Get it Written

So here I am, the middle post of the month, hoping for something to share with you that hasn't already been said earlier. Maybe a profound phrase that will forever change your writing, a funny line to be quoted over and over again at writers' groups and conferences world-wide. I'd even settle for a phrase that boomerangs around the world via blogs and emails because everyone realizes just how true it is.

And it's not coming. Sorry.

So put away your little cut-and-pasters, close out your social networking links, and file away those index cards pulled out in hopes of getting some tidbit of information.

It's not coming.

Editing and revisions are so easy in our computer age. We have spell-check, we have cut-and-paste, we have software programs to manage outlines, scenes, characters, plot lines, and chapters. We can switch the entire story thread by moving a scene from Chapter 6 to Chapter 2.

It's too easy.

Just for a moment, think back to "War and Peace" by Tolstoy. He wrote his first draft in 1863 with a feather quill and inkwell. It was first published in 1865. He re-wrote the entire novel over a three-year period because he wasn't satisfied with it. It is said his wife rewrote the entire book, by hand, 8 or 9 times, before he was satisfied with it. This book is 1,446 typewritten pages long on my computer -- single spaced.

One of my favorite Charlie Brown scenes is where he has to read the book over Christmas break and he keeps falling asleep. He complains to Linus, who says, "Mrs. Tolstoy wrote this book, by hand, using candlelight, 9 times, and you can't even stay awake long enough to read it once!"

Today anyone with a computer can sit down and write a book. Anyone who really wants to perfect their craft can go to conferences, join critique groups, buy books. We can hire an editor to do the hard work. We can get an agent to market the book to a publisher for us.

It's too easy.

Which sometimes makes it not worth the effort. Too many people start a book, then when the going gets tough, they move on to something else.

I want to encourage you -- if you've got a story inside you, get it out. On paper, on the computer, on a tape recorder, in a digital audio file. Just get it down.

And, if this story eats at you until you can't ignore it, if the characters pop up in your dreams and your thoughts, if you are drawn to research the setting -- get it down on paper.

Imagine if Mrs. Tolstoy had said after the first draft, "Not doing any more. One is enough."

One is never enough. Face it. You are going to have to edit once you get it written.

But get it written first.

It's too easy.

Write, Research, Write, Edit, Write, Revise...and Edit Again

Some days it feels like a never-ending cycle or an insurmountable task. You might even feel like your book and the task is 10x larger than you. And for most authors or writers, this is true.

I recently was chatting with some ladies in my Bible study group about my writing process. One of them asked how I keep it all straight when I'm working on a series where characters re-appear from book to book, or where facts and details must remain the same from book to book.

That's a good question. I chuckled and said, I don't. :)

All right, so actually, I do. I maintain spreadsheets and documents on my computer with all those agonizing details I painstakingly researched and compiled before I ever typed out the first word of my book. As I'm writing, I refer back to them whenever necessary.

And when all else fails, there's always my editor!

She's caught rather embarrassing things like character names that changed from book to book or even the names of a town that was featured in the first book, then changed in book 3. *blushes*

Let me tell you, it's hard enough when your manuscript comes back looking like it was engaged in a fight with a ketchup bottle and lost. It's worse when some of the edits are simple and obvious facts that were just missed.

But situations like that keep us humble, right? I mean, no one's perfect. And every book that's written is a result of a collaboration between the writer, the critique partners, the editors and the readers. No author is an island. So, it's wise to establish a strong team of individuals you trust to help you when the revisions phase is upon you.

Me personally? I LOVE revisions and editing. I do!

Because it's the chance I have to strengthen my story, develop my characters, add a plot line, and make the story truly shine. Is it fun? Depends on your perspective. There are days when I get stressed and want to pull out my hair. But overall, I enjoy that stage more than the actual writing, but each stage has its ups and downs.

Also, it takes time and patience to self-edit your work, so don't rush through it. And don't fall in love with your fiction story. Look at your work honestly so that you can find any problems and fix them.

Now, it's YOUR turn. What are some tricks YOU use when editing your work? Writers are always looking for new ways to make this process easier. So, I'd love to hear what YOU do. Just never know when a tip you have might help someone else find success.

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Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since she was a child. Today, she is an author, online marketing specialist and freelance web site designer who lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart. They have 1 daughter and a border collie. She has sold eight books so far to Barbour Publishing, is a columnist for the ACFW e-zine and writes other articles as well. Read more about her at her web site: http://www.amberstockton.com/.

My Checklist for Chocolate-Induced Content Edits

Ironic that I should kick off this month's topic, Editing and Revisions. I just finished an eleven page content edit for the third book in my contemporary Oregon series entitled Fine Feathered Friend (Barbour Heartsong Presents.) I rejoiced when I got that. At least it wasn't fifteen pages like the first book's edits.

I have a system when tackling edits of this nature. See if yours is similar.

1. I open the large, thick attachment with fear and trembling.
   
   
2. I peruse it, looking for key words and phrases. (Great job! Made me smile! You are the best, funniest, most talented author I have ever worked with!)
   
   
3. When I don't find those key words and phrases, I minimize the window and tear my kitchen apart for chocolate. I know I'm going to need it.
   


4. After a quick trip to the mini-market on the corner for chocolate, I open the window again and look at the comments with a more professional eye.


5. My particular editor goes chapter by chapter. Generally, I skim through it the first time, changing the easy stuff first rather than getting bogged down on something that requires major thread surgery. This bouys my confidence when I see that much of it is easy to fix. (In God Gave the Song, for instance, she suggested I change a rock to a boulder. Whatever. I did it.)


6. Then, I hit the things that require more thought, making sure my bowl of Hershey's Almond Toffee Milk Chocolate Nuggets is within reach. (In Fine Feathered Friend, she worried about the hero's grandfather and if he'd ever had the doctor's appointment that I had mentioned, and what was the outcome? Um...no, I totally forgot about it. And in the course of the story, I had to redo some things to show that he missed his appointment. And once you mess with a thread, you have to make sure that you haven't snipped it somewhere else along the line.)


7. I go item by item, checking off each one or making a notation. (Ask raptor center about this, talk to crit group about how to approach this, and my favorite, IGNORE!)


8. I try to leave enough time to read the entire story over again with all of my changes. This will, of course, prompt a little more tweaking, but is well worth it. (NOTE: If the editor has sent your manuscript for you to make track changes, DO NOT accept all of the changes unless instructed to do so. If you want to read a clean manuscript, save to a new document, then hit accept all.)


9. Satisfied with my changes, I send them back to my editor and finish off the bowl of chocolate as my reward.


10. I step up my Curves program to five days a week instead of three to get rid of the chocolate-generated fat on my thighs.

That's how I approach edits that come back from my publisher, but I utilize the principle in a similar way before sending it out in the first place. Attack the small stuff, assault the larger picture, annihalate the bowl of chocolate. Regroup at Curves.

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Kathleen E. Kovach is an award winning author, leader of the local critique group JOY Writers, and the Rocky Mountain Zone Director for American Christian Fiction Writers. Kathleen has three books published with two more contracted. A mom and grandmother, she lives in northeast Colorado with her husband of over three decades. Visit her online: www.craftcinema.blogspot.com, www.kathleenekovach.blogspot.com, www.KathleenEKovach.com.