#revision process

1. It is always scary revising something you wrote a long time ago.

2. I will be writing the "Revision" writing advice post very soon 😂.

Writing is a creative process that requires dedication, skill, and the willingness to revise and improve. While the initial draft of a piece may capture the essence of your ideas, it is through the process of revisions that your writing truly comes to life. Revisions allow you to refine your work, polish your prose, and ensure that your message is effectively communicated to your readers. In this…

The Revision Process for Writers by Lucia Brucoli

Today we welcome onto the blog, writer Lucia Brucoli who discusses her Revision Process.

Big thanks to Lucia for being today’s guest poster, please make sure to check out her links and details at the end of this post. 

Chaim Potok: I think the hardest part of writing is revising. And by that I mean the following: A novelist has to create a piece of marble and then chip away to find the figure in…

Subtitled: "This was supposed to be posted three weeks ago but I've been too busy screaming about Infinity War."

Sorry about that.

+ I guess I’m scared it won’t be as good? I read books in English and sometimes I think “I could never write like this in English” but the truth is I never tried to write something like that in English. Also, my weak point which are the description of places gets even worse in English (or so I think). I reached around 240 pages in Word once, writing in English, and it seemed fine but I always have my doubts. I know I’m better at PT (main language, ofc I’m better) but I imagine everything +

+ of my story in English, especially dialogues. Any advice on how to make up my mind? This is such a weird ask, but somehow your answers always make me feel better, like everything will be fine xD I’m also very sorry for the length of my asks :/

++ I think I forgot to say but the 150k one was in PT! (Omg 4 asks in a row kill me)

If you’re writing not in your first language I have even more respect for you. I couldn’t possibly. I’m barely passable in my second language. When I taught high school I had quite a few ESL students and while not all of them were fluent, there were still kids who were QUITE eloquent in their second language.

I don’t know how fluent you are or how comfortable you are with English. But it sounds to me as if you WANT to write this new version in English, which is a big challenge. I’m not enough of an expert in language acquisition to tell you how to best write in your second language.

Writing it in English might give you a new perspective on it, and you will DEFINITELY become more skilled as you write. You might want to get a beta reader with English as a first language so you can talk through word choice and such. 

+ I honestly don’t think I’d be able to reuse a great part of what is already written. The beginning & end are basically still the same, the main relationships (developed & to be developed) are still the same, but everything else in the middle changes. The goal will be the same, what changes is how it is accomplished, & it does change a lot. Still worth it to start right away? I don’t want to regret leaving the 150k words behind and then getting stuck cause I don’t know how to continue them :(

I wouldn’t finish writing it. I was just advised MYSELF that I don’t need to finish the ending on a novel i’m going to take to second draft, because the second draft can clarify a lot of what I was confused about. So I’m saying let it go, since it sounds like you’re pretty sure you want to take it in the new direction.

HOWEVER, I would still definitely re read what you’ve already written to see what you can still use and what you can adapt to the new storyline. I bet it’s more than you think, because while you were writing it, you were developing the new story. It came OUT of what you wrote.

That 150k is NOT a waste. I told you about my 150k word novel that was too sprawling right? Well I finished it and got halfway through the next book and then moved on to another project because it was too unwieldy, but even though I let it drop, that writing, both experience and story, did not go to waste. My most recent MSS is basically a prequel to this epic space opera that I wrote ten years ago. And when I get to the second book of this, I will still be building the world of the space opera. I’ve developed a lot of ideas through this MSS that I didn’t take through the end. It all goes into the process. Writing novels is a marathon, not a sprint, and it lasts YEARS.

This book is a mess. I have so many scenes to add, a few of which I have no bloody clue how to write. And there's a few instances of characters realizing the exact same thing more than once. But, I've been reading the rest of this chapter in my revision book and apparently the next steps are to map out the plot arcs and character arcs. So, that will tell me exactly where my issues are. I'll be starting on that tomorrow.