The fabulous Charlie Jane Anders at io9.com has an unusual suggestion on how to revise your novel: once you've finished your first draft, try rewriting the novel as a short story.
Why would you want to do this? There are a few reasons. For one thing, this allows you to see more clearly what the main arc of your story is. For another, it's a great way to make sure that the things you've decided are subplots are actually subplots — and that you haven't somehow elevated a subplot to "main plot" status while keeping the main plot squished into the space of a subplot. Paring away all the subplots, more or less completely, lets you see what's left. But most of all, this is a way to convince yourself that your protagonist(s) and your story are really epic and perfect as they are — and convincing yourself is half the battle, when it comes to revision.
I'm intrigued. Anyone out there want to give this a shot and report back? I'd be glad to host a guest post on the subject.
What other revision techniques have you tried? Here are some favorites of mine:
-Go through the manuscript and highlight all the dialogue tags ("she said"). Delete as many as you can without sacrificing clarity.
-Read it out loud, to yourself, to your pets, to your partner. To a tape recorder if you're really brave. If it sounds clunky, fix it till it doesn't sound clunky any more.
-Storyboard the entire arc of the novel, scene by scene. What's getting too much "screen time"? What's not getting enough? Does anything feel repetitive, viewed through this "lens?"
4 comments:
Well, my novels started as short stories. I didn't write them as short stories but they were. There was the main storyline as a short story and then I added subplots, twists and characters to expand it into a novel. Hence, if you expand a short story into a novel, the advice of Anders isn't that useful. Your two other tips ,of deleting dialouge tags and reading out loud, are very useful.
This is a fun idea. I personally have found Cheryl Klein's Second Sight to be very useful in revising - especially her plot and character checklists. And once I'm done with those, I do the reading-out-loud thing...
I've never done this exactly (my short-story writing skills are abysmal), but I often do detailed synopses after finishing my first drafts to check those very things.
And I can totally go for some silly. Especially on Wednesdays.
I'm a big fan of storyboarding. I do it a little differently than the link suggested, but essentially you end up in the same place...are you actually telling the story you set out to tell? I also read to the dogs. Constantly. Bless their hearts. ;)
I agree with Jessica...keep the silly. At least through the muck and mire that is August and early September.
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