Of all the parts of the writing process, one I enjoy the most--aside from actually coming up with the idea in my head--is editing. AKA revising.
Some writers have a love-hate relationship with editing. Some--this would be mainly indie authors who try to rush onto the self-publishing scene with only a prayer and a dream--do not even edit at all. No one, and I mean no one, should ever do this. No one writes a perfect draft anytime. I would even argue the fact that Mozart, who has long since been boosted upon a pedestal of artistic quality, did not edit. I have one word for that.
Bullshit.
I even read once that William Shakespeare didn't even edit or revise any of his work. I find it hard to believe, unless these two artists had such high capacity minds that much of it was done ahead of time in their own heads. But even this I find hard to believe.
There are a few ways you can edit. Some may read a piece and with each pass, they're looking for something different. Maybe it's a content edit on one pass, punctuation the next, and so on. Thanks to John Gardner, this is how I do it: I take a block of 3-5 chapters and read them on the computer. Then, I print those pages and make changes. This usually involves at least two printings before I feel it's right. Then, I move on towards the end. (I wrote a blog post on this almost two years ago, where I describe it more in detail. Feel free to give it another read.)
This way has been tedious for me, but it's much better than what I used to. I have one novel I'm about a third of the way through with edits, and I just want to get it done.
Hence the reason I'm exploring various revision options.
Some authors I know take 4-5 passes (or more) through a book. I want to try this once, to see if it would work so I can view the story as a whole more than the individual pieces. Depending on how long the novel is, there could be two to four months between when I started on chapter one and when I got to THE END.
I will keep you posted.
What is your revision process like? Any tips you can share with the blog readers, would be greatly appreciated?
Showing posts with label John Gardner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Gardner. Show all posts
Monday, March 3, 2014
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
If you could have dinner with a writer (living or dead), who would it be?
Copyblogger has a great segment of articles they call The Writer Files. They've interviewed many writers, from Seth Godin to Jeff Goins.
One of the more interesting questions they ask is: what writers, living or dead, would they like to have dinner with?
Who would yours be?
Here's mine: it's a small list, with various pros and cons tied to it.
First and foremost at the top of my mind is Stephen King. That's a no-brainer. The King of Horror himself. As long as we talk "shop" - i.e. writing.
Next would be Brandon Sanderson--fantasy author. I've listened to enough podcasts and watched enough videos to give me a good sense of what he can teach, and then again he's teaching an upcoming class over at Write About Dragons.com next month.
That's all for the living authors--I know, it's a short list and I didn't even mention others such as J. K. Rowling or John Grisham. Or even Dean Koontz.
The deceased authors, on the other hand, are a bit more interesting.
One such fellow is J. R. R. Tolkien. Nothing more needs to be said there, do I? Next would be John Gardner--his novel On Becoming A Novelist is a classic in my book, and a must-read for any author.
In the end, if I had to choose one, it would be the recluse J. D. Salinger. Why? He doesn't even write genre fiction, so why Salinger?
He is a master of dialogue, for one. And his method of storytelling far exceeds most writers. I'd just like to know how he approaches the craft of writing and even dialogue in general. There's one such story he wrote--it wasn't Catcher--where we meet two characters conversing for over fifty pages, while one is in the bathtub. And I was enthralled by it! How in the world did he pull it off?
Ancient mysteries I'd like to know.
In the end, I'd set aside King (although if I really had to pick a living author, it might be his son Joe Hill) and Sanderson for the mighty Salinger.
Yeah, that's who I'd pick.
Who's yours?
One of the more interesting questions they ask is: what writers, living or dead, would they like to have dinner with?
Who would yours be?
Here's mine: it's a small list, with various pros and cons tied to it.
First and foremost at the top of my mind is Stephen King. That's a no-brainer. The King of Horror himself. As long as we talk "shop" - i.e. writing.
Next would be Brandon Sanderson--fantasy author. I've listened to enough podcasts and watched enough videos to give me a good sense of what he can teach, and then again he's teaching an upcoming class over at Write About Dragons.com next month.
That's all for the living authors--I know, it's a short list and I didn't even mention others such as J. K. Rowling or John Grisham. Or even Dean Koontz.
