(This was actually supposed to be up yesterday but my internet went out so I'm putting it up now. :D)
My post today is going to revolve around two quotes that I came across. I love sitting and looking at quotes about writing and just about anything else and these two just happened to fit my current situation perfectly, so of course they inspired a Blog Post. :) The first one is this:
Yeah. Anyone who is (or has) editing/rewriting their Novel, knows what I am talking about. You read through it with your red pen in hand and before you know it, this Character is taken out, this scene gets cut, a chunk of plot needs re-worked…..and pretty soon you are butchering your baby. *cue the gasps, heart-shattering and fainting*
But, as time goes on, you fill in those plot holes, and fix up that scene and new characters come in and at LAST, you have a new story. :) So, Authors are murderers and life savers...add that to our list of awesomeness. :P
I am currently editing my First Nano Novel from back in 2013, and I feel like both of those (murderer and life-saver) at once, so seeing this quote made me excited and it now resides on the home screen of my iPod.
This next one is something all of us have gone through probably, and gave me that “YES SOMEONE UNDERSTANDS” moment:
UGH. Don’t think this needs too much explaining. Ya’ll know what I mean. :) It took me a long time to get past the above stage and into the excited “I am redoing my Novel” stage that I am in now.
So now that I’ve shared those fun and painfully true pics, time to get down to the suggestions I have for coping with and even getting past them.
1). Put the Novel Down.
I wrote Draft one and then moved to Draft 2, which was more of an editing process because I banged that bad boy out for my very first Nano Session and got over 50,000 words. I completed that, and then looked at it in satisfaction. I went and got it bound and handed it off proudly to Beta Readers. They read it, gave me their notes and feedback and after I had assembled my Note Binder, I left it alone. I actually don’t think I picked it up again for close to a year. My eyes were opened….to a lot. :) I tried restarting it a few times, but I felt so overwhelmed my motivation wouldn't ignite. But after a while, I didn’t feel quite so downhearted about it, and when I picked it up for probably the third or fourth time, I was rested and ready to tackle this again.
2) Listen to music
Listening to music can get me so excited about my Characters. I have yet to find the perfect song for my FMC but I found a song for my MMC, and a song for the FMC/MMC romantic relationship. I listen to them often and they make me so happy. :)
3) Work on Profiles
I went online and I found a detailed Character profile and am filling it out for all my characters. While this is painful as well as helpful, it’s so worth it, because I see what i have and what I don’t, and I think about how much more awesome they are going to be when I’m done.
4) Roleplay!
If you can Roleplay your book Characters, then snap that opportunity up! I never had an interest in it, until my (awesome) Beta-Reader suggested I try it to help me with my FMC and I am quite glad that I did. First of all, it’s so much fun. Second, it keeps me thrilled with my characters, seeing how they interact with other “people” and sometimes the things that they do surprise me. A lot of what I’ve learned is going into this next Draft to help me make them better. I RP with a great group of friends, so I highly suggest getting your writer buddies together and setting that up.
So there you have it, a few tips to hopefully help you along with any editing or revising blues. Just keep yourself excited and interested in your Characters, it will help you go a long way.
~Ria Faith
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