DO NOT REVISE!
Really. That might be a strange thing to say during ReViMo– but I bet it stopped you in your tracks. At least I hope it did.
Because what I wanted it to do is get you to stop.
To not write, not rewrite, not self-edit, not revise, not re-vision.
I really, really want you to stop.
There’s place for the gotta meet the deadline, gotta get the manuscript finished in time for (fill in the blank), gotta meet my goal of x number of manuscripts finished/conceptualized/drafted; but that approach can lead to you feeling pressured, stuck, closed in. It can mean that when you look at the work, you don’t see it; you simply react to it. And that’s not the most effective way to revise.
I really, really want you to give yourself some space.
I’m going to suggest that when you’ve reached a point where you feel that you manuscript is complete, you stop. And you don’t look at it for a month. At least. Some of the authors I work with tell me it’s almost unbearable not to look at their work. I tell them to stick with it. And I’ll say the same to you. Find ways to distract yourself or keep yourself busy. Work on other manuscripts; jot down notes, thoughts, insights that occur to you about the manuscript in question in a notebook. But don’t take the manuscript out of the file drawer, don’t open the document, don’t succumb to those knee-jerk, reactive impulses. Because those same authors tell me that after the month is up, when they do come back to their manuscripts, they have a whole new perspective.
And that’s what you want to do: jolt yourself out of your familiar point of view and give yourself another perspective.
You know how you see your home just a little differently after you’ve been away on vacation? Or you notice things about a good friend when you haven’t seen them for a while?
The same thing happens with manuscripts. By not looking at your work, you’re consciously and deliberately creating the space that you need in order to alter your perspective. Distance gives you the opportunity to approach your work like a reader rather than a writer.
When you come back to the work, you’ll see the tired images, the stale adjectives, and the sentences that need tightening. You’ll notice little holes in the plot and instantly see where a scene or spread isn’t working. If you’re lucky, you’ll also see how to fix them.
And that’s when you can settle back into your writer mode, take a deep breath, and start to revise.
Thank you so much Simone! That was the perfect wrap up to a perfect ReviMo week!
Simone has graciously agreed donate: *A one hour PB critique to one lucky winner!
***PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!!!!! Today's Rafflecopter is different!!!!!!! Click HERE for a How To Pictorial, if you need to.***
The daily rafflecopter was being weird, so this is a new one. Today's votes are CUMULATIVE, so read carefully. To enter giveaway:
1. Revise that picture book draft. Comment on this post.
THEN:
*Scroll down to the Rafflecopter widget at the bottom of this post.
*IF YOU REVISED 5 or fewer days do this:
Under the prize listings, CLICK on the number of days you revised. For example if you revised 3 days, Click the "I Revised 3 Days" button. Then click ENTER and you are done!
*IF YOU REVISED 6 days do this:
Under the prize listings, CLICK on "I Revised 5 Days" Then click ENTER. Then Click "Additional Day" button, then click ENTER and you are done!
*IF YOU REVISED 7 days do this:
Under the prize listings, CLICK on "I Revised 5 Days" Then click ENTER. Then Click "2 Additional Days" button, then click ENTER and you are done!
PLEASE NOTE: It says there are 18 entries available to you for this giveaway, but there are only 7! Thank you. :)
Today is the last day to enter. The winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter January 20th. Enter Rafflecopter below, then for those of you who have revised 5+ manuscripts, the Grand Prize Rafflecopter will go up later this afternoon and will be up today and tomorrow.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
112 comments :
I can't believe we are the last day !
I hope I will be smart and manage that Rafcopter thing !
I really believe it is the thing to do... put away your ms and leave it. I was really annoyed having only 3 month fo a non ficton of 13 000 words... I am a bit distressed not to have enougn time to come back to it 1 or even 3 month later...
Thank You Simone for sharing your experience, and a big big BRAVO to Meg for giving us this week !
Thanks Simone. You are absolutely right. Time gives perspective, just as in our own lives, time heals. Sometimes, manuscripts need healing too! I look forward to receiving your newsletters.