The deceased authors, on the other hand, are a bit more interesting.
One such fellow is J. R. R. Tolkien. Nothing more needs to be said there, do I? Next would be John Gardner--his novel On Becoming A Novelist is a classic in my book, and a must-read for any author.
In the end, if I had to choose one, it would be the recluse J. D. Salinger. Why? He doesn't even write genre fiction, so why Salinger?
He is a master of dialogue, for one. And his method of storytelling far exceeds most writers. I'd just like to know how he approaches the craft of writing and even dialogue in general. There's one such story he wrote--it wasn't Catcher--where we meet two characters conversing for over fifty pages, while one is in the bathtub. And I was enthralled by it! How in the world did he pull it off?
Ancient mysteries I'd like to know.
In the end, I'd set aside King (although if I really had to pick a living author, it might be his son Joe Hill) and Sanderson for the mighty Salinger.
Yeah, that's who I'd pick.
Who's yours?
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
There's more than one way to edit a novel
As the old saying goes, "There's more than one way to skin a cat."
And, in writing, there is more than one way to edit a novel--or just plain edit your story in general.
Keep in mind, these are my techniques. They may be similar or a far cry from your methods. Don't worry. Your way may be just fine, if it works for you. If you want to explore other avenues of editing, feel free to try these out.
A few years ago, my editing consisted of taking the entire novel, reading each chapter 3-4 times, and only when I was at the end of the novel did I go back and make the necessary changes to the hard copy. This was a long and tedious process, thereby taking the better part of a year just to get through one round of editing. When the editing round was complete, I'd usually have to do it all over again. Either that, or I'd go on to another book, thinking the one I just completed was fine for publication.
Was I wrong!
How I do it now is similar, but with a simple twist: instead of taking an entire novel at a time, I take 2-4 chapters (they need a common thread or else I'll just do the chapter by itself) and thorough read each scene within a chapter at least 3 times before moving on--this was a technique borrowed from the late and great John Gardner. When the chapters were complete, I'd make the necessary changes, print the hard copy of those chapters, and start the process all over again with those same chapters until very few changes were made.
I don't move on until those chapters are as good as I can foresee. By editing this way, I dig deeper into a scene and add (or remove) things that need to be changed. With each read, I seem to dig deeper and deeper into the scene or chapter. I may find that on the third read, I huge chunk needs to be taken out. That's okay. After reading it that many times, I dig deep enough to see what way is the best for the novel.
Do you have any special editing techniques you'd like to share? How different are they from mine? Please comment on your methods below.
And, in writing, there is more than one way to edit a novel--or just plain edit your story in general.
Keep in mind, these are my techniques. They may be similar or a far cry from your methods. Don't worry. Your way may be just fine, if it works for you. If you want to explore other avenues of editing, feel free to try these out.
A few years ago, my editing consisted of taking the entire novel, reading each chapter 3-4 times, and only when I was at the end of the novel did I go back and make the necessary changes to the hard copy. This was a long and tedious process, thereby taking the better part of a year just to get through one round of editing. When the editing round was complete, I'd usually have to do it all over again. Either that, or I'd go on to another book, thinking the one I just completed was fine for publication.
Was I wrong!
How I do it now is similar, but with a simple twist: instead of taking an entire novel at a time, I take 2-4 chapters (they need a common thread or else I'll just do the chapter by itself) and thorough read each scene within a chapter at least 3 times before moving on--this was a technique borrowed from the late and great John Gardner. When the chapters were complete, I'd make the necessary changes, print the hard copy of those chapters, and start the process all over again with those same chapters until very few changes were made.
I don't move on until those chapters are as good as I can foresee. By editing this way, I dig deeper into a scene and add (or remove) things that need to be changed. With each read, I seem to dig deeper and deeper into the scene or chapter. I may find that on the third read, I huge chunk needs to be taken out. That's okay. After reading it that many times, I dig deep enough to see what way is the best for the novel.
Do you have any special editing techniques you'd like to share? How different are they from mine? Please comment on your methods below.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Why Gardner's quote is important to me
Yesterday, I posted rather lengthly quote from John Gardner's On Becoming a Novelist.
Why is that quote important to me?
