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An aid to smart revising based on Darcy Pattison’s techniques
Guest Post by Claudia Finseth
I recently took Darcy’s Whole Novel Workshop and read her book, Novel Metamorphosis: Uncommon Ways to Revise. Between the two, there was a great deal of valuable new information to process. I’m very visual, so one way I worked through and organized the information was by creating charts. To what are mostly Darcy’s ideas, I added a few of my own, and some I’ve learned in other workshops. Darcy has asked me to share these charts here on her blog.
The first chart is The Novel Revision Chart. As Darcy teaches, there are many types of revision to consider once we have a draft of a novel.
This Novel Revision Chart show the different types of revisions and helps you prioritize the revision tasks. CLICK TO VIEW FULL SIZE.
Darcy’s workshops are based on critique groups. Participants work in groups of four, reading and commenting on each other’s manuscripts and. Taking the three critiques of my novel, I made a list of all the types of revision my group suggested for my novel: not letting the tension flag, pulling all my theme threads all the way through the novel, keeping my character age-appropriate, etc.
Attend a Novel Revision Retreat
The Darcy Pattison Novel Revision Retreat will come to the Boston area in August, 2014. There are a limited number of spaces still available. See Anne Broyles site for details. Also available is a Build Your Website session and a Picture Book Workshop. Hurry! Spaces limited! And time is short!
Then, I identified where these types of revision landed on the Novel Revision Chart. If they landed somewhere on the Incremental Revision line, I figured I could work with what I had already written. The three types of revision mentioned in the previous paragraph all land there. If, however, the needed revisions landed on the Quantum Leap Revision line, then I figured maybe I should scrap this chapter or that and write it again from scratch. Or write the whole novel again in a new draft. Or take the novel apart and reorganize it in some major way. For instance, my second novel is probably really three novels. (Sigh.) But better I realize that now than waste time trying to fix it the way it is.
The point is, this chart can help writers identify how major or minor the next revision needs to be, as well as what kind of revision needs to be focused on next. It can save us spinning our wheels on the wrong kind of revision. How many times have we worked on verbs or sensory detail when what we needed was to introduce another character or change the beginning? Trust me: been there, done that, and it’s very annoying to realize I should have been working on a totally different kind of revision. The chart can make us smarter revisers.
The Line Edit Revision part of the chart is a reminder that the final revisions you do, once the novel is firmly shaped and sparkling with life, and just before submission, need to be these five types of micro-edits. Therefore, it is at the bottom of the chart.
Checklist for Revising Scenes.
But before we do any line editing, there’s the second chart to look at, A Checklist for Each Scene. As the first chart is a way of evaluating the revision needed overall, this second chart is for scene by scene revisions. As Darcy explains in Novel Metamorphosis: Uncommon Ways to Revise, each scene is a kind of whole of its own. Taking one scene at a time, a writer can use this chart in conjunction with Darcy’s book to make sure each scene includes all the elements required to create a tight, compelling scene that propels the reader into the next one.
After the major revisions and before the minor Line Edit revisions, you should do a scene check. CLICK TO SEE FULL SIZE.
I have these charts before me as I work. They are quick reminders of each step needed to flesh out and deepen a scene and ultimately write a novel that editors will want to publish because they are so rich and satisfying a read. I’ll make checks on the charts as I go, when I think I’ve accomplished each type of revision. And when I’m “done” I’ll put a big exclamation mark in sharpie marker, or a smiley face, or perhaps I’ll save them for the next novel.
Claudia Finseth is a writer and author living in Tacoma, Washington. She is published in non- fiction adult, poetry and short children’s stories in Cricket Magazine. Her goal now is to become an adept at the novel form. “Novels are hard!” she says. Her website is claudia.finseth.ca.
Crystal attended a novel revision retreat a couple years ago and the result is this amazing book, her debut. Here, she talks about her revision process. –Darcy
The biggest editing challenge that I encountered my forthcoming novel, Bird (January 28, 2014, Atheneum. PREORDER NOW!) was trying to put too much “stuff” into the story. The protagonist, Jewel, is mixed race, in Iowa; her Jamaican side/grandfather believes there’s a duppy (read: ghost) roaming around the house; she was born on the same day that her brother died and there’s a load of unresolved grief in the family; a new boy comes to town with the same name as her dead brother and looks a little like how he would have looked like had he lived; and this boy is unsettling the layers of silence in the family. Enough, right?
