Friday Five – A few thoughts on revising

Revising is not a necessary evil, revising is writing.

1. A first draft needs revision – period!

2. Take time to think about where your revisions are headed (in other words, don’t jump willy-nilly into them – but do jump in!)

3. Listen to your critique partners (if you have them) and your gut. Both will help you along the way.

4. There is no perfect method to revising – use several methods (character-deepening, plot reworking, setting, goals, etc.) separately or together, part or whole… each book will be different.

5. Get Started and Have Fun!

If you don’t do the revisions, no one else will. And the journey of a writer, although challenging a lot of the time, should be fun, too! Storytellers LOVE to tell stories! Revising helps you get to the story you’ll love to tell!