My wife and I have been married for almost 15 years, and probably have known each other for 17 or more years. And in all that time, she's heard about my writing and has fully supported it. But wouldn't you think that after so many years and with me still not publishing any of my novels, that her support would wane.
Not a chance. She's never ever failed to accept that writing is my calling and what I'm meant to do. We always dream about what our lives will be like once my books start becoming published. And she knows that it's a long process. But as long as I keep plugging away and she knows I'm down in my office typing away, the dream and her loving support has never wavered.
That being said, I'm posting a video here which was taken by my sister-in-law Bobbi put together, while my wife battled an incredible fight with AML down in Rochester, MN. It's a tribute and a cause for hope.
Why is that quote important to me?
My wife and I have been married for almost 15 years, and probably have known each other for 17 or more years. And in all that time, she's heard about my writing and has fully supported it. But wouldn't you think that after so many years and with me still not publishing any of my novels, that her support would wane.
Not a chance. She's never ever failed to accept that writing is my calling and what I'm meant to do. We always dream about what our lives will be like once my books start becoming published. And she knows that it's a long process. But as long as I keep plugging away and she knows I'm down in my office typing away, the dream and her loving support has never wavered.
That being said, I'm posting a video here which was taken by my sister-in-law Bobbi put together, while my wife battled an incredible fight with AML down in Rochester, MN. It's a tribute and a cause for hope.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
A great quote from John Gardner
Hanging on my office walls is a photocopied page of John Gardner's On Becoming a Novelist. On the page, I have highlighted a long passage that I read quite often when I reflect back on how long I've been writing these novels and am still without a literary agent or publisher.
It starts on page 46:
"No human activity I know of takes more time than writing: it's highly unusual for anyone to become a successful writer if he cannot put in several hours every day at his typewriter. (Even for a successful professional, it can take a while to get into the mood, takes hours to get a few good pages of rough draft, and many many hours to revise them until they bear repeated readings.) Of necessity the writer is unlike those of his friends who quit work at five; if he has a wife and children, the writer cannot pay as much attention to them as his neighbors do theirs, and if the writer is worthy of his profession, he feels some guilt over this. Because his art is such a difficult one, the writer is not likely to advance in the world as visibly as do his neighbors; while his best friends from high school or college are becoming junior partners in prestigious law firms, or operating their own mortuaries, the writer may be still sweating out his first novel."
It starts on page 46:
"No human activity I know of takes more time than writing: it's highly unusual for anyone to become a successful writer if he cannot put in several hours every day at his typewriter. (Even for a successful professional, it can take a while to get into the mood, takes hours to get a few good pages of rough draft, and many many hours to revise them until they bear repeated readings.) Of necessity the writer is unlike those of his friends who quit work at five; if he has a wife and children, the writer cannot pay as much attention to them as his neighbors do theirs, and if the writer is worthy of his profession, he feels some guilt over this. Because his art is such a difficult one, the writer is not likely to advance in the world as visibly as do his neighbors; while his best friends from high school or college are becoming junior partners in prestigious law firms, or operating their own mortuaries, the writer may be still sweating out his first novel."
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Dream Team
In Napoleon Hill's classic book Think And Grow Rich one of his chapters is devoted to what is called the Mastermind Group.
A Mastermind Group is synonymous with a Dream Team.
These are a group of people, that although they may individually exhibit great talent, together they can form an unstoppable force. Napoleon Hill said to create, in your own mind, a Mastermind Group and use that group when making decisions. For example, one of his members was Abraham Lincoln. Pretty hard for him to attend in person, since he's been dead a little while (even in Napoleon Hill's time), but if you've read enough about a person, it's almost like channeling their creativity or talent.
Dan Miller and Dave Ramsey have been part of group of thirteen men they call the Eagles Club, which is the same concept of the Mastermind Group with other members of the business community that they trust and are great friends with. You can have more than one Mastermind Group--possibly one in person and the other in your mind. One could be your writers' group and the other be a group of famous authors you wish to "channel."
Who would be on your own dream team? Mine would possibly be:
Stephen King
George Lucas
Steven Spielberg
J. R. R. Tolkien
J. K. Rowling
John Grisham
Brandon Sanderson
J. D. Salinger
John Gardner
Am I dreaming? Yeah, I probably am.