Wrong. I really wanted to add some cool stuff with the mother’s backstory, and I wanted to do so to highlight the mixing of cultures that Jewel needed to wade through, as well as to explain why Jewel’s mom was so emotionally distant. For those who care to know, Jewel’s mother had an aunt in a small town along the Texan border, and years ago this aunt, right after she gave birth to their first child, realized her husband (the mom’s uncle) was cheating on her, and she ran out of the house in grief, and they found her, dead, along a riverbank. The baby died soon afterward. The townspeople said that her aunt had turned into the Llorona, a Mexican banshee who drowned her children, regretted it, and goes around killing adults in revenge (I’m skipping a lot of details here, bear with me).
Anyway. This backstory, as interesting and pertinent to Mexican culture as it might have been (the Llorona is well, well known among Mexicans), was simply dragging down the story line, and much worse, muddling the story line entirely. I tried to make this work for at least three drafts, as I really wanted Jewel’s Mexican side to also get a showing in the story, but eventually (and with the utmost blessing of my editor) I opted to cut it out.
And I watched the story shine.
I found other, more subtle, ways to bring out Jewel’s Mexican heritage and explain her mother’s emotional distance – which was a lesson for me. There’s no one right way to make a story work. If one way is stuck, there’s always another way. But that requires being willing to backtrack, look at options, go back to the drawing board if necessary – which is scary (and humbling), since we invested so darn much in what we’ve already created. But then again, the question begs to be answered: Why are we writing? To push what we want, how we want it? Or to tell a story in the best way it needs to be told? Yes, sometimes writing that story means bearing down and slugging through the next version of the manuscript. Other times, though, it means opening our hands and letting go.
At the retreat, one of the informal discussions was about Social Media and what authors should be doing. Susan is doing it: creating a blog early in her career so she can find the topics she wants to talk about, so she can build an audience, so she can build momentum. They were all surprised when I said I love comments on my blog! Of course! All bloggers want comments, we want to know if you are listening or not, disagreeing or not, grumbling or not, agreeing or not.
So please go and comment on Susan’s blog. While you’re doing that, here are blogs from other participants, some well published and others early in their career. Go check them out and leave comments–lots of comments to encourage them! (Pages listed in random order.)
Podcast: Listen to a Conversation about Novel Revision
I recently had a conversation with Bridgette Mongeon (Bri jeet Mon zho), about the workbook for the retreat, Novel Metamorphosis: Uncommon Ways to Revise, including tips for using it with a group. She taped it as a podcast, which is posted today. Listen to the podcast.
Watch a retreat in progress
This video is from a San Francisco retreat.
Plan a Retreat in Your Area
Novel Revision Retreat in a Book
Interested in hosting a retreat? Email me for details on bringing the Novel Revision Retreat to your area. darcy at darcypattison dot com
NonFiction BookBlast
Sunday, June 26, 2011. 8-10 am.
ALA Conference in NOLA.
I’m just back from Illinois where last weekend, I taught a Novel Revision retreat to a fantastic group of writers. One of the humorous things that happened: One writer had a chapter in which a character wrote about a condominium, but the character couldn’t spell, so wrote, “. . . the condom. . .” When the author later decided to cut the whole chapter, it became a password for the retreat: Cut the Condom Chapter!
Then, I did a school visit at a local school yesterday.
Today, I’m trying today to prioritize what needs to be done.
Speaking. I’ve been asked for proposals to speak at two upcoming events and those must be done today.
Planning Fall Retreat. I’m still the director of the Arkansas SCBWI Fall Retreat. (The dates are September 25-27 — hold the dates and look for details soon!) Today, I will be talking to the editor we’ve invited to iron out details.
Writing. Well, I’m still just a couple chapters away from finishing my WIP! And I have plans for another novel mss that I’m anxious to get to. Plus, there’s the odd picture book thrown in here and there. And a structured approach to finding ideas.
Publicity. The paperback version of The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman comes out in May and I need to do several hours work on publicity for that.
Life. Oh, yes, I have a life! Besides grocery shopping, cleaning house, etc. there’s also the looming tax deadline of April 15, my daughter’s wedding in May, and my son’s graduation in May.