And special thank you to Meg for hosting ReviMo. I haven't revised as many days as I'd hoped but glad to support you and will sign up again next year.
I was only telling my publisher yesterday that I needed time away from the current text to be able to revise it properly - trouble is we don't have that gift of time. This week has helped me immensely though - and I have sneaked off to revise a couple of other PB texts, which has given me a fresh view when returning to the 'text in demand'! I have so enjoyed this week. Thank you to everyone.
This week flew! Yes, I need to make myself put it away. Once I got so excited about a story that I couldn't put it down. I worked on it off and on for 3 days, day and night. And then…on day four, I sent it off to 4 agents! Yes, I just knew it was perfect and at least one of them would be calling me. I REALLY wish I would have put it away a month before I did that. Yikes!
I still can't believe I did it. And of course no one called. At the time I really just couldn't see ANYTHING that could possibly need changed. :) I really needed the space from it. Once I did give it a rest, I could see many things that were not obvious to me at the time. Thanks for the reminder! I need someone to beat that into my head.
Maybe, just maybe, I'll find time to revise offline later today, but I'll enter the 5 days I actually did revise. Thanks, Meg, for what turned out to be a great way to get myself focused on a manuscript for a short time - and with over 400 words shaved off my 1000-word manuscript, with an better ending to boot, I'm quite pleased!
Thank you Simone for that excellent reminder to put things away and let them sit. I have a novel i am itching to complete but I was advised to leave it a month so on my roster I see the blanks where I have NOT looked at it. I need to do that for a few PBs I am probably overworking. Good end to the week.
Thank you for a wonderful post!
I think I did this wrong. *sigh* I'm terrible at following instructions. I revised all 7 days.
Simone - I am terrible with setting my writing aside because I usually end up starting new writing without ever going back to edit and revise. This challenge has been great for getting me to actually revise.
Waaah… I can’t believe ReviMo is over. The week just flew by! First off I want to send a special THANK YOU to Meg for hosting ReviMo. It really got me into revision mode (I revised a total of 14 PB manuscripts and 3 chapters of my current MG) and I can’t wait to sign up again next year.
I totally agree with you, Simone! I always have 3-4 manuscripts that I am working on at the same time and if I get bogged down with one I can easily switch over to one of the others… then after working on them and getting them as spit-polished as I can I put them on the back burner to simmer for 3-4 months, or longer, before taking them out and rereading them with fresh eyes. It's amazing how easily I'll spot a word that need changing, areas that need pumping up, or characters that are off.
Such a valuable post! Thank you, Simone!
What a great post! Space! I need to give my manuscript space to grow. Thank you, Simone!
I really do like this approach--though usually I only wait a week or two in my juggling of ms. I will try longer when I am feeling stuck with a ms. Thanks!
"Distance gives you the opportunity to approach your work like a reader rather than a writer." Great tool that is an easy one to misplace.
Perfect post to wrap up what was an amazing week of revision inspiration!
Thank you from the bottom of my writerly heart, Meg and all guest bloggers!!
I'm driving my daughter back to school - 12 hours of driving today and tomorrow. No paper, pen or computer - just my imagination working to fill all the plot holes ReViMo helped reveal! Drive, revise (and knowing me, cry a bit as I leave my baby behind.)
Thank you Simone! I'm putting the MS I've worked on away to percolate and picking up a fresh one to revise. :D
You're so welcome! Thank YOU Lori. :D
Yay Sharon! You're on fire!! :D You're so welcome, glad you enjoyed ReviMo!
Love this advice! I do it often. Sometimes distance helps you get through a revision.
It feels really good to go back into my MSS. I think I was just out of the habit. I changed the setting on one, and it opened a whole new world of possibilities. Meg, thanks for pulling this together. It really helped me start my year off right.
Thank you Simone, after an intense six days I feel that I need some distance from my stories. Some are in better shape than others but I've definitely made progress in my thinking and the daily blogposts have been really inspirational and useful.