A Mastermind Group is synonymous with a Dream Team.
These are a group of people, that although they may individually exhibit great talent, together they can form an unstoppable force. Napoleon Hill said to create, in your own mind, a Mastermind Group and use that group when making decisions. For example, one of his members was Abraham Lincoln. Pretty hard for him to attend in person, since he's been dead a little while (even in Napoleon Hill's time), but if you've read enough about a person, it's almost like channeling their creativity or talent.
Dan Miller and Dave Ramsey have been part of group of thirteen men they call the Eagles Club, which is the same concept of the Mastermind Group with other members of the business community that they trust and are great friends with. You can have more than one Mastermind Group--possibly one in person and the other in your mind. One could be your writers' group and the other be a group of famous authors you wish to "channel."
Who would be on your own dream team? Mine would possibly be:
Stephen King
George Lucas
Steven Spielberg
J. R. R. Tolkien
J. K. Rowling
John Grisham
Brandon Sanderson
J. D. Salinger
John Gardner
Am I dreaming? Yeah, I probably am.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Reseach and Development - R & D of your writing business
The "head" of your writing business is Research and Development. Okay, what does this entail? Very simple: learning new things.
"Learning new things?" you may ask. "You mean, like English composition and stuff like that?"
Not necessarily, but it could be, depending on your situation.
First, the publishing business, like any other business, is ever-changing. No writer in the history of the world ever got published without some influence or "help" from experts. If you are serious about writing, there are a few books about writing that is essential to have. The first is "Elements of Style" by Strunk & White. This is a small book about the mechanics of writing, and is vital to have in your arsenal. The next is Stephen King's "On Writing." King talks about not only his life and how he got published, he also breaks down the crucial parts of a writer's life and offers excellent advise on writing style, plot development, dialogue, work habits, query letters to literary agents, and even rejection. If you read at least these two books, you are well on your way to knowing a lot more about the writing industry.
Are there other books about writing that I recommend? Certainly . . . although, for the sake of time, I will only mention one more here: John Gardner's "On Becoming A Novelist." This one was recommended to me in April of 2010 by a literary consultant named Ian Graham Leask as he stopped for a writing conference at the library in Red Lake Falls. I read it, and I can certainly say that one area in which I was lacking was forever changed because of Gardner's book: editing. Gardner's book gives a straightforward and moral approach to writing. Of the one area in particular that I was lacking, Gardner helped to influence my writing. Or, more specifically, my editing. Before, I would read a particular chapter three or four times and then more on to the next one, and the changes in that chapter would sit for a long time (anywhere from a few months to a few years) before I made the changes on the computer. Gardner's method is as follows: break each chapter down into parts or scenes. Read each scene 3-4 times, immersing yourself into it, until the chapter is done. Then, make the changes and repeat the process. It may seem slower, but I have actually gotten more accomplished using this method.
Bookstores and libraries are full of books to help you with your writing. Are these stinkers out there? Of course, but you'll have to weed through them. Besides, you do not have to do everything that these books tell you. Take the best parts out that fit your life.
What else can be learned in this R & D section of your business? Well, simply reading a good novel or story in the same genre that you are writing will help. In fact, over the years, I have made a study on reading the first novels of the most successful fiction writers, to see what they wrote to become as successful as they are: Stephen King's "Carrie", John Grisham's "A Time To Kill", J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and so on. Read the first novel of your favorite author. Even read a different genre. You'd be surprised what you could learn, depending on what it is that you read.
Okay, anything else, Mark? Yes. I would read anything you can about success and motivation. "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill and Dale Carnegie "How to Win Friends and Influence People" are only two such examples. Also, reflect on your own life. Find an author who is coming to a town near you and watch his or her presentation. Can you see yourself doing that? You can even get a good book on public speaking, if that's one area in which you are lacking. Also, how about a good book on marketing. Because if you want to be successful at writing, you will need to take the bull by the horn, so to speak, and learn how to market your book.
I hope this has helped you get the perspective on the R & D portion of your writing business. Now, this does not need to take up gobs and gobs of time. Earl Nightingale taught that if you devote 15-30 minutes a day to learning your craft, in a few short years you would be classed as an expert in your given field.
