Friday, May 20, 2011

Five for Fridays- Revisions

REPOST FROM LAST WEEK BECAUSE BLOGGER WAS BEING A BRAT!

So my good friends over at the Paper Hangover are doing a weekly segment called, Five for Fridays, and this week it's the Top Five Item you need to revise.

1) A reality check-  Make sure you haven't looked at your work for at least a month-- the longer the better. Remember you're not perfect and you will probably need more than one revision before you're ready to query.

2) Time away from the internet- Gosh the internet is SO SHINY.  Between cyberstalking agents on twitter or youtube or catching up on blogs, it's easy to get lost in the net, and let's face it, it's a lot more fun the revising.

3) Paper-  Print out your manuscript--- write all over it.  Scratch it out, slice out whole chapters, the more marks the better.  Seeing it out on paper really does help.  Honest.

4) An extra Word document- Make the changes, listen to your beta's BUT if you cut anything,  copy it to a different work document.  Who knows you might need it later.

5) A great playlist- Get music that helps you relate to your characters, your setting and most importantly get's you ready to dive.  Get Pumped.

Good news if you still love it after your revisions.. then chances are so will someone else.
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8 comments:

  1. KatOwens: Insect CollectorMay 20, 2011 at 9:48 AM

    these are great! Reality check, especially!

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  2. Pam HarrisMay 20, 2011 at 9:58 AM

    We are so in sync! I have to have a hard copy of my manuscript, and constantly remind myself to not rush through the revision process. Oh, and the extra Word document is SO HELPFUL to me now. I used to always worry about losing words, but now I know I'll always have them in case I decide to use them again. :)

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  3. Alicia GregoireMay 20, 2011 at 10:20 AM

    Yes, the internet is VERY SHINY. It's been the world's most appealing siren song.

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  4. Christine MurrayMay 20, 2011 at 10:45 AM

    Leaving the manuscript is a big one for me, as is printing out my ms for edits. I see the problems so much quicker in hardcopy.

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  5. Meredith McCardle May 20, 2011 at 1:29 PM

    Oh yes. The internet can be awesome but it can also be the worst distraction in the world. Sometimes I'll get out of my house and go someplace that doesn't have WiFi if I know I have to focus.

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  6. Erin L. SchneiderMay 20, 2011 at 2:06 PM

    I particularly like point #4! I actually save my manuscript every day, as that day's date (with a hint at what I worked on that day, say, 5/19_Chapter 14). Then any changes I've made can always be found. It helps that I have a 2 TB external hard drive I save everything to...
    Great list!

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  7. AnonymousMay 20, 2011 at 4:42 PM

    I've been doing #4 a lot lately. It's been really helpful.

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  8. Racquel HenryMay 20, 2011 at 10:33 PM

    I completely agree with #3! I always find it easier to print it out and edit as opposed to doing all of that on the computer. :)

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