How do we juggle all this? And people ask me, what do you do all day, since you don’t work?
Publisher: Mims House --- Foreword by Kirby Larson
This is a must read if you want your book published.
After eight years teaching the Novel Revision Retreat across the nation, the workbook developed for that retreat will be available this spring. Coming April 2!
Why Revise?
Before revision: Nice Story After revision: Richer, deeper–the novel of your dreams.
Revising has never been easier:
* Systematically inventory and diagnosis your manuscript * Visually manipulate your manuscript to diagnose problems * Transform dull characters into fascinating, memorable people * Strengthen the narrative and emotional arcs * Sharpen dialogue * Morph dull settings into backdrops that set the mood * Bring to life narrated events by selecting the right details * Use language with confidence * Add depth with narrative patterning * In-depth professional development * Plan your novel’s metamorphosis
The Results: A stronger, richer, deeper story, a story that makes readers weep and cry and turn the next page.
VISIT HEREto discover more about her book's eye-opening look at the revision process.
VISIT HERE to look at Darcy's other books OR - Sign up for her Revision
Maria Testa
Candlewick 2005
I was originally going to bow out of Poetry Friday this week with a collection of original things that, honestly, I wasn't sure were worth the electrons. Instead I discovered a collection of poems that caught me in a funny place. The night before I was ranting on to anyone who would listen (my wife) about all the things that I hated about this country and the way
5 Comments on Poetry Friday: Something About America, last added: 9/2/2007
I think the unknown is what scares people more than tolerance does, and I think that ignorance also sometimes trumps faith in those circumstances. I grew up in a Southern town where outsiders were often viewed with suspicion. And the definition of "outsider" expanded or contracted with whoever was talking. And power corrupts. Thanks for the heads up on this book. It sounds like one I'd like.
jama said, on 8/31/2007 9:08:00 AM
Sadly, there is much fear,hypocrisy,intolerance and ignorance in our country today. The voice of this poem, of this book, needs to be heard by every American. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.
Sara said, on 8/31/2007 11:29:00 AM
I had a "religious upbringing," David. Why do you think I write poems with words such as absolution and annunciation in them? :) I hang onto all the good in it...it taught me mystery and praise and poetry...and yet it taught me fear, too. The fact that 6000 people showed up at that rally, and that the new house (was it the sticker or a few tolerant people that protected it?) was NOT molested, as
david elzey said, on 8/31/2007 6:45:00 PM
Well, Sara, my statement was a bit too broad perhaps, and I find myself feeling oddly defensive. I agree, we have mechanisms for discussion but too often that discussion is divisive and the lack of tolerance is usually the most dominant aspect.Worse, too many speaking but too few listening. Especially to poetry.
Sara said, on 9/1/2007 1:34:00 AM
"Worse, too many speaking but too few listening. Especially to poetry."Word, to that. And I do want to see those "original things" posted here one day. :)
Claudia Finseth is a writer and author living in Tacoma, Washington. She is published in non- fiction adult, poetry and short children’s stories in Cricket Magazine. Her goal now is to become an adept at the novel form. “Novels are hard!” she says. Her website is claudia.finseth.ca.
I think the unknown is what scares people more than tolerance does, and I think that ignorance also sometimes trumps faith in those circumstances. I grew up in a Southern town where outsiders were often viewed with suspicion. And the definition of "outsider" expanded or contracted with whoever was talking. And power corrupts. Thanks for the heads up on this book. It sounds like one I'd like.
Sadly, there is much fear,hypocrisy,intolerance and ignorance in our country today. The voice of this poem, of this book, needs to be heard by every American. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.
I had a "religious upbringing," David. Why do you think I write poems with words such as absolution and annunciation in them? :) I hang onto all the good in it...it taught me mystery and praise and poetry...and yet it taught me fear, too. The fact that 6000 people showed up at that rally, and that the new house (was it the sticker or a few tolerant people that protected it?) was NOT molested, as
Well, Sara, my statement was a bit too broad perhaps, and I find myself feeling oddly defensive. I agree, we have mechanisms for discussion but too often that discussion is divisive and the lack of tolerance is usually the most dominant aspect.Worse, too many speaking but too few listening. Especially to poetry.
"Worse, too many speaking but too few listening. Especially to poetry."Word, to that. And I do want to see those "original things" posted here one day. :)