Thank you too Meg for all your hard work :)
I also like that approach. My 'wonderful' manuscript looks so different after a couple of weeks away from it!
I agree. The manuscript I revised yesterday, which I had not looked at for a couple of months, works so much better now. And I am going to retire the one that is really nagging at me for a while now.
Thanks for the advice Simone.
This has been a great week of revisions - my manuscript has much improved.
Oh, yeah! That may be why I am having so much fun this week! Been digging out those poor little abandoned babies from 2012! I was going to give a recent one the one-two today, but Simone has my ear now, and I will rummage some more. Thank you, Simone.
Meg, soft words of gratitude fail me here. It's been SUCH a great week: Revising Bad, crystal method, structure stimulant, cooking kick-a** mannys! Got a little carried away there, but I just had to let you in on my real time, unadulterated perception of ReViMo! Dope!
You've challenged me to put my revisions away until next month. All but one I plan to dummy. That should keep me busy until February. Thank you, Simone.
Meg, I can't thank you enough. I missed the first day because of circumstances beyond my control, but my goal will be a full 7 days next year. You will run ReviMo in 2015, won't you ? PLEASE!
I hope the week was as fruitful for you as it was for all of us. Many thanks.
Wise advice! And very helpful. As Meg said, it's the perfect way to wrap up the week. Thank you so much for sharing with us, Simone! And thank you, Meg, for hosting such a great ReviMo!
Thanks for the great advice, Simone! I loved what you said about coming home after being away for a while. It feels fresh and invigorating. And it's important to keep a positive attitude which can be hard when you're trying too hard to make that MS sing!
Meg, THANK YOU for this great challenge! I truly appreciate all your work and enthusiasm!
You got my attention with the first line! Good advice, and I need to follow it after this week of revisions.
Oh...a month? That's a long time! I'll try it with the pieces I revised this week...I'm sure this does give a fresh perspective! Thx for the tip!
Thanks for the advise. A little distance from a project can really help.
I'm a big believer in letting the manuscript sit a bit and coming back to it. I have never re-read a story (even after just a day) and NOT found something that needed fixing. :-)
And thanks, Meg! ReviMo has been such a wonderful week of revision for me! (But don't worry, Simone--all of the manuscripts had been sitting for a spell. Two years is quite long enough to let a story stew.) :-)
I agree the "let it sit" period on a MS before editing too much.
I've had the privilege of working with Simone, and I can attest that her approach is truly "heart-expanding"! Her knowledge of, and passion for, picture books is tremendous. The writer who wins a 1 hour PB consultation with Simone is a lucky, lucky person!
I had just reached that point yesterday, when I thought 'I need to put this away for awhile'. For one thing my critique group was probably tired of seeing it! However, that's not to say that this week of revisions has been unnecessary… on the contrary! I have done so much more on this one manuscript than on any other I have written, and I'm feeling pretty good about it. Thank you Meg, and thanks to all the wonderful people you have gathered to help us through this process!
the power of letting things simmer...ahhhhh
I put one away for 6 months and came back to it because I wanted to. The change in season, things experience since and the "nostalgia" for that older MS all helped a lot. Other projects appealed more in the meantime and those prospered because of it. If it is drudgery, why do it?
Yesterday's MS is tucked safely away for a month-long siesta. Today I'm working on something I thought was finished but, at a SCBWI meet-the-editor conference I discovered wasn't. So am hoping that not having seen it for a couple months will give me much-needed perspective.
PS - Meg - totally confused now about Rafflecopter. Will return in a few hours after revising to see if I understand it any better. If not, will resort to wine.
Great tip. I've been revising stuff that has been put away already. Ha. But there's nothing like fresh eyes. Thank you Simone! Much appreciated! I ALWAYS need a reminder.
Meg, my pal. ReviMo was a SUCCESS. Thank you, thank you. Squeezing you tight. (See you on the flip side.) I've always wanted to say that. *wink*
Hahahaha, my thoughts exactly, Julie my pal. (You rock!)
