A Quick & Dirty Guide to Revising your Novel

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Rosamund Green
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1 Sz's Revisins, Lessn 4 1 A Quick & Dirty Guide t Revising yur Nvel Lessn 4: Planning the attack. S, yu figured ut what yur Perfect Bk wuld be in Lessn 3. Nw we're ging t take that and apply it t yur nvel. This part is fun--like, n jke, this step is ne f my favrites fr the ENTIRE nvelwriting prcess. Yu're calling n yur left-brain fr rganizatin, and yu're calling n yur right-brain fr creativity. Plus, by creating this Plan f Attack, yu are ensuring yu get thrugh revisins as quickly as yu pssibly can. There's a reasn I meet all my editrial deadlines early, and this is it. Supplies Needed Tday: Yur utline (either in index cards r printed/written ut) Multiclred pst-its r sticky-tabs (as I mentined in Lessn 1, I clr-cde everything) Yur Plt Hles wrksheet Yur fan letter t yurself Yur Perfect Bk wrksheets Yur Other Prblems wrksheets Fixing Plt Hles As yu may recall frm the Intr, we apprach ur manuscript hierarchically. Biggest prblems taper dwn t little things, and the biggest prblem f all is plt.

2 Sz's Revisins, Lessn 4 2 Why? Because plt--r the events in the stry--affects yur nvel's structure. Yu might be adding scenes, cutting scenes, rearranging scenes, rewriting scenes, etc., and if yu spend time tweaking a character nly t cut the scene...well, that's an inefficient use f yur time. 1. S, take yur Plt Hles wrksheet, yur Perfect Bk synpsis, and yur utline. What yu are ging t d nw is figure ut WHAT yu have t add in/subtract t make yur nvel int the Perfect Bk. 2. There are tw ways t apprach this: By Plt In Order Yu separate yur utline based n which plt and subplt it falls int. T d this, yu will need t: 1. Srt ut hw many subplts yu have and assign them a letter (r #, name). 2. Start with the main external plt, s take all cards that apply t that plt thread, and stack them up. 3. Once yu finish this step with the main plt, yu'll put the cards back tgether and pull ut all cards that have t d with subplt A (r whatever yu named it). 4. Mve dwn until yu've cvered every plt. I recmmend this step if it is yur FIRST TIME REVISING. Simply mve frm ne card t the next in rder. Yu have t have a pretty gd feel f hw yur plts and subplts are wrking tgether, s I dn't recmmend this step t beginners. If yu are a MORE EXPERIENCED writer/reviser, then this step might wrk fr yu. 3. Yu are nw ging t srt ut what needs t be added and what needs t be remved. (If yu wish t use a wrksheet, then head here. Yu will need t transfer all this infrmatin nt yur utline.)

3 Sz's Revisins, Lessn Using blue (r whatever yur Plt Clr is) pst-its r sticky-tabs, yu're ging t make a quick nte abut what must be added (r remved) and yu will stick it nt the specific scene's index card.* (See the picture-- BUT, keep in mind, I ran ut f white index cards, s the clr f the index card here has n significance.) *Nte: if yu wish t write mre than yu can fit n a pst-it nte, then feel free t cde yur pst-its and write a full summary elsewhere. 5. If yu are ging t ADD a scene, then yu'll get a new index card and fill it ut just like the rest f yur utline. I like t make sure I knw it's a new scene by adding sme blue arund the edges. If yu are ging t REMOVE a scene, remve it frm the stack (dn't lse it, thugh! Yu might change yur mind). 6. Keep adding blue pst-its/stickies until yu reach the end f the utline and have wrked thrugh every plt thread. Fixing Characters and Relatinships 7. Get yur Fixing Character wrksheets and yur utline. 8. There are tw ways t apprach this: By Character

Sz's Revisins, Lessn 4 4 Yu separate yur utline based n which character appears in the scene. T d this, yu will need t: 1. Srt ut hw many characters yu have that need fixing. 2.

