The Ins and Outs of Revisions

It’s comforting to be back in a rhythm of writing. Not only am I crafting a story I feel really excited for, I’m also noticing a few differences between now and the first time I wrote a book.

When I was writing Unraveled, I was obsessed over making sure every detail was perfect. It took me somewhere around eight or nine drafts—and about five and a half years—to get it out into the world. While I could attribute that to perfectionism (who among writers is not a perfectionist?), I think a larger part of it is due to the simple fact that it was my first time and I had little to no idea what I was doing.

Things are different this time around. As I was working my way through the first draft of The Hunter, the Hunted, I noticed a few things:

1. I stopped caring so much about the neatness of the first draft. I felt more relaxed, less strict about filling in all the pretty details and poetic language. After all, it is the first draft.

2. Plotting actually helped me. (Imagine that!) If you’ve been following my Instagram from the very beginning, you may remember that I’m a self-proclaimed pantser—which is to say, I typically write without taking time to plot out the story beforehand.

Not this time! There wasn’t any definitive reason for changing up my process; I followed what felt right at the time. As per usual, the characters came to me first, then their world, and finally the story they all needed to tell. Taking time to sit with these ideas and organize them into a working plot made for a swifter writing process—at least, when I wasn’t procrastinating.

3. Prior experience to writing a book did help, but writing is still difficult. Everything I learned from writing Unraveled sort of condensed itself into muscle memory, subconscious habits, and “on-hand tools” that ultimately helped create draft one of The Hunter, the Hunted. Each time I sat down to write, I felt more confident, more self-assured that even if this draft was far from ready for review, it was doing exactly what it needed to do: simply exist.

So now, I find myself nearing the finish line of the first round of revisions. This is a whole other step in the general “writing process” that I don’t see a lot of writers talk about very much (although, that could be because I've got my head buried in my own work). And just like writing, everyone revises a bit differently. If you ever wanted an inside look to an author’s creative process, here you go:

How do I revise my work?

It starts with a full read-through. Hands off, no editing or changing the manuscript allowed. I’ll highlight certain lines and make comments in the margins if I feel the need, but generally, the first step in revisions is to just get a fresh look at what I’ve written.

From there, I may choose to add or delete scenes, depending on the length of the book, the flow of the plot, etc. All of this, again, is marked with a few notes in the margins.

What am I looking for in the writing?

Action beats. Plot holes. Character (in)consistencies. Setting changes. Imbalances between dialogue and action. Broken, dropped, or lost threads. Info-dumping. All the lovely little pieces that click together to form a working, cohesive story.

Several of those terms are self-explanatory, but a few may be new to non-writers. Nevertheless, there is so much I’m keeping an eye out for when I’m reading through the draft and making notes for revisions. And as I was working my way through The Hunter, the Hunted, I found a few ways to cut redundant scenes, shorten word count, and plant a few more foreshadowing seeds that’ll come to fruition at the climax of the novel.

Exciting!

How does another draft come from this?

I like to compare this process to the creation of visual art: the first draft is the sketch lines, the bareboned outline of the final project. Revisions could be equivalent to adding weight to the lines you want to keep, redirecting or omitting the ones you don’t.

Draft two fills in more of the colors, but you’re working with shadow and light now, too, to help create the tone you want. It involves a lot of overlapping work, going back over places you thought were done, and eventually reaching a point of satisfaction with what you’ve created.

In writing, it’s a similar process of working and reworking and reworking again. Sometimes I’ve spent hours agonizing over how to describe the changing of the seasons in a single sentence; other times I’ve cut entire chapters without mercy or regret. Knowing what fits into the story and what gets left behind isn’t something anyone else can tell you how to do. That’s your job as the writer.

And that’s the process, as concisely as I can explain it without inundating you with too many details. I’m always happy to ramble about the behind-the-scenes of writing. Despite the gripes I may have about certain aspects of it, this truly is my greatest love in life. I consider myself incredibly privileged and lucky that I get to pursue this line of work, and I can’t wait to share the finished product with all you lovely readers!

Look out for more on The Hunter, the Hunted in the weeks to come...

Until next time—I hope your days are as kind to you as you are to others.