Absolutely the perfect way to end. Now that I've revised until my eyes can't see straight it's time to find something new to work on. :) Thanks Simone, and thanks for a wonderful week Meg!
I have follow the STOP rule, after revisiting some of my manuscripts I find that I have a fresh perspective. Thank you!
Patience is a virtue, but when I get excited it's hard to remember to slow down! I am trying. :)
I think this is why I accomplished so much this week. I rewrote manuscripts that have been long dormant. Thank you for helping me understand this.
STOP! and reflect on the week. Thank you Simone. Hooray for MEG!
This is so true! And it is hard to STOP! However, it's time for manuscript hibernation!
So very VERY important! Makes such a huge difference! I will NOT touch the MS I've been revising all week until the end of February - at the SOONEST.
Thanks for ALL of this. Great stuff!
Thanks, Simone. I feel this might be a great time to take a break and read children's books, submit what I previously completed, and study the art of writing for children. When I return to my stories, I'll have a clear mind, be more objective, and will begin to revise mo...
Great post. I haven't touched the manuscript I worked on today for four months. Fresh see. Thank you Simone! Thanks Meg for the challenge. I have 7 manuscripts in much better shape after this challenge!
Wise words to end our week. Thank you, Simone.
Meg,this has been an amazing challenge! Because of Revimo I was able to revise a manuscript that I haven't touched in months! Simone's post is perfect as I will be putting away this same manuscript today and moving on to another!
Thank you- great post. Giving yourself time to look at your work as a reader rather than a writer is a perfect way to approach revision.
Thank you so much for ReviMo Meg!
I have started to plan for more away time--even putting it on the calendar when I'm going to revisit a particular mss. if I have reminder to revisit, then I maybe I can quit worrying about it! :)
This is such great advice. My writing coach tells me the same thing. I better start paying attention!
I hope I did the rafflecopter thing correctly! As for today's post, I love it. I know that my muse doesn't work on command, so taking time is definitely a smart strategy!
Well this week has been eye opening. I thought and thought some more. I picked a ms and made some notes and comments and researched what I should change. I made the changes. I have a bright shiny new ms that I like very much. Now Simone I'll let it set a bit and repeat. Thanks Simone.
Thanks Meg, this week has been great!
Simone, Taking the time to step back, leave the ms alone, then revisit and revise has made this week productive and magical. Thank you.
Great post to end the week. Thank you!!
Oh that wacky Rafflecopter. ;) I intend to step back from the mss I've revised this past week…at least for a few days. Okay, maybe a week. I have some others waiting for me to work on anyway.
Thank you, Meg, for a fun week!
Dear Simone: Oh, I can so hear you saying those words. Thank you for the reminder. As always, your advice is timely. I've been revising Fly, but it just might be time to take a look at Victor. It's been about 6 months. So wonderful to see you here. THANK YOU< shiela
Simone, thank you for the post. I love the comparison of coming home after being away and how everything does look a little different. Time to take a break.
Such great advice Simone. i cna definitely see the value in this. Stepping away for awhile adds a new vantage point. I will be using this advice for sure.
This is great advice, Simone. I give this same suggestion, often, to my writer friends, but.... I'm not so good at heeding my own advice. It is tough, but will be part of my new goal. Thanks!
So true! sometimes we need that distance! What seems brilliant and perfect the moment it comes out of us may really need more work than we realize. . . and taking the time away from the MS will allow us to see that!
Very true, having a break from revising does give it a new perspective, if you can wait that long!
I heard that Walt Whitman spent the last 42 years of his life writing, rewriting and revising, "Leaves of Grass." He never felt like it was finished. I've also heard that some author's dislike having their work published because it's so final. Then the book can't really be changed. It's better to let it sit in a drawer for weeks than to send it off before it's had time to mature.
Wonderful advice, Simone. It is so true that a new and fresh perspective can make all the difference. I'll have to try to allow my drafts a little more time to "rest" before I revisit them.
And Meg, this whole week has pushed me to think and think and then write and write. It's been my first time at ReviMo and a great experience! Hope to work with you again next year!