I would also recommend, if you want to be published one day, that you also learn about query letter writing and literary agents. In fact, even if you are still on your first draft, start writing your query letter. Believe it or not, your one page query letter is harder to write than a 1000-page novel. Don't ask me why, it just seems to be. Also, go on the Internet and find blogs about writing. The first that comes to mind is www.guidetoliteraryagents.com - the blog on this site in extremely valuable and there are even more links to other sites. I highly recommend this one.
Now, go forth and conquer. Learn . . . expand your knowledge . . . and you will succeed.
"Learning new things?" you may ask. "You mean, like English composition and stuff like that?"
Not necessarily, but it could be, depending on your situation.
First, the publishing business, like any other business, is ever-changing. No writer in the history of the world ever got published without some influence or "help" from experts. If you are serious about writing, there are a few books about writing that is essential to have. The first is "Elements of Style" by Strunk & White. This is a small book about the mechanics of writing, and is vital to have in your arsenal. The next is Stephen King's "On Writing." King talks about not only his life and how he got published, he also breaks down the crucial parts of a writer's life and offers excellent advise on writing style, plot development, dialogue, work habits, query letters to literary agents, and even rejection. If you read at least these two books, you are well on your way to knowing a lot more about the writing industry.
Are there other books about writing that I recommend? Certainly . . . although, for the sake of time, I will only mention one more here: John Gardner's "On Becoming A Novelist." This one was recommended to me in April of 2010 by a literary consultant named Ian Graham Leask as he stopped for a writing conference at the library in Red Lake Falls. I read it, and I can certainly say that one area in which I was lacking was forever changed because of Gardner's book: editing. Gardner's book gives a straightforward and moral approach to writing. Of the one area in particular that I was lacking, Gardner helped to influence my writing. Or, more specifically, my editing. Before, I would read a particular chapter three or four times and then more on to the next one, and the changes in that chapter would sit for a long time (anywhere from a few months to a few years) before I made the changes on the computer. Gardner's method is as follows: break each chapter down into parts or scenes. Read each scene 3-4 times, immersing yourself into it, until the chapter is done. Then, make the changes and repeat the process. It may seem slower, but I have actually gotten more accomplished using this method.
Bookstores and libraries are full of books to help you with your writing. Are these stinkers out there? Of course, but you'll have to weed through them. Besides, you do not have to do everything that these books tell you. Take the best parts out that fit your life.
What else can be learned in this R & D section of your business? Well, simply reading a good novel or story in the same genre that you are writing will help. In fact, over the years, I have made a study on reading the first novels of the most successful fiction writers, to see what they wrote to become as successful as they are: Stephen King's "Carrie", John Grisham's "A Time To Kill", J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and so on. Read the first novel of your favorite author. Even read a different genre. You'd be surprised what you could learn, depending on what it is that you read.
Okay, anything else, Mark? Yes. I would read anything you can about success and motivation. "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill and Dale Carnegie "How to Win Friends and Influence People" are only two such examples. Also, reflect on your own life. Find an author who is coming to a town near you and watch his or her presentation. Can you see yourself doing that? You can even get a good book on public speaking, if that's one area in which you are lacking. Also, how about a good book on marketing. Because if you want to be successful at writing, you will need to take the bull by the horn, so to speak, and learn how to market your book.
I hope this has helped you get the perspective on the R & D portion of your writing business. Now, this does not need to take up gobs and gobs of time. Earl Nightingale taught that if you devote 15-30 minutes a day to learning your craft, in a few short years you would be classed as an expert in your given field.
I would also recommend, if you want to be published one day, that you also learn about query letter writing and literary agents. In fact, even if you are still on your first draft, start writing your query letter. Believe it or not, your one page query letter is harder to write than a 1000-page novel. Don't ask me why, it just seems to be. Also, go on the Internet and find blogs about writing. The first that comes to mind is www.guidetoliteraryagents.com - the blog on this site in extremely valuable and there are even more links to other sites. I highly recommend this one.
Now, go forth and conquer. Learn . . . expand your knowledge . . . and you will succeed.
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