by Naomi Kinsman
Ask nearly any author and she’ll shake her head and say: “I used to hate revision.” After this vehement declaration, one author might shrug and say he accepts revision as a necessary part of the process, another that she now loves revision. Last summer, at our Inklings Book celebration, young writer after young writer said the same: “Revision isn’t all that bad. Hard work, but worth it in the end.”
The question is, why do the overwhelming majority of writers experience a change of heart?
From what I’ve observed and experienced myself, there are three important aha! moments that lead a writer to a change of heart about revision. I’ll share those ahas! shortly, but before I do, let’s address the inevitable question: Why would I want to have a change of heart about revision? Won’t that mean more work?
Honestly, yes. But also, understanding what revision is—and isn’t—can help you tackle that other dreaded writing challenge: writer’s block. If you knew that rolling up your sleeves and putting in a little work would keep you from that horrible, dead-end, stuck-with-a-cement-block-on-your-head feeling, would you be willing to do the work? Or in other words, if you could transform “I can’t,” into “No problem,” would you?
If you would, read on. If not, maybe it’s best to bookmark this post and tuck it away for your next bout of writer’s block.
1. Revision isn’t the same thing as editing.
When I finished my first draft of my first novel, Luconeth, I made a checklist of items to tackle in my revision. One of the first items was to look through my book for all mentions of the word “smoky.” A key feature of my setting was a thick layer of clouds that separated the people who lived in castles on the tops of mountains, and the people who struggled to breathe in the forest below. Since I knew I’d overused the word, I pulled out my thesaurus. How many words for smoky are there? Not many, as it turns out.
The trouble was, I was fiddling with word choice when I hadn’t even considered the big picture. Many of the sentences I was agonizing over would ultimately be cut from the story entirely. Plus, my obsession over the details caused the analytical part of my brain to take over and shut out my creativity. I’ve since learned about the brain science of problem solving. Basically, there are pathways in our brains that allow for expansive, possibility-filled thinking, and others that allow us to weigh options and make critical decisions. When we try to do both at the same time, we’re setting up a mental battle for ourselves. Both kinds of pathways fire, and we end up feeling confused and frustrated.
For most writers, handing revision first and then tackling a word-by-word edit is the right choice. Save spelling, grammar and word-choice for your final read-through. But if revision isn’t reading through a manuscript with a red pen, what then, is it? This is the perfect question to lead us to our next aha!
2. Revision isn’t about fixing what’s wrong. It’s about improving what’s right.
Imagine how it would feel to have a person following you around all day, pointing out every single mistake you made. What if that person had a secret list of rules you’d never seen, so in addition to the mistakes you knew about, she was constantly shaking her head over choices you made that seemed perfectly okay to you?
For many people, this is how revision feels. Someone reads a writer’s story and tells him all of the things that are wrong with it. Possibly, the critiquer gives this feedback in the form of a compliment sandwich, so the writer is supposed to feel better about the list of mistakes because there are a few items in the story that aren’t so bad. No wonder revision is so universally despised!
After writing and revising more than ten novels, I can promise you, no one’s first draft is the best work he or she can do. In fact, the best first drafts are messy, passionate, and in need of structure. Remember how we have different pathways in our brains? Well, the best pathway for drafting a novel is the most creative, possibility-filled one you can tap into. And that mental pathway isn’t very structured. What you’ll end up with is the beating heart of your novel.
You’ll make all kinds of discoveries about what you’re trying to say, about who your characters really are, and about the actual problems they’re facing. Those aren’t mistakes. Those are opportunities! We don’t revise because we did something wrong the first time, we revise because each draft helps us see new layers we can add. Like a developing sketch, each layer of a novel, each revision, adds clarity and depth.
Revision is the process of revealing the heart of your novel. During revision, you’ll untangle your plot threads and character arcs, further define your setting and the world of your story, remove distracting scenes, and add missing scenes. To begin revision, the first question is: What’s working in my novel? What surprises have showed up during your writing process? Maybe you discover that the novel is funny. Or maybe you see new layers in your main character that you didn’t expect at first. Revision will help you make the most of these surprising gifts.
3. Revision helps you match what’s on the page to the image you have in your mind. (And the feeling you have in your heart.)
One of the most common reasons for writer’s block is the gap between what’s on the page and the clear, exciting idea that is in the writer’s mind. When we dream up a character or a setting, we see it in three-dimensional color. Once that idea is on the page in words and sentences and scenes, it can feel flat. Why? When we imagine, we can instantly add background layers, texture, depth and dimension.
These elements don’t usually show up in our first draft of a scene. Imagine a Pixar artist expecting the first sketch of a character to look like a final frame in the movie. Impossible!
In the same way, it’s impossible for any writer, no matter how talented he or she is, to do all the layering necessary to put a fully-dimensional mental image on the page in a first pass. So, how can that writer realize her vision? How can he share the feeling in his heart? Through revision. It’s the only way to make a piece of writing all that it can be.
Your Aha! Moments
I can tell you all of this about revision, but aha! moments can’t be experienced second-hand. If the idea of being able to bring your story more fully to life inspires you, I encourage you to try a different kind of revision. Try starting by reading through your novel, asking yourself, “What’s working?” When the voices in your head start pointing out all of your mistakes, spelling or otherwise, remind them that they are welcome to hang out in the back seat of the car for now. You will deal with mistakes later. Focus on that image in your mind, the feeling in your heart, and the surprises on the page. Allow revision to be play, and you’ll be surprised at how much fun you can have reworking your draft. I suspect you’ll also be delighted by how full and rich your story becomes.
Happy writing (and revising!)
Naomi
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