When I began revising I searched for how others revise and found great advice, but never a deep dive into the actual process. So here is a memoir style post from me about my experience revising my WIP. Down here in the trenches, it is not pretty. You've been warned.
The revision process is a mystery some people. Some hate it. Some love it. For me personally, I'm still finding my groove. Right now, I'm 28k words into a 50k novel, so before too long, I'll be in the revision stage again. Part of me is biting at the bit to get started on fixing some major problems with the story. Another part of me is dreading it because there is so much to fix with this story. I've talked to a lot of authors over the last 5 years or so. No two authors write or revise the same way. Some write very cleanly in their first draft and need very little revision and editing before publication. Some revise as they write. Some overwrite and some underwrite in their first draft. For some revision means just fixing some things, but for others it means completely rewriting the whole story from page one to the end. It can even change from story to story. Once I get through with the revision on my current novel, I'll share my current method. Meanwhile, AJ Korman shared with me her method of revising her novels. AJ is the author of The Halloway Hills Middle School Mysteries. She has a ton of great advice for revision! Here is what she wrote:
Peter wakes up at a train station wearing pajamas and a tie. He has no memory other than his name is Peter. He quickly learns that he’s dead and this is the Afterlife. He is directed to his school. It’s like a boarding school. He makes new friends quickly. He also remembers a tiny snippet of his old life. There is a girl, and she’s in danger. It’s up to him to save her. But he doesn’t know how since he’s dead and she’s alive. (This is what grabbed my attention causing me to request this book for review. I love a good thriller mystery.) Read more...
It has been a while since I’ve written about what is going on in my writing world. So things are starting to settle down a bit now. *Knocks on wood* Grad school is done! Middle school is in session and I finally feel like I got my head above water for the moment. So I can focus on writing a bit. I have three projects in mind. 1- A novel based on the short story I published, 2- a nonfiction book, 3- short stories.
You have a rough draft...now what?
Quill and Books 
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