 For Authors: May 27, 2015 Issue [#7007] |
  For Authors
This week: Revising Is a Must Edited by: Vivian  
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As an editor and publisher, I hear and read complaints about how many times an author has to revise his/her writing. One author under contact wanted to stop after three times. I had the obligation of telling her that unless she was willing to revise as any times as needed, her book would not be published by my company.
Six months later, when she held her book in her hands, she thanked me because the book, after all those revisions, became much better than she expected.
However, revision does not begin once an editor is hired or assigned. No, revision begins, or should begin, before an editor ever receives the manuscript.
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Revise! Revise! Revise!
For the past several years I’ve read and heard, “Don’t do any revising or editing until you have finished writing the whole story or book.”
What! That advice goes against common sense and everything I’ve learned in all the years I’ve studied, have written, have taught, and have read. The reasons I disagree are several, but a main one (and I’ve seen examples of this too many times) is if an author waits until after he finishes and then changes something toward the start, he often forgets a later part of the story affected by the change but not adjusted. A story develops from the beginning to end, and once written, any change at the beginning makes differences later in the manuscript, changes that are easy to miss. Thus cohesion and coherence become weak and faulty.
I know some “writers” who think any major editing should be done by an editor. Let me share something I found in the August issue of The Writer. According to Sam McCarver, the author of six John Darnell mystery novels,
In the time-intensive world of publishing, you may have only one
opportunity to intrigue an editor with your writing, your main
character and your story. And you must often do than within pages
– or the first few sentences – of your manuscript.
Editors are pressed for time and very perceptive in identifying good
writing,interesting characters and gripping stories, so they move
fast through your pages.
McCarver goes on to say that an author must write the best story or novel possible: edit it, polish it, enhance it. Then he should read and make final changes – all before ever allowing anyone else to read it. Yes, before allowing anyone else to read an manuscript, the author should have spent hours improving a rough draft.
Writing a story or novel is only half the job: Revising is the other half, a most important half, of writing. Ernest Hemingway, E.B. White, F. Scott Fitzgerald all stated the need to revise and rewrite. Hemingway admitted he cut as he wrote, yet, he would take weeks to revise a book.
McCarver’s article “How to revise your FICTION” gives eight steps for editing a person’s work. I happen to agree with his points, especially the one which states that delaying all editing until the manuscript is finished is a mistake.
However, let’s examine this author’s ideas, as well as those expounded in many composition text books and believed by me:
1. Accept revising as the other half of writing. E.B. White stated that the best writing is rewriting.
2. Adopt good editing procedures. To produce a better first draft, one should begin revising with the first word written, making improvements as he goes. As a writer completes a day’s production, he should study what’s on the screen, if using a computer. If he sees a need for any changes, he should make them while they are fresh in his mind.. Then he should print what is finished.
According to Chang-rae Lee, winner of the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, he tries to polish as he goes because what leads him to the next sentence is the sentence before. "I find that it's hard to move on unless I've really understood what's happening, what comes before and where it's heading."
3. Review printed pages. Writers should print out the pages finished and set them aside to “cool.” Then they should read the printout with a pen in hand, noting corrections or revisions that will improve the writing. After making changes on the computer, writers should reprint the pages, adding to the pile of finished pages. Each day’s, or period’s, work should be the same: writing, rereading, editing, and making changes as one goes.
4. Identify errors and correct them. According to McCarver, three procedures are critical in the revision process: correcting mistakes, improving content, and enhancing the story.
The first attention needs to go to spelling and punctuation errors, typos, grammatical mistakes, and inconsistencies in tense or point of view. Although such mistakes may seem minor to the author, editors expect manuscripts to be virtually free of any errors.
5. Improve content. “What you say and how you say it also must be polished to the best of your ability,” states McCarver. “Improving content also includes considering the structure and sharpening your word choice,” as well as re-examining characters for consistency, making sure the plot hangs together, that scenes are compelling and dialogue natural, and that all loose ends are tied up.
Word choice is a topic for another editorial, but it is a vital part of good writing.
6. Concentrate on enhancement. Enhancement goes beyond making corrections and improving content and style: It means increasing the quality and impact of the writing. A techniques given by McCarver are as follows:
* Inserting foreshadowing for greater event impact later.
* Increasing the emotion in dialogue and thoughts in scenes.
* Adding or strengthening subplots.
* Intensifying the consequences of actions and events.
* Adding twists to the plot.
* Shortening flashbacks, if used, and including action in them.
* Making characters seem more real, depicting their actions, dialogue and thoughts more naturally and powerfully.
7. Do that final revision. After finishing the whole manuscript, revise again.
8. Take one last look. After revising the complete manuscript again, the author should reread the printed pages before mailing them or sending a query letter. All errors and last minute changes should be made.
All authors want to impress editors by providing a story that the editors cannot put down. Each author, through a manuscript, has only one chance to make a great first impression.
Note: “How to revise your FICTION” by Sam McCarver in The Writer, August, 2005, provided research material for this editorial as did several composition text books and notes from my files.
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Words from Our Readers
Last issue I edited, I wrote about over doing action. Apparently some readers agreed with me, but others became a bit irritate because they believe the ore action the better.
Joto-Kai 
Fantastic turn of phrase here. I'd say it shouldn't be exactly plausible — in fact, if something is too plausible, it becomes either implausible or bland. Instead, there should be some surprising, strained elements woven into an otherwise logical framework, like "the Force" in Star Wars. You still have to deal with gravity... and taxes, I assume.
TessaT 
I found this newsletter especially informative. I know most of my head-down, focused work is in the editing and your point of starting/ending points was such a wonderful tip! I have been re-arranging the beginning of a piece for a while now and it has finally clicked together with your help. Thanks!
benjwriter14
I really think 'suspension of disbelief' is dependent on the genre your writing in and the audience. When it comes to thrillers and action/adventure, these fans have a higher tolerance for these types of scenes then most. The whole idea is to pile the grief on your protagonist to the point their practically suffocating under the weight. The reason we read these characters is because they can overcome insurmountable odds. I understand there is a warning to be had here but at the same time, there is a right way to have breakneck action and have your audience eating it up, even if it does all come at the heroes expense. If I wanted to read about the frailties of real life, I'd read a news paper. The hero should be able to take a knife and keep on fighting, get shot and still manage to get back up, why be cause no one else will. That's why we read these characters. I guess, when I read examples like this, as true as the point is in this example, for inexperienced writers it can be hard to know where the fine line between bad writing and pulling off an awesome action scene is. The best thing to do is write these bad scenes until they become good. Writer's have made careers off of these type of unbelievable heroes and reader's love them.
brom21 
I learned that anything can be overdone like words in a story. What you described was overkill, you must have been suffocating for lack of a break. It’s almost hilarious because of no believability. I’ll make sure I watch for too many intense moments stringed together. Thanks for the article!
chopstixd
Great insight
. I encountered the same thing watching the 1993's The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford. The ending struck me as beyond belief. Back then, I labeled it The Superman Syndrome, an injured person not only persists in a fight, but overcomes increasingly tougher opponents. Although different genres call for different mixtures of character development and action, out of balance stories narrow their audience pool to pure action junkies.
I loved the line, "I wish I had my gun." Too bad some sidekick wasn't there to snark, "Might of save your but from being kicked."
Thank you for joining me again. I hope what I've written helps you. Join me again next time.
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