Simone is so right. The other experience I've had is if I don't let the story and critiques sit, then I may let a critique sway me too far in one direction or away from my original goal.
This really hits home--what a terrific post to wrap up such an inspiring week!
Thank you, Simone! I am paying attention to this post because I haven't walked away from a ms for a month or more. They keep calling me back-LOL
I have one MS that is close to my heart, but I just can't seem to make it sing yet. I worked on it a lot at the beginning of last year and since it has been waiting. Maybe it's time to pull it out again. Waiting makes the heart err.. writing grow stronger. Right? :)
thanks for the advice!
Thank you! Like potato chips - it's best to just hide them away sometimes!
Wow--STOP is such a powerful word, and so difficult! Putting away a manuscript feels like ignoring a child. But the perspective is very valuable, and some times the needed changes seem so obvious after taking a break! Great post, Simone and Meg!
I enjoy putting a manuscript down for a while, because I really look forward to looking at it again and seeing it with fresh eyes.
Brilliant advice! When we put too much pressure on ourselves, we end up looking at our work rather than seeing it. Today, I revised the manuscript I've been avoiding. It's not tight or even close to perfect because it was a beginning-to-end overhaul. I'm going to polish it up a bit, then take Simone's advice and put it away for a month.
I have to become more of a reader than a writer now and I think that is one of my biggest mistakes when writing my current pb manuscript. Perspective is key and you confirmed that for me. I'm going to take a break and revisit, maybe even toss the first 4 drafts and start over again. It's not as awful to do that as I thought it was when this week's event first began. THANKS!
Thanks, Simone. I started the week working on the same manuscript that I've been on for a long time, and was having trouble getting the perspective I needed, so I switched to a new one. Things went much better after that. I appreciate the confirmation that that was the right thing to do!
Wow, that was a unique spin on revising! But so perfect. Thank you!
Yes! I'm taking a break from revising one of my stories and happily revising others. I hope when I get back to it I will be able to look at it in a new way.
Thanks, Simone!
Thanks for the sound advice, Simone. Waiting is hard, but worth it in the end.
Great advice. Thanks so much to Meg for this wonderful week.
Taking a break is a great idea because sometimes I lose sight of the forest through the trees. That doesn't mean that the process will be easy, but it's certainly sound advice. Also, thanks so much to Meg for a wonderful and thoughtful week.
I revised a piece I hadn't looked at in a year and there was a part that was good but not great and I was able to see it and fix it. Definitely works!
Today was day 7, and I was determined, doggedly determined, to get a 7th revision done. Printed out the old story, double spaced. Had it on the clilpboard. Pencil ready and sharp. Had to run to Wal-mart for life necessities...had a church emergency in middle of day, but still had a quiet afternoon. Before another engagement tonight.
DIdn't make it. A nap snuck up on me and zapped the afternoon.
Still, I was gonna force it, push it, get it done before 7 pm...but I sighed and said, well, look at what a week I've had.
Satisfied, I decided to let today ride. And felt good about it. Why? This was the most productive week in a long time I've had, and thanks to Meg, these wonderful guest posters, and this writing community I've got a new spark in my writing I know will last for the year.
Like Simone says above, a healthy pause is a necessity in this long-term process. Thanks for this timely advice.
Thanks, Simone. Wishing ReviMo wasn't over!
Thank you for sharing, Simone. I will take your advice.
First of all, I'm not sure I know what Disqus is and I just put a huge picture of me on here . . . so, there ya go. It's me. See me smiling? I have to say that this short, but hectic, week has been the best exercise for furthering my writing towards submission. And, I do like sitting in a drawer for a month. Great advise. Thanks, Meg and all the wonderful guests.
I like your idea of taking time away from your manuscript. I have done this and it does help. I even get surprised sometimes about how the story sounds when I go back. Sometimes its a good surprise. Sometimes its a not so good surprise. Anyway, one of the manuscripts I am revising on today has had multiple step back and wait episodes, but each one has been helpful. Thank you
Thank you Simone Kaplan for a great endnote to a great week. It is time for a long winter's nap. Thanks Meg Miller for hosting ReviMo. So glad I participated.
