Re-Tweet, Revise, Repeat

Developing your writing style requires experimenting, so I'm writing my blog Twitter style. Revision advice 1 Tweet at a time.#RevBlog

1. Re-envision. See your manuscript in new ways. Write from another character’s POV. Write a poem in response to the 1st draft.

2. Go Draftless. Set the first draft aside and rewrite it to see what new discoveries you can make. Meld them later. Or not.

3. Go Poetic. Do a poetic weed. All active verbs. Cut conjunctions, articles, adverbs, abstract words. Focus on concrete imagery.

4. Pass On(e):Address one element each pass through—character, then plot, then imagery, then active voice, style, tension...

5. Expand: Look for expansion joints, places where your story or poem can grow-backstory? Steps in the story that are told vs. shown...

6. Contract: Where is your literary weight off? The space dedicated to an image, character, scene should be equal to its importance.

7. Voice: Have you employed as sense or orality & originality in your narrative voice. What does your work see say, others don’t?

8. Slant: Is your dialogue character specific? Does it slant to suggest things that aren’t on the page, but happened between the characters?

9. Once More With Conviction: Does your work unfold to reveal its theme vs. state it directly? Go for the reveal.

10. It’s Mine. All Mine. Make the work your own. Unique characters. Plot in unexpected directions. Use images that brings irony to new levels.

Want to know more about any of the topics in this #RevBlog? Stop by the blog on Goodreads and ask a question.
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Published on September 25, 2015 09:09 Tags: advice, character-development, creative-writing, fiction, imagery, plot-development, poetry, revision, twitter, voice
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Word Wanderings Rest Stop

A. LaFaye
A few words on writing and wandering and where the two weave together.
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