Hello friends. No. I'm still not done with revisions. But yes, I'm peeking back out of the cave to say "hi" again.
I'm on the tail end of this round of revisions, only a week or two from boomeranging it back into my editor's inbox. And boy, is it painful. Painful in a good way (as in, I'm making my manuscript oodles better than it was before) but also painful in a painful way (as in, my brain is tired).
Anyway, I thought I'd pop back in and write about two of the things I've come to realize in the past however long of revising I've been slogging through.
1. Revising is all about going with your gut.
I'm a highly intuitive person (according to Myers-Briggs and life-experience), and I've come to realize that the intuition which guides me so effectively through every-day life also comes in handy when crafting a story line. I can tell pretty quickly if a conversation between characters or action doesn't "feel right" in the timeline of my story. I've been learning to follow my initial reactions, and so far it's turned out pretty well. I hope.
2. I can take breaks.
Sadly, yes. I have had trouble with this. I am my own worst slave-driver. This kind of ties into "going with your gut," because I've come to learn that there's a very distinct feeling that comes with it being time to stop. The point where my brain says, "No more. You will only hurt your manuscript from here on out." For example, I was aiming at getting 10 pages done last Saturday and I hit this wall at the 4 page point. So I listened. I walked downtown and bought Korean food. And it was lovely.
Also, I found this on Laini Taylor's blog and it very much encapsulates where I'm at right now.
But it will be done. It will be done.
I'm on the tail end of this round of revisions, only a week or two from boomeranging it back into my editor's inbox. And boy, is it painful. Painful in a good way (as in, I'm making my manuscript oodles better than it was before) but also painful in a painful way (as in, my brain is tired).
Anyway, I thought I'd pop back in and write about two of the things I've come to realize in the past however long of revising I've been slogging through.
1. Revising is all about going with your gut.
I'm a highly intuitive person (according to Myers-Briggs and life-experience), and I've come to realize that the intuition which guides me so effectively through every-day life also comes in handy when crafting a story line. I can tell pretty quickly if a conversation between characters or action doesn't "feel right" in the timeline of my story. I've been learning to follow my initial reactions, and so far it's turned out pretty well. I hope.
2. I can take breaks.
Sadly, yes. I have had trouble with this. I am my own worst slave-driver. This kind of ties into "going with your gut," because I've come to learn that there's a very distinct feeling that comes with it being time to stop. The point where my brain says, "No more. You will only hurt your manuscript from here on out." For example, I was aiming at getting 10 pages done last Saturday and I hit this wall at the 4 page point. So I listened. I walked downtown and bought Korean food. And it was lovely.
Also, I found this on Laini Taylor's blog and it very much encapsulates where I'm at right now.
But it will be done. It will be done.
Ryan, I am printing off that sign and gluing it to my head. :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your revisions! Remember the teddy bear analogy you told me!
Oh, yes. This teddy bear is one of the big ones that you win throwing darts at balloons at the fair!!!
ReplyDeleteYou can do it! :)
ReplyDelete