by Carrie Charley Brown

Revision. When it boils down to it, we all have slightly different approaches to revising our crappy drafts. Sure, there are common threads…all the components that go into good writing. There are tons of awesome checklists and resources for revision that certainly make our task a bit easier. (Here’s a new favorite of mine developed by Elizabeth and Gregory Cowan.) But, none of that matters if we don’t have a stand-out concept with emotional resonance. I’m sure you’re wondering: How can I revise that?

LET RESEARCH LEAD YOU

Your research can lead you down many different avenues. I’d like to cover three of them today.

Picture Books with Similar Concepts or Themes

Identify what is at the heart of your book, and look for similar themes and concepts at the library. What are you writing about? Perhaps your story has the theme of overcoming fears. What kind are they? Are they specific to starting school, meeting new people, or interacting with dogs? While looking up subject titles on Goodreads and Amazon is a great start, you will want to delve into them more. Bring them home and get to know them. Analyze plot, concept, theme, structure, character, and voice. What works for these books? What doesn’t? How is your manuscript different? What makes the books stand out? How can you make yours differ even more? How can you mix it all up and create something that has not been done yet?

Picture Books with 5 Star Concepts

These are books that may not have the same theme as your manuscript. They are simply books that you immediately think: “This idea is so unique!” or “There is nothing else like this out there!”

Analyze the concept in depth:
What about it do kids relate to? What makes it different than anything else out there? Does it remind you of another story? If so, how did the author create something unique? How does the author use voice to enhance the concept? Does the main character drive this story in a unique way? How did you personally relate to this main character? Apply what you learn to your own manuscript.

Picture Books that Speak from the Same Point of View (POV)

When analyzing this category, it is important that you first know the point of view basics. Ann Whitford Paul covers this well in, WRITING PICTURE BOOKS: A HANDS ON GUIDE FROM STORY CREATION TO PUBLICATION. If you have not read this book yet, it is a must. Even if you have, Chapters 3-5 would be an important revisit during your revision experiments.

From which POV did you write your story? Third Person Narrative Voice, First Person, Second Person? Furthermore, which voice and tense did you use?

Now look at some of your favorite picture books. Even better, look at your current favorites. What works in today’s market is very different than what worked 10 years ago (and in many cases, even 3 years ago.) Which POV, voice, and tense do your favorites use? How can you use the “mentor text”, as Marcie Flinchum Atkins calls it, to help you with your current work in progress?

After analyzing your point of view, you may discover that you need to try writing it from a new POV. Don’t let that drag you down! Revision is the ONLY thing that will lead you to your final draft. Happy revising!

Thank you so much Carrie! Love your take on this. :)

 

Carrie Charley Brown juggles ideas every day as a children’s writer, teacher, blogger, and mom. She believes success is possible with the next best idea. She is constantly researching by reading TONS of picture books, and currently serves as a CYBILS Fiction Picture Book Panelist. You can learn more about Carrie, and many other amazing authors, on her website: Carrie On…Together!, or follow her on Twitter and You Tube.

Petite ReviMo September!

Thank you for joining us for Petite ReviMo September! We are going with an oldie, but goodie, the Choose Your Own Revision Adventure from our ReviMo Classroom Style 2014.

These are the wonderful tips all our ReviMo Classroom Style guests gave us! Some of you joined us for ReviMo Classroom, but some of you haven't seen this yet, either way, I hope these tips light a revision fire for you!

 

Also, I'm curious, do you find yourself pantstering or plotting these days? I used to be more  of a pantster, but have become more of a plotter.... Verrrry curious. Let me hear it! And thanks for joining us revising!

ReviMo 2015!!!!

First off, I'm pleased to announce the ReviMo 2015 - Revise More Picture Books Week will be January 11th-17th! Guest bloggers, prizes and more details to be announced later!

ReviMo History: Summer 2013, I had a rough draft file FULL of (poopy) stories. I was writing (poopy) drafts and revising each month with Julie Hedlund's 12x12 Picture Book Challenge. I'd written 7 (poopy, noticing a trend here? :D ) drafts in 7 days with Paula Yoo's NaPiBoWriWee  I was gearing up for Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo, when I had a thought; someone needs to do a revision challenge. My next thought was, why not me? And so ReviMo was born...

This year I'm hoping that ReviMo will be just as inspiring and exciting, but I'm going to work smarter not harder as I seem to have less time, all the time. I think we all know how THAT goes!

I've been so blessed in my writing journey. I've met a lot of supportive, kind and generous souls along the way. Thanks kid lit peeps!

Good stuff coming up:
Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo, Picture Book Idea Month (coming up in November!)
AND ChaBooCha Lite, Chapter Book Challenge starting TODAY! Best of luck ChaBoCha'ers!

Hope you'll join us for ReviMo!

Writing Process Blog Tour

Two weeks ago (sorry I'm so pokey, Penny!) I was tagged by Penny Parker Klostermann for the Writing Process Blog Tour. Penny writes picture books and poetry for children. She was named runner-up for the Barbara Karlin Grant in 2012 with my story, MARS NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. My debut book, THERE WAS AN OLD DRAGON, is coming from Random House Children’s Fall 2015. THERE WAS AN OLD DRAGON is the tale of a ravenous dragon who swallows more than his belly can hold. Penny is a very sweet lady who hugs her favorite picture books.

