reader can follow the timeline and sequence of events.
Pacing is an important device in making the readers keep turning the pages. It’s hard to look at your own work objectively, but try to see where the story drags and where it might move too quickly.
The final layer is the details. This is my favorite part of the revision process. I like to think of it as putting on the beautiful sparkly frosting.
Make sure you’re showing and not telling. Show us what the main character is thinking and feeling through description and actions. Provide fresh, original details. Use vivid verbs and phrasing so that when the character’s heart races, ours does too. And finally, drop in those last little details that will set your work apart from others.
Revision is hard work but it is this part of crafting a story that will make the reader remember your characters long after they read ‘The End’.
What tricks do you use to make the process of revision easier?
cake photo courtesy of cake.com
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