Ruts in Revising

[Addison]

I am dead in the water here.

My first draft is done, but it's getting to the next draft that my brain is having trouble with. I know what needs fixing where. I know what needs taking and what needs adding. Problem is I can't do it. It's not that I don't want to. I'll have the document open, surrounded by stuff to make me comfortable and no distractions (just like always) but my fingers just won't work. I can not physically delete, copy-paste or in anyway change the story.

I have tried everything. I have gone for a run and come back, nothing. I've cooked a full dinner, nothing. I even let my brother use me as a work out partner (and he's in the marines so that was fun), ice-packs, and hot tub I went to the computer, still nothing! I can not, for whatever reason, physically revise the story.

If anyone has any tips either straightforward or from experience, please help!

 

[Feo Takahari]

I'm not sure I understand the nature of the block. Are you saying you can't concentrate well enough to type, or are you saying it pains you on some level to type?

Also, can you type a stream of gibberish? If so, do you feel compelled to remove it, and can you channel that compulsion into something more useful?

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

I think Addison's saying that s/he can't bring verself to alter the story. I've had this same problem in the past.

In general, you have to be willing to destroy what you've written in the service of improving the story. Let me suggest this as an exercise:

1) Write a 1,000 word story.
2) Revise it once or twice; improve the wording, dialogue, etc.
3) Delete it, irrevocably.

Do that a couple of times and see if that helps unblock you.

 

[ThinkerX]

Maybe you should try what I did when I grew frustrated with the lastest round of revisions on my masterpiece...set it aside for a week or two. Don't open the file, don't even think about it. If possible, concentrate on something else. Then come back to it, and maybe, if you can...think of it as a chance to edit somebody elses work.

 

[Filk]

I have a separate index card for every single part in my story - if there is a line break then there's a new index card. This helps when I am writing garbage and know I will need heavy editing, because I make note of it on the index card.

It is quite an undertaking if you don't do it as you write, but it is a great way to stay organized. If you were to do it, perhaps you could let go of one section for the time being and move on, secure that the preceding problems are written down and you will get back to them.

 

[wordwalker]

I don't know about index cards, but when I do serious revision I leave a dated copy of the old version on the computer; it takes about five seconds to make. If I decide I want part of the old version back somewhere, it's right there.

 

[Penpilot]

I'll agree with wordwalker on this one. Make a copy then edit that copy. This is one of the reasons I love Scrivener (shameless plug). It lets you version your scenes. So what I do is version the scene I'm working on and then I feel free fiddle without fear of losing anything.

Another trick I do is literally retype the scene paragraph by paragraph. I start at the top of the document and retype the paragraph below, making any changes I want. That way I can refer back to the original just by glancing down. Once that paragraph has been retyped/revised, I delete the original and move on to the next paragraph.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

Have you distanced yourself from the manuscript yet?

If not, put it out of sight for 6-8 weeks. Work on something completely different during that time. Come back to it with fresh eyes. The writing will not seem as much like yours after so much time & distance. It's easier to recognize needed changes and have the courage to make them after you've achieved some detachment from the work.

 

[Addison]

Thank you all for the responses.

I have put myself on a sabbatical from my work twice since the block came, which was months ago....almost a year actually. I focused on reading, on writing other stories, I'd stop reading and writing all together for a long time. Still nada, the only thing i got was looking at my story and my notes and finding something else needing revising and/or something that didn't need it after all.

Maybe if I make a copy, that will help. And maybe if I make copies, not of the entire book, but of each chapter individually. Yea. Thanks again everyone and if you have any other tips please let me know. Thanks!

 

[Ayaka Di'rutia]

Something that can help you is getting education in writing, if you haven't done so already. There are multiple English classes available that involve students making notes on each other's work, suggestions for revision, etc. It will help you get a thick skin from any critique and help you become a better writer. I also took a grammar class which helped me learn how to chop up sentences, use better grammar, and overall improve my drafts. The more education I've received the more I've chopped up a manuscript, but in the end it turns out better. Your original ideas become works of art.

Deciding whether to alter your work is completely up to you. If you have any nearby writing friends, ask them to look at pieces of your work and offer any critique. Like any art, every time you write, revise, etc., you become a better and better writer.

 

[Addison]

I have a degree, almost, in English and have attended three writing seminars/conferences, not counting the Writing club here at the college or the Young Authors club in high school. I'm good there.

And, good news, revising is going smoothly now that the story is in chapter blocks. Thank you all so much.
But still, for the rest of the community, any tips on revising can be posted here.

 

[Butterfly]

I find it helps to edit from a hard copy with a red pen. Seeing it on paper rather than on a computer screen somehow seems to force me look at it differently. At least then you are not 'damaging' the original on a computer. You can then cut and paste as you create a draft two, or completely type out your daily work.

 

[Addison]

I know, there's something....real about having it in your hand. Whenever I try to revise from the computer I feel like I'm just staring at black and white. No words, no prose, just black on white.

Here's a question about chapters, just a shot in the dark here, but would anyone be thrown if a chapter started in one place with one conflict and had a break after a character was knocked unconscious or drove through the gates, then after a break it picked up where the character woke up or stopped for gas?

 

[Penpilot]

I think that could be confusing. Personally, I'd end the chapter on the being knocked out or driving through the gates and start a new one where you pick it up.

 

[Addison]

Good new to report. After copying and pasting my story into separate documents for each chapter I have successfully revised the first three chapters of my beginning as I had planned to.

 

[cibir]

Open another document and retype the whole thing, side-by-side. That way you have the original but you can change it in any way you like.