Participating in the Writing Process Blog Tour means answering four questions and then tagging fellow writers who will join the tour. Here are the four questions and my answers.

1. What am I working on? I have several manuscripts in the works, but my favorite is a fairy tale that critique mates and a professional editor have said is lyrical, lovely and that it stuck with them after they read it. Pretty big kudos in my opinion! I'm excited to polish it and research where to submit it!

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre? Hmm, that's a tough question! As a writer trying to get published it is key to write something fresh and new. This is something I strive to do. How do I do it? I listen to the funny things my kids say, I watch the world around me for fresh and funny things and I let my imagination run amok. Hopefully this will make my stories stand out from the crowd

3. Why do I write what I do? In elementary school art class we wrote a fable, drew the illustrations and made it into a book. Mine was about how the dog got his tail. I LOVED it! And proceeded to write a series of tiny books about mice families. Ever since I have loved writing and drawing and have dreamed of being an author. Right now I'm focused on writing picture books, but I have some middle grade and young adult novel ideas swimming around in my head (and written in various notebooks!).

4. How does your writing process work? I am not always in the mood to write, but if I am, I'll mull over a story until something clicks and then I either write out a draft on paper or type it up on the computer. Or if I have a story I love that isn't working I mull that over until I find a fix. If my creative juices aren't flowing, I can sometimes jump start them. Typically typing up the text of a favorite picture book is a surefire way to get my brain going and then I'm off. Sometimes typing up a favorite picture book inspires revisions on a story, sometimes it gives me a whole new idea. My kids (Speed, 2 years old and Peep, 4 years old) say a lot of funny and interesting things that sometimes turn into a picture book. 

To jumpstart revisions I ask questions that come from Ann Whitford Paul's book
Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide from Story Creation to Publication. Right now I'm studying Linda Ashman's book, The Nuts and Bolts Guide to Writing Picture Books
and that fuels my revisions too! 

There are also two sites that I use for critiques for others and also for my own stories: 
Picture Book Critique Questions from Writing on the Sidewalk and
 How to Critique a Picture book from ebooks4writers

I won't be tagging anyone, so I'll list some more helpful kidlit links. Here you go!

Great picture book writing class, Susanna Leonard Hill's Making Picture Book Magic

Julie Hedlund's 12x12, awesome picture book writing community

Highlights Foundation Workshops and Retreats - The most amazing writing workshop experience!

Fun writing challenges:

My very own ReviMo - Revise More Picture Books, revise crappy drafts every day for one week.

PiBoIdMo - Picture Book Idea Month, write down 30 picture book ideas in 30 days.

NaPiBoWriWee - National Picture Book Writing Week, write 7 drafts in 7 days.

RhyPiBoMo - Rhyming Picture Book Month.

Petite ReviMo May Day 2 - Doris Stone

 

What Do I Know About Revision?

by Doris Stone

When Meg asked me to write a blog post, my first thought was what do I know about revision?

Hmmmm. I hate it. I love it. It’s a pain. It’s bliss. I avoid it. I avoid it. I avoid it. But then, I sit down and do it.

I hate revision. It means I’ve made mistakes and my brilliant masterpiece, sucks. It means dissecting my story and figuring out what works and what doesn’t. It also means critiques. Yikes…critiques are scary!

I love revision. It means my tale is on paper. Sure, there are flaws but there’s hope too. My tale has a beginning, middle and end. I no longer fear that it’ll be lost in the fickle gray matter inside my head. (Not to say it won’t be lost in the jumble of files on my computer or in the disorganized mess I call, my office.)

Revision is a pain. It means reading my work over and over, one word at a time, aloud. It also means dragging out my dusty thesaurus. But wait, this is where revision is bliss. This is where I leave my story and find a distraction. Sometimes I clean my house, really clean it from top to bottom. Other times I read a good book, or start a new project and sometimes I just take to walking and walking and walking (think Forest Gump). Whatever I do I put some distance between myself and my work in progress.

I forget my revision and let my mind wander. Revision is bliss when I avoid it. I avoid it, avoid it and avoid it.

Then, one day I see a flash in my mind’s eye. It may be a word or a character that I needed for that story. Which story was it? What was it about? Did it have a title? My gray matter can’t recall it or even remember what it was about. I dig through the pile of papers on my desk. Not there! I pull up the file on my computer titled, “Stories needing revision.” There it is!

I sit my keister in the chair and revise. It’s breezy- easy!

I send it off to my critique group. That, as I said earlier, scares the beejeebers out of me. Why? Because I know they will want me to revise it.

Thank you Doris!!

 

 

 

 

Doris has spent her life surrounded by children. She's been called friend, babysitter, mother, teacher and "Nana". From everyday experiences she crafts stories. Her hope is they will enhance lives of youngsters and help them understand and enjoy the world around them. Doris is the creator of the Fearless February 28 day 28 minute Challenge. http://doriskstone.weebly.com/