I don't know how relevant this advise will be to each of you personally, but I have thrown together a mini-guide on the subject of revision. Some might find it silly, but I have done or contemplated all of these. They are simple exercises that I feel should accompany the drafting process. I will not be covering anything terribly obvious such as checking for proper spelling and grammar. I
Write a synopsis of your own book.
Do not look at your manuscript. Try 150 words, because this is about all you're going to get in the synopsis paragraph for your query letter, should you choose to approach a literary agent. Next, try a 1-3 page synopsis. Then, try something longer such as a ten to twenty page outline or summation of the entire book.
When finished, did it end up being accurate? If not, you might have some internal conflict going on between the story you
wanted to write, and the story you really
did write. Establish right now before you go much further that what you have written is really the story you wanted to write, and it is the best idea you can produce; a synopsis can also help you look at an abridged version of your own work and help you decide if it's golden or just a goose egg.
This exercise is also a good test to see how well you know your own story by heart; it will be a big help to navigate around the entire manuscript with relative ease if you know when and where everything occurs. (Bookmarks in MS Word are great for this, too, I hear!)
II
Be prepared to identify the genre of the novel you have written and (possibly) why it is unique when compared to the literature already out there. Also having a firm grasp on who will want to read this story (your target audience) is a great idea, too. Literary agents and publishers especially like when a writer has plans and goals beyond just getting published.
III
These will likely be in your notes, if you're one of those types. Jot down the names of all your major (at least) characters and address a few questions. Who is this person? Why are they important/ unique/ necessary? What did they want? Did they accomplish what they wanted? Did they change in any way, and if so, how? How would the story be in danger by removing this character entirely? You should know the answers to ALL of these questions, and if any of them are weak or evasive, then you should consider working on that character.
IV
Ask yourself if it would have been possible to write this story in a different POV (such as going from first person to third person omniscient) and subsequently gaining any benefit. Most likely you will be very defensive in the POV you have chosen, and I believe most writers naturally are. Often writing only one short scene or a couple of pages in a different POV should immediately tell you which choice is best.
V
Just for fun, consider different ways your novel could have ended. If you choose to go a step further, try writing a few different versions to the ending. The only important thing here is to make sure the ending you do ultimately choose is the most satisfying resolution to the plot and does full justice to the characters and world you have created. They deserve it!
VI
Read your dialogue out loud, if it does not embarrass you too greatly. If you wish, you can read the ENTIRE novel to yourself. I did this at least three times. For the sake of this exercise, I really feel though that the dialogue is the most important. If a friend or family member does not mind, you should consider having them read parts back and forth with you. Even if you are both terrible actors, there should be no problem just reading the lines without laughing or stumbling over speech. As mentioned briefly in my last post, this is usually caused by the brain being confused or disagreeing with what your lips are reading on the page. Circle those sentences and rewrite them.
VII
Here is my last tip for now, and this was probably my favorite exercise. I used to hear in college from a fanatic that one of Shakespeare’s greatest talents was his ability to make every word count. She often told me that you cannot remove any one act from a Shakespearean play and have it still make sense or be as meaningful as intended. Everything matters. While Shakespeare is hardly my favorite author, ask yourself about the significance of every scene or chapter in your own story. What is the significance of this scene? What does it reveal or introduce to the reader? What would be the impact of combining this scene with another or removing it entirely? If you are not convinced by your own answers about keeping every single scene, you should consider hacking away.
That is all for now.
(This entire post was written fairly quickly, and I may decide to revise and expand on it later. Please go easy on me if you feel any of my exercises “suck.”)
Cheers,
WD