Wednesday, November 6, 2013

IWSG Post: Uncertainty in Revision

           4 comments   
I have had so may insecurities the past few years, and a few successes.  The Insecure Writers' Support Group is the place to vent them, to read others' opinions, feelings, successes, insecurities, and to just generally share in the ups and downs of writing and publishing.  Participants post the first wednesday of each month, and can be found here.  If you just generally want access to the best hub of links and advice for writing, check out the new IWSG website.  It's amazing.  Thanks Alex J. Cavanaugh!  I am really enjoying reading through the site, and following the links.

Last year, I was so worried about completing a rough draft.  Then, in July, I finished a rough draft.  I wrote so often that I had the urge after Campnano was done.  I just didn't know what to do.  I didn't feel "done."

Well, it isn't done.   But it needed to sit awhile until I was ready to make any real edits, no matter my hurried read-through and obsessive notes after the initial completion.

There was a brain fog that moved in once I wasn't writing every day, and then I never quite got around to making any of the big changes.  I started... but it's still waiting to be done.

Now, I'm entering the November Nanowrimo, and I plan to finish it as well. December will be a month of brain-fog, and I should be ready for it.  After that, 2014, will have to be the year that I brave the revision.  I have learned just how much I need order and structure. If I have found a way to apply it to completing a rough draft, I certainly can do the same for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd drafts.

Do you have a system that you employ to make changes to your rough drafts, and if so, what is it?

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4 comments:

  1. HuntressNovember 6, 2013 at 8:28 AM

    Just keep at it. You have time and talent. The time is obvious since it is better to hand over a shiny polished manuscript rather than a sorta-like-done ms.

    The talent is obvious also. I see it in your post. Keep learning, striving, and coming back to the revisions. It'll wait on you. And can only get better!
    Cheers!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. dolorahNovember 6, 2013 at 9:38 PM

    I haven't finished a project in so long I don't know what my system is. The last stories I finished and edited was because I submitted to my critique partners, and then sent to the specific anthology the short stories were written for. I only have two other stories that are completed, but in need of editing. I suppose when I decide where to send them I'll have the incentive to complete the edits.

    .......dhole

    ReplyDelete
  3. Annalisa CrawfordNovember 8, 2013 at 10:55 AM

    I actually prefer revisions to the first draft - I love honing the words, solidifying the characters and plot. I'm sure you'll find a way that works for you - it's one of those things that's pretty individual.

    ReplyDelete
  4. David T ListDecember 6, 2013 at 9:55 AM

    I'm way late to this party. But if I might make a suggestion, place the book aside for no less than a month (or two or three). Forget about it. Read something. Discover a great book. Then return to your draft. If you're anything like me, you'll discover that the fog will have lifted.

    ReplyDelete