...but make it an enjoyable experience.
Revision, re-reading re-writing, polishing your novel - whatever term you use or method you follow - need not be a daunting task.
In an earlier post I described how REVISION is not only an essential part of improving your writing, I actually found it enjoyable.
However, if you are one of those who find that having to plow through your 200-page work of art from start to finish is a chore, these ideas may help.
Important: TAKE THE FOLLOWING ONE AT A TIME
The key is to break the process down into TYPES of revision. Here are some examples.
* Revise your dialogue - particularly sections rich in conversation
Ask yourself:
- are my tags necessary in parts? repetitive? unnatural? requiring qualification using adverbs?
- are they consistent?
By this I mean the use of "double quotes" or 'single quotes', italics rather than quotes? or even preceded by a hyphen? Are they consistent in terms of how they fit within paragraphs?
Some writers prefer to contain dialogue within long paragraphs of description or general run of storytelling; others consciously start a new paragraph as each character speaks.
NOTE: Check out Cormac McCarthy or Sally Rooney - who have their own style for dialogue - often leaving out tags or even quotation marks. (More about this, below.)
Does your dialogue sound like real people having a conversation?
The best way to test this is to read dialogue out loud (even if you do this silently in your head, to yourself, but making sure your lips don't move!)
Have you given certain key characters a different 'voice'?
At it's most extreme, you would use a different style and level of vocabulary depending on whether it was (say) a Devonshire farmer talking or a London stock-broker.
It's your choice as to how far you take this.
Personally I find it a difficult effect to carry off well without it appearing 'strained'. You may fair better than me.
TAKE A BREAK: As you can see, by just training the spotlight on one aspect of your writing, there is a lot to consider.
All the more reason for breaking the whole revision process down into separate exercises.
Here is another.
* Are your characters strong enough?
Most readers find characters very often 'make' the story come to life, warming to the 'goodies' and hating the 'baddies'. For some people, well constructed characters are the reason they follow certain writers, or continue reading a book by a writer new to them.
In lots of cases, characters that hold a reader's interest can compensate for a thin plot.
(Talking of thin plots, whilst those on the following link may not necessary fit this description, they have been referred to as 'Literary Fiction', a term that means the novel focuses largely on relationships between characters, rather than a riveting plot - although some readers may be 'riveted' just as much by the exchange between characters, and not be so concerned about 'events'.)
A simple way to improve your story is to make characters believable ('I know someone like that'), putting them in situations so that - for characters with whom you are expected to sympathize - you laugh when they laugh, and you cry when they cry. That sort of thing.
So, what is the plan?
Start at the point you first introduce a character
Have you presented them in a way that is compatible and consistent with the part they play in your story? Are they credible? Does your description match their role?
Does your character change with the story?
As your story enfolds, bringing about change, does your character change along with the changing circumstance?
Conversely, if circumstances in the story change and your character does not bend with them, explain why, allowing the reader insights into the character's emotions, beliefs, behaviour so that we understand the character better.
Are relationships between characters clear?
If your story is a family saga with several characters involved, are their relationships with each other clear enough? Are there too many characters involved so that your plot becomes vague or confusing?
IMPORTANT: Naming characters clearly - in a way that readers can immediately distinguish one from the other - is essential.
e.g. Try not to give them similar names, or names beginning with the same letter, such as Alan and Alex. If a character only has a small part - such as a hotel receptionist not part of the plot - don't give the a name. 'Receptionist' is OK on its own.
This is your chance to 'weed out' a character or two if necessary.
Build on your characters
Use major events as opportunities to build on your characters, so that we learn more about them in different situations - much the same as you might become closer to someone you thought you knew, but now know better having witnessed how they responded to the exception. Note: How characters respond (in dialogue, to situations) provides insight into what they are as a person. This can replace, or enhance, large bodies of descriptive text about them, and make for an easier read.
This method requires you to scan your writing at a more superficial level, before zoning in on a particular event or section, which you use as your 'opening' for exploring and describing the character further in this way.
Author's note: In my revisionist western novels, Wild Hearts Roam Free and Wild Hearts Find Home, I take one character with a minor role at first - Amitola - and, because I write by the seat of my pants (not planned), I was able to make him central to the final chapters and ending. Later, in the third (Wild Hearts Bright Stars) novel, he is central to the ending.
* Are your locations important to the credibility or understanding of the story-line
If so, have you described them well enough?
This should not mean you treat every place in your story as requiring a 'travelogue' treatment. Nor need you provide a road map, street map, or any form of illustration** to assist your writing.
(However, many novels do include this kind of reference material - even some classics - so, if it's crucial, do so. e.g. William Boyd** in The Romantic)
Location descriptions can begin gradually and build. The important thing is not to bog down the rest of the storytelling with masses of detail.
Describing - or even inventing - a location (even a 'world') is almost an essential in some series.
Use the same principles for developing locations as you might do for characters.
* Revise your own writing - lengths of sentences and/or paragraphs
Consistency in style is probably the watch word here, if only to ensure that you carry your reader along with you.
Breaks between writing sessions, if left too long, may lead to this. If you are 'in a different place' from one session to the next, that could come out in your writing, leading to inconsistencies.
Sometimes short sentences and not so long paragraphs are advisable where you need pace in the action, where short, crisp 'bites' of description or dialogue help to build drama and excitement.
* Grammar and sentence construction - breaking the rules
Consistency is important here also. See what I have said about how to present dialogue.
We tend to adopt our own 'code' when it comes to style - if you have a defined code, stick with it. (Check out Cormac McCarthy and All the Pretty Horses, where the author has made his own rules when it comes to dialogue.)
TAKE A BREAK: Again, this may not need you to read the whole story from start to finish, line by line. You should be able to pick out parts that require adjustment - e.g. breaking up a long paragraph into two at a point where it might naturally diverge.
Not all writers agree on length of sentence or paragraph, or even sentence construction.
Some even 'break the rules' for dramatic effect. The only person who can say what is right or wrong is YOU, so don't allow convention alone to 'bully' you to writing in a way you find uncomfortable.
* Readers deserve a good beginning and a great ending
Experts say that these are both equally important.
A poor beginning may cause more people to stop reading; a poor ending may leave people 'flat' or disappointed - leading to poor reviews!
Take extra time re-reading and perfecting BOTH these aspects of your story.
(SEE also what I have to say about writing the beginning of the story last.)
ONE FINAL POINT
There is a lot in the above - so tackle each principle, address each feature ONE AT A TIME.
Also - take them in the order YOU prefer. Dialogue before Character; Character before Dialogue - it's your choice.
Above all else -
ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE WHEN YOU REVISE YOUR OWN WRITING!
The first edition of Those Italian Girls was slammed by one critic - so I re-read, re-wrote, and re-published it from start to finish.
Rose: The Missing Years was my second novel
Four years later, I re-visited the original manuscript and revised it - applying ALL the above principles. And re-published it.
Not only was that exercise extremely enjoyable, it was also rewarding as I could see improvements to my writing style that had occurred over the past four years.
I still made changes, despite having read it so many times before the original publication, and in spite of it having gone through an independent copy-editing process.
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