On Revising

So this week has been a bad one in terms of writing. Part of the reason for that is the fact that I just finished a miserably long book that I was not excited about. (That’s right, I’m talking about you again, New Realm. *shakes fist*) I typically want to take a mental break from writing after such an experience, and this week I kind of fell prey to that desire.

The second reason is a bit more of a concern, however. It has been too long since I last rewrote something. Due to my job and other issues, I stopped rewrites on my other stories while I worked on New Realm’s first draft several weeks ago. I’ve gotten so used to working on new material that I am kind of weirded out by the process of revision, especially since when I write new material, I purposely avoid revisions in the process because I would take forever to get the first draft done.

I guess a big part of the problem is the major difference in mindset between first draft writing and revising. Writing a first draft is like running a marathon. No matter how much you might trip up or get tired, you keep plugging along because your goal is to stagger across the finish line at the end of the story. You’re not really concerned about finesse or how pretty it looks, you just have to get through it. Revising is more like a shopping trip. You have to take a lot more time to consider what you are doing and think about things more. Part of the process of revision involves trying things out, and discarding them if they don’t fit or don’t seem to be as good as your original choice. Rather than just slogging along, you have to experiment and reconsider when you get the results.

It’s been a challenge to change perspectives after slogging through my last book, but hopefully I will get the hang of it again. At least, I hope I manage it before something else goes wrong….

Yeah, my chances aren’t good on that last bit. :) See ya round!