Revision, or, Everybody’s Different
By: Aryanne Ferguson
So you’ve finally finished that draft you’ve been working on for so long. Now it’s time to revise. How do you revise, Reader? I don’t believe that anyone does it the same way. Personally, I have to put away the first draft for a few months at least, for long enough so that I forget that I’ve written it. For me, distance from the writing is essential so that I can figure out what’s interesting, what’s boring, what needs to be developed more. I was going to give you a list of a few revision techniques to try out, but it turns out that’s already been done here:
Feel free to check out the link! Some of my favorites that I can’t wait to try are:
Change the Point of View (Because I always need a fresh way of looking at a scene.)
Write the gist of each scene on a sticky note (Because sometimes I lose track of the point of a scene and the books I love to read don’t waste a single word.)
List all the decisions your protagonist makes (Because I have a tendency to write main characters who react to the situation, and I love reading the stories of characters who make all the decisions.)
Well, Reader, I’m not saying all the revision tactics are for you, but if you’re stuck in a revision rut, trying a new technique may be worth your time.
Which of these suggestions do you want to try?
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