Thanks for your advice to stop and take time away from manuscripts. Sometimes it is really hard to do because you want your story to get to that polished stage, but when I make myself do this, I have found it very helpful. I really enjoyed your post, Simone.
Great way to end a productive week. Thanks for the writing advice--I do think absence makes the heart grow fonder--and the revising work clearer!
I had to chuckle a bit when I read this post. I wrote the most brilliant draft last summer. It had conflict, a cool setting, a character that made you say, "Awwww dat'sto cute!" This week I thought I would go back and work on it. It's ReViMo, let's revise! I opened my doc, read the first paragraph, and thought (although, I believed I said it out loud), "Geez, Louise! What is this?" It was a hot mess of a draft. I've learned a lot this last year. Learned even more this work. We've had some great advice. This particular advice rings so true. Thank you so much for reminding me about The Importance of Being Hands Off.
I couldn't agree more. I do my best revising when I haven't looked at my manuscript in at least a month even though it is torturous. Thank you for your terrific post.
I appreciate that point to put the manuscript away for a month or so. That usually gives me some clarity, though I admit that some manuscripts still seem opaque to me after a month - maybe those need a year in the file drawer!
Setting a manuscript aside is the hardest thing for me to do, but when I do I'm always amazed at the new clarity and perspective I have.
It's so true that a little distance can do wonders for our perspective. Thanks for the great post!
Thank you for the strong reminder that taking time to make something the best that it can be, actually does take time.
This was very critical advice for me, Simone. I never want to stop...whatever I am doing. I want to keep at it...until it is 'finished'. In fact, as I sat here at the computer, critiquing manuscripts for my critique buddies (I'm in two groups and this month the dates of both just happened to coincide)...my daughter came by and said, "Go to bed, Mom...it's getting late." I tend to get to bed REALLY late...not because I want to, but because I feel I need to 'finish'. Thank you so much for encouraging me to STOP...I need this advice for my manuscripts as well.
I will stop...for tonight...right after I finish this comment and submit the rafflecopter.:)
I promise!
Thanks! I agree that when you look at a manuscript long after you've finished it (or think you've finished it) it can be looked at with fresh eyes. The hard part is putting it away.
Thanks Simone, incredibly helpful reminder. There is time to plant seeds and time to let them sit in the ground and grow. Time to work and time to play, and I sometimes have trouble knowing when to step away and let things marinate in my brain. I great reminder. :-)
Don't revise? Lots of closed mind ideas here. Open your minds to positive results everyday, no matter the circumstances. .
Sometimes manuscripts must sit and wait and mature for a long time before they are ready for revision. One of the manuscripts I worked on during ReviMo is a story I wrote 7 years ago. The storyline was good. The idea was good. Execution in a clear and concise way was bad. I needed a few years of practice under my belt before I could tackle a hefty revision. Thanks to ReviMo, it is now submission ready!
Thank you for sharing your process! It's a good reminder that distance from a manuscript can work wonders.
thank you Simone :) loved your post! I have tried stepping away from a manuscript for at least a week, then once I'd return to it .....I looked at it surprised and caught myself saying,"Really? what was I thinking!" LOL
Thanks Simone. We definitely need time away from our stories. It's one of the many ways to refresh our brain.
Thank you so much for sharing! I love picking up a manuscript (actually forget about it completely sometimes) then read it over! Depending on the story, I think "wow this is great" or "oh my, what was I thinking when I wrote that!!! Thanks again!
Thanks!
When someone adds a gift of time, effort, organization and meaning to our community, that's a great gift. And when that someone has been the catalyst to enable others to do so too, that's truly a gift that ripples the world. Thank you for the week.
I've always struggled with the "leave it alone" phase, but it really works. I don't have the patience (DO IT NOW!) but continue to relearn the value of setting it aside and getting a fresh look at it down the line.
Yay Lynn!!!! So glad it was a productive week! :D It was for me as well. Glad you joined us. :D
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