4 Sz's Revisins, Lessn 4 4 Yu separate yur utline based n which character appears in the scene. T d this, yu will need t: 1. Srt ut hw many characters yu have that need fixing. 2. Start with the biggest character (if yur main character needs tweaking then it will be him/her), s take all cards in which that character appears, and stack them up. 3. Once yu finish this step with that character, yu'll put the cards back tgether and pull ut all cards that have t d with next biggest character. In Order 4. Mve dwn until yu've cvered every character that needs fixing. I recmmend this step if it is yur FIRST TIME REVISING. Simply mve frm ne card t the next in rder. Yu have t have a pretty gd feel fr when yur character appear, s I dn't recmmend this step t beginners. If yu are a MORE EXPERIENCED writer/reviser, then this step might wrk fr yu. 9. Yu are nw ging t srt ut what needs t be changed. What abut the way this character acts/speaks/interacts must be altered s this character can becme the persn yu want them t be. Keep yur Fixing Character wrksheets handy fr this! 10. Yu will als be dealing with character relatinships here. If the rmance isn't what yu wanted, if the mther/daughter relatinship isn't cming acrss right, r if the villain is just t cruel t the her, yu're gnna deal with that here. 11. Using pink (r whatever yur Character Clr is) pst-its r sticky-tabs, yu're ging t make a quick nte abut what must be changed abut the character and

5 Sz's Revisins, Lessn 4 5 yu will stick it nt the specific scene's index card. (See the picture--ntice it has 2 PLOT and CHARACTER pst-its.) 12. Keep adding pink pst-its/stickies until yu reach the end f the utline and have wrked thrugh every character and relatinship. Fixing Setting 13. Get yur Fixing Setting wrksheets and yur utline. 14. There are tw ways t apprach this: By Setting In Order Yu separate yur utline based n which setting in which a scene is set. T d this, yu will need t: 1. Srt ut hw many settings yu have that need fixing. 2. Start with the biggest setting (the setting that mst frequently appears in the nvel--and is therefre, the mst imprtant), s take all cards in which that setting appears, and stack them up. 3. Once yu finish this step with that setting, yu'll put the cards back tgether and pull ut all cards that have t d with next biggest setting. 4. Mve dwn until yu've cvered every setting that needs fixing. I recmmend this step if it is yur FIRST TIME REVISING. Simply mve frm ne card t the next in rder. Yu have t have a pretty gd feel fr the setting's weight, s I dn't recmmend this step t beginners. If yu are a MORE EXPERIENCED writer/reviser, then this step might wrk fr yu.

Sz's Revisins, Lessn 4 6 15. Yu are nw ging t srt ut what needs t be changed.

6 Sz's Revisins, Lessn Yu are nw ging t srt ut what needs t be changed. What abut the way this setting appears, the way the stry/characters interact with it, must be altered s the setting is vivid and cmpelling. Keep yur Fixing Setting wrksheets handy fr this! 16. Keep in mind that the less imprtant a setting is, the less time yu shuld devte t describing it. If nly ne scene is set there, then it shuldn't warrant much descriptin. If half the bk is set there, then yu need t get pretty detailed. 17. Using green (r whatever yur Setting Clr is) pst-its r stickytabs, yu're ging t make a quick nte abut what must be changed abut the setting and yu will stick it nt the specific scene's index card. (See the picture--ntice there are nw PLOT, CHARACTER, and SETTING pst-its.) 18. Keep adding green pst-its/stickies until yu reach the end f the utline and have wrked thrugh every setting. Fixing Other Stuff 19. This is fr all that ther stuff yu dealt with. 20. With range pst-its (r whatever clr yu want), yu'll g thrugh every single scene card and pint ut if smething needs t be tweaked.

7 Sz's Revisins, Lessn Fr example, if a scene yu knw yu'll be keeping is just plain TOO SHORT, yu'll indicate that. Putting it all Tgether 22. Put all yur scene cards back tgether and in rder. Yu've gt a new utline--an utline fr the Perfect Bk! 23. Yur utline shuld be VERY clrful nw! And yu shuld be very PROUD nw! Yu just did a lt f wrk, and nw yu're ready t get started n the actual REVISING. Wrapping up In the next lessn, we'll be taking ur new utline and getting started with writing in ur changes. There are tw appraches t ding this, and nce I explain thse, yu'll be ready t sink yur teeth int yur nvel! S fr nw, get started planning yur attack! G team!

Elementary. Week 3. November 18/19, 2017

Elementary. Week 3. November 18/19, 2017 Elementary Week 3 Nvember 18/19, 2017 Bttm Line Say Thank Yu! Staging: Waterclr backdrp Film Strip (t be used as a backdrp) Red curtain with lights (t be used as backdrp) Standees (camera, film reel) Large