Emerging from the Depths of Revision Hell
A HUGE thanks, and round of hugs, to my crit partners and my buds at Compuserve. I love and adore you all.
I finished the SFD of Roulette in August of 2009. I've had plenty of drafts since then, but I've been editing the same one since about Feb. of this year. I think I'm finally happy enough to think about querying.
IF I ever get the last chapter done. I hadn't read it in a while, and let's just say: I.Hate.It. I consider chapters 1, 19/20 and 28 to be the most important in the book. And 1 took, well I'm almost embarrassed to say how long it took - or how many times it was rewritten. 19/20, eek. 2 solid months of agony. I'm shooting for one week on 28. Everyone cross your fingers.
I promise once I get these edits done I will try to be a better blogger!
So, where is everyone on their current WiP edits?
Happy Monday, all. Have a great week!
Comments
Congrats on being so close to the end. :)
Thanks, Diane :)
Cheree - I sure hope so! I'm still pondering a direction for the chapter, ugh.
Linda - Yes. He is very, um, musing.
Aww, Alex. Thanks so much. :-)
PS: Can I borrow your muse Weds, and Fridays? thanks!
I have everything crossed for you as you emerge phoenix like from your revision hell!!! Well done you!! Yay!!!
Good luck with this final hurdle!! Take care
x
It does feel pretty good to be this close. And, yea! for you being so close to the end of your FD. Woohoo. That is a huge accomplishment!
Lemme see. January I finished a novel and began another.
I wrote and wrote and wrote and finally eff-it and wrote it into a short story because the novel wouldn't present itself.
Then I started my next story around April, same whirligig, sans the short story.
I've written 50kw and have nothing to show for it but more scalp! (and less hair, get it?)
So I abandoned that one as unripe and picked up a WIP I dropped back in 2006.
No kidding, I mapped out the whole trilogy this morning and I like it. I'm gonna sleep on it a few nights, keep working on the in-outs of the work, and see if it sticks.
I hope sitting on it for that long -- over four years -- gets me far enough away that I can start fresh, picking up the world I already built and making it buzz!
Good luck, and DON'T OVER-EDIT! Revision kills, remember that. 90% of the time you had it right the first draft.
- Eric
It took about 2 1/2 years for me to edit and revise my first novel to the point I feel its ready to query. Cahpter 1 was the hardest. I had to keep going back to it. I finally am satisfied - not totally happy - with it, but I had to be happy with the entire rest of the novel before I felt the first chapter reflected the plot of the novel.
The pacing of the revision/editing process isn't what's important. Its the ultimate outcome of satisfaction. As long as those changes are productive, then they take as long as they take. But I have to agree with Eric also; don't over edit. Changes for the sake of seeing if it will be different are useless.
If you hate it b/c you've looked at it too many times, then you're done. If your crit partners agree its ready, its ready.
I think that last chapter is a difficult one mostly b/c its hard to sent it out into the big bad world of potential rejection. It seems like you had new inspiration for this revision. You'll make this one work for you. You have incentive, inspiration, and loads of best wished floating your way.
How can you miss? :)
Keep at it Tara, you're almost there. I'll throw confetti for you when you announce the end. (Or participate in your blogfest about satisfactory endings/or completions if that is how you wish to celebrate. Aah, no pressure.)
Good luck; happy writing.
.........dhole
Can you imagine a harem with Jake, Nathan, Bill, Baha and, and...whom am I missing [wg]
Also Jack, Harry and maybe even Santiago now that I've seen him get up to things I'd never thought I'd write for him!
Are you gonna upload your revised Roulette for us/me to critique? I've been waiting for your full, finished draft because you said you were working on lots of changes since you've been home. Let me know.
I didn't know you were doing nano! Yay! I'm so excited. *jumps up and down*
(I'll email you directly on all this stuff.)
And I feel your revision hell pain. You know I do. Me and chapter 16 and chapter 21 have had so many fights. I'm still not close to being finished. But, I'm going to take a break from it for Nov. (to Nano) then get back to it with fresh eyes (letting the Nano WiP rest). Once Nov. is over, I'm going to seriously hunker down on current WiP and get. it. DONE. (and off to beloved CPs.) (of course, once I have the CP feedback, there will be more revisions. *sigh* But I'm a FIRM believer in not querying too soon. It must be pristine.)
It's late, I've rambled...sorry.
*hugs*
1st draft
clean so I can tolerate reading
read and note take for big edits
MAKE big edits*
Clean up from big edits and pace
clean again*
polish
The starred spots are where peers get it. I have a cozy mystery for contract that I am 'cleaning again' then it goes to my agent for the polish. And a suspense that I am almost done with the 'read and notes' part.