Hello friends, and welcome to my new followers! I'm so glad to have you here--thanks for coming along on my little journey.
I don't have much time for posting right now, between my Big Sur prep and getting kinda slammed at work, so I'll keep this brief. I am currently revising. And revising. And revising. I am revising stuff I thought was completely done, sections that I thought were polished to gemlike smoothness, only to go back a month later and find all kinds of ragged phrasing. What the heck?! Does this ever end?
In addition, I did the unthinkable and just rewrote my entire first chapter. Thanks so much to Cherie and Liz for their critiques and advice on this. I NEVER thought that I would rewrite the opening. It was exactly how I wanted it. Until...stuff was pointed out to me and, well...let's just say I didn't want it that way anymore. Folks, if you're not getting critiques--get on it. They are invaluable. You write YA sci-fi? Try me. I love that stuff.
Alright, that's all for today. I'm going to leave you with another video. This is the song that got me through most of my first draft--I love it! And now I'm going to go chase the cat off the curtains.
Thanks for the update. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I could help, Rachel. The key to any critique is what feels right to you. Of course, if more than one person says the same thing, then they might be on to something. *laughs* And, you are right about critiques. It's so important to get them.
ReplyDeleteDon't you hate how revisions ARE NEVER DONE? Revisions are like Fashion or Facebook. THEY ARE NEVER FINISHED!
ReplyDeleteGood luck! =)
Cherie - Your comment just made total sense--it was kind of a facepalm moment for me :) When my critique partner agreed, I knew I had to kill my darling and start it over. Thanks again! I know it was a prize but I'd be happy to repay the favor any time.
ReplyDeleteI love this song! Good luck with your revisions! :)
ReplyDeleteahhh yes, the never ending process of revision!
ReplyDeletecritiquing is so important, but i think the time comes for us all when we just have to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! hopefully i'm at that stage soon or i'll lose my mind ...
good luck!
Good luck with revisions!
ReplyDeleteMy 16-year-old has turned me onto Muse ... I fought it (not sure why lol), but she was definitely onto something :)
ReplyDeleteI'm actually contemplating a serious (like, tear-apart serious) shake-up in my first novel ... the one that's completed. I'm going to write about it in the next few days and would love to have your feedback about which direction to go in or if I should just leave it as is.
Keep smiling : )
Hi Rachel
ReplyDeleteDo you want to do a manuscript swap? Mine is Upper MG/Lower YA (Tween ;))
As for Muse, I love them! I saw them on tour last year, from so far back in Wembley Arena it felt like looking at your background. I had friends down in standing who kept sending over excited texts from the toe-crush zone :D
Hope the rewriting of the first chapter was to your liking! I bet it's great. :)
ReplyDeleteMy wife just retired as my beta reader... If you can take on something to read I've got something in desperate need of another set of eyes. It's Sci-fi, probably not YA, but maybe.
ReplyDeletePolished? Finished? I don't think I even know what those words mean.
Thanks everyone for your encouragement! :)
ReplyDeleteKLo- I will keep an eye out for that post! Happy to offer feedback.
Elaine- You want to try swapping a few chapters first? My entire ms isn't quite in working order yet...
Rusty- Yep, I'm learning that having your spouse as a beta reader can be tricky. My email address is in the contact tab--send me some info and tell me more about your project.
Yay for a stronger, better manuscript. I'm finding during this revisions process that I'm doing things I never thought possible during the first draft. It's amazing what we can do with a little prodding from a CP. :)
ReplyDelete