Skip to main content

How many revisions?

Sorry for the blog delay. Sick child causes all extras to stop. But tonight, with a much healthier child finally in bed, I finished my fifth revision of TWISTED ROOT. Oddly enough, I thought I only revised it twice, but doc name reads TwistedRoot.5. Hmm. And that's when I realized I revised the first half five times and the second only twice. Does anyone else do this? I find my writing improves as I near the end. Plus, midway through TR, I came to a halt, lost on how to finish. I had to plot out the end fully in order to continue, which perhaps resulted in a cleaner draft? I'm not sure, but I am soooo glad to be done. For now. M.B.

Comments

  1. Andrea MackApril 14, 2011 at 6:12 AM

    I do find that I revise the beginning more than the end, but I think it's because I find it easier to do that. Probably I should pay more attention to fixing up the endings!

    ReplyDelete
  2. SarahApril 14, 2011 at 1:15 PM

    Yup. Getting a strong opening is so much harder. You don't have all the momentum built up, instead you have to create it. I've rewritten my beginning so many times I've lost count. The ending? It's totally great.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Melissa WestApril 15, 2011 at 2:04 PM

    Andrea -- I'm jealous. I find the beginning WAY harder to revise than the end.

    Sarah -- I'm with you. The opening is so much harder for me.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

YA Scavenger Hunt: Fall 2013!

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! This tri-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors...and a chance to win some awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize--one lucky winner will receive one signed book from each author on the hunt in my team ! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours! Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are THREE contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the GOLD TEAM --but there is also a red team and a blue team for a chance to win a whole different set of signed books! If you'd like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full li...
79 comments
Read more

HOVER has a cover!

I officially feel like Dr. Seuss with that blog title, but it's true all the same. :)   HOVER now has a cover, and I need your help spreading the word! The official reveal will be Monday, December 3rd, and signups for the reveal will stay open through Friday, November 30th.  Please leave your email address in the comments if you would like to participate in the reveal and be added to my list of super awesome people that I adore. The reveal will include a giveaway to add to the juicy fun!   Can't wait for ya'll to see it!
45 comments
Read more

Storytelling vs. Writing

Yesterday, I finished up a popular novel that I enjoyed for the storytelling, but realized early on that the writing wasn't stellar. All the traditional rules were broken, continuously. POV switches. Tense switches. Pages upon pages of backstory. Pages upon pages of dialogue. That sort of thing. But I still enjoyed the book because aside from the writerly things *we* writers notice, the author was a great storyteller. I think there is a difference between good writing and good storytelling. I've read books where the writing was so beautiful that I had to re-read passages again and again. But by story end I had no idea what the story was about. Now, the true geniuses (like C.S. Lewis) are the ones who can do both. How about you? Do you notice this difference and if so which do you prefer if you can only have one in a book -- captivating storytelling or beautiful writing? M.B.
9 comments
Read more