There are two extremes here to revising a story. Either you think your work is genius and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it whatsoever, or you think it’s crap, and there is no redeeming value in anything you have ever written…ever. So let’s back up a step before you either relegate your latest story to the marble pedestal of awe or the dung heap of craphood. What’s the purpose of revising a now rough-drafted story?
I’m working on one right now, a story I haven’t touched in almost two years and decided to see if it is salvageable. Yeesh. I hope it’s a sign that I’ve improved since I wrote it, because this is going to take a lot of work. Lots and lots. Aside from getting a story into publishable shape, revising also helps one to sharpen your editorial focus, learning to see the common flaws and reshape the text with the skills one has hopefully picked up since your last effort. This is admittedly hard for any writer, since we write with our noses so close to the page. We go cross-eyed reading our own stuff over and over. This is why it is critical to get outside, objective feedback (which is another discussion for another blog). But the next best thing is giving yourself some time and distance between finishing the draft and coming back with the intent to edit. It could be a couple days, a week, or a couple months before you decide you are finally detached enough to rev up the editorial chainsaw and hack off all the dead weight dragging your story down.
Here are some of the questions I ask myself when coming to this point:
1. Is this sentence/paragraph/chapter/scene necessary? Does it drive the story onward, or could it be cut without making any difference to the plot flow?
2. How much have I written in the passive tense, and how best can I edit out the passive verbs (like “was,” “had been,” etc.)
3. Are there any characters that can be combined, or cut entirely to tighten the story?
4. Are there any subplots (or even sections of the overall plot) that can be cut to benefit the story?
5. Are there any sections that become too slow-paced or boring?
That’s a few of a long list I review when I cast a critical eye over a rough draft. My next step is this: I dedicate that by the time I have finished editing the manuscript, its word count will have dropped by at least 15%. Several times I have walloped off 25%. Once this is done, I usually have a much better sense of the story’s weaknesses and strengths, its slow points, and the sections I need to beef up. I can now make better plot connections, deepen character motivation, and hopefully put some muscle on the bare bones.
There is a common quote that “All writing is rewriting.” This is true. That first draft is just to get the story onto the paper so you actually have something to grab hold of and rewrite. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go fire up the chainsaw and lop off a few unnecessary scenes.
I see that smile.
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