My favorite part about revising (Wait, there's a favorite part?) is that once a scene is written, it's easily moved from one part of the story to another.For example, my MC currently opens her story by dancing on the kitchen island during a party.
But my awesome writer and reader friend, Ara, thinks the story should open at Chapter 3. So I can pluck the important dance out of Chapter 1 and insert in Chapter 9 during another party.
It's like moving puzzle pieces around to see where they fit.
Payoff for dumping all the words on the page during the rollercoaster first draft.
What is your favorite part about revising?
xoxo,
Suzanne
My favorite part of revisions is flushing out the details, the sensory detail that makes the story breathe. Often my first draft is skeletal, but as I go through the changes, I become immersed in the story, which is where I hope my readers will find themselves.
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks, Suzanne! Glad you liked my feedback. Agreed about the dance scene--it would totally still fit in the other chapter.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part about revising is finishing, since all the line-by-line stuff kills me.
Oh wow, I never thought about moving different parts of the story around. Interesting...
ReplyDeleteI love the revising process because it's an iterative improvement process, always getting better & better with each revision.
I enjoy flushing out the details, being hit with an idea that snowballs, taking a paragraph of telling and turn it into showing. I love watching my novel improve with each draft. Some writers believe the creative process ends once they've finished the first draft. For me, it's only beginning.
ReplyDeleteGiven the fact that I wrote my first novel on a typewriter (hence, the literal source of cutting and pasting), I am thrilled to do the sentence and scene shuffle with such ease—a gift I took advantage of over and over again in writing my new suspense/thriller.
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