Brett Cooper
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Daily Thoughts
  • Other
    • Snoop Movie Script >
      • SNOOP Logline
      • SNOOP Synopsis
      • SNOOP Script
      • SNOOP Article
    • Collaborative Novel Writing >
      • BEASTS OF EDEN
      • THE HEART OF ATLANTIS
    • "In the Blood" Short Story
    • Movie Reviews
    • Articles
    • Other Memes
    • Daily Thoughts in the Classroom
  • About
    • Contact
Brett Cooper Books

revision needs many voices

7/17/2015

 
Revision is a test of patience and endurance. If you fail this test, your writing will be under-cooked, not ready for public consumption. 

Have you ever disliked a book or a movie or a song before liking it later? If so, it's probably because from day to day you are a different person in a different place in a different time. Your moods change. You change.

One key to revision is to keep cutting, shifting, adding and tweaking your text until you are consistently happy with it across many days and moods. Until the many versions of you are satisfied with the words you've put on the page.

So consider the following:
Have you revised when you're feeling bored?
Have you revised when you're feeling happy?
Have you revised when you're feeling sad?
Have you revised at all hours of the night and day?
Have you revised according to your tastes and convictions?
Have you revised with others in mind? (Have you recruited beta readers? They won't all agree, but some of them who are not your mom should be pretty darn smitten by your story.)

 If not, you're not done revising. Not if you want to maximize your chances of bringing joy to readers everywhere.
Once you have listened and revised according to these many voices of revision, congratulations! You are ready to submit your work to agents and/or editors. Let the waiting game begin. (By which I mean, start writing that next story!)

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    Brett Cooper

    Writer, reader, runner, teacher, father, infp, huffleclaw. 

    ​I l
    ove to spin stories and collect thoughts.

    Popular

    • a thought a day keeps lazy writing away
    • the art and business of the title
    • what if? - high concept and mental real estate in YA fiction
    • nice to meet you - introducing your protagonist
    • how to write a katniss-worthy protagonist
    • bring on the badass!
    • the strange, ingenious plot structure of john green's paper towns
    • hook 'em hard
    • be specific
    • make 'em wait (suspense rule #1)
    • revision needs many voices
    • 12 reasons writers should be runners

    Also try...

    Book Memes
    Daily Thoughts
    Other Memes
    Write YA Blog

    Archives

    November 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    July 2017
    July 2016
    June 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    March 2015
    June 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    June 2013
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012

    RSS Feed

    Tweets by @bcooperbooks
home
blog
about
© 2019 Brett Cooper. All Rights Reserved
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Daily Thoughts
  • Other
    • Snoop Movie Script >
      • SNOOP Logline
      • SNOOP Synopsis
      • SNOOP Script
      • SNOOP Article
    • Collaborative Novel Writing >
      • BEASTS OF EDEN
      • THE HEART OF ATLANTIS
    • "In the Blood" Short Story
    • Movie Reviews
    • Articles
    • Other Memes
    • Daily Thoughts in the Classroom
  • About
    • Contact