Source Immortal

One of the things that is most exciting about writer’s conferences is learning how other authors get the job done. I’m talking about writing here.

Some people are pantsers, they get a spark of an idea and just write. They may zoom like a Porsche on the Autobahn from start to finish. Others may chug along like a Model-T on country roads, going down unmarked lanes, backing up, turning around, maybe even going off the road all together. They don’t need no stinkin’ roadmaps.

Then there are the plotters, those authors who can’t even sit in front of the computer screen until they have an extensive outline of characters, chapters, setting, you name it. For them a roadmap (GPS?) is a must.

Still others, are some combination of both.

But what happens when you type “the end” that first time? What do you do then? How do you second draft, revise, edit?

I have tried several things over the years, but this one from a conference I attended last year has been a real winner for me.

After I write “the end” that first time, I celebrate. I recommend chocolate dipped strawberries and champagne but that’s just me. Then I print out my manuscript.

With manuscript in hand and with it still fresh in my mind, I take a pack of different colored sticky tabs and get down to business.

Each of the scenes in a character’s point of view gets a color, scene endings get another color, scene beginnings another. It is a page by page tedious process but it is worth it. After I’ve done all the tabbing and my manuscript is a Technicolor mess, I take a little break. It’s easy to skip this step but I really think it’s crucial to step away from the writing and the writer’s life for a little while. Read, clean (yuck), go on vacation, watch movies, take up a hobby, take up salsa dancing—whatever, just stay away from the writing.

I find that the down time clears the words out of my head, making room for new words, new ideas, new characters.

The next step is going through the manuscript color to color. First I read everything in the heroine’s point of view. I’m looking for character growth, consistency (her eyes stay blue) and increasing depth. By the end I want a full, deep, satisfying person, one who has grown, someone you were glad you spent time getting to know. Then I do the same thing with the other characters. After I’ve gone through all the POV characters, yes I even want to like the villain, at least a little. After all the characters, I look at all the scene beginnings. Do they entice the reader beyond the first line? Does the story flow logically? Then I do the scene ending. Does it leave you wanting more, make you want to stay up and keep on reading into the wee hours? Again is it logical, does it flow and are all the questions answered by the end of the book?

I cross things out, rewrite lines in the margins, do a cursory spell/grammar check, ask questions, note where I want to fact check or where I want to change a word—thank you Roget. Once I’ve finished, I transfer all the changes to the manuscript on my computer. By the way, don’t forget to backup your word, frequently, lest you lose it all and feel inclined to jump off the nearest bridge.

Once that is done, I recommend another hiatus from your “word baby” is in order. Clear your head again.

The last step is reading the new and improved manuscript. The ideal is to be a reader, reading the story for the first time.

Rereading this it all sounds like it takes a long time. And it does. But it’s worth every minute. Try it. You may like it.

Happy writing.