Slow and Steady — You Will Finish the Race

Oh, revision. That's what I've been doing lately. And to be honest, part of me misses the days of writing and creating, though of course, within revision both exist. Still, I miss the feeling of cranking out the pages and getting the story down on paper for the first time. There's something thrilling about that. Whereas writing is driving down a road never traveled, revision is going back and making the path smooth. There is beauty in that, to be sure, but it isn't always as thrilling. Some days I love it more than others, and I know some writers just rejoice in the land of revision, but right now, I kind of wish I could go back to that exciting, fast paced, write-it-all-down-before-it slips-out-of-your-mind kind of feeling.

In this first round of major revision, the pace isn't fast. It's not a whirlwind. It's slow and steady. I am not the hare in the proverbial race with the tortoise. I'm the tortoise. Moving along, getting it done, but certainly not impressing anyone (namely myself) with the speed, and not really doing anything flashy. Yet, there is a lot to be learned from this venerable animal:

The tortoise never gives up. He works at his own pace, allowing for the best work to be done instead of only completing a haphazard job. He is self assured. He doesn't allow a comparison to another animal's style to mess with his own, proven way of working. He is dependable. He will not burn out. He is self aware. And he will finish the race — with pride and integrity and just the way he was meant to.

We all have times of being the tortoise. Currently, this is my season. And at first, I felt slightly downtrodden with my lack of speed and flash and the basic need to just keep moving along without the excitement of the first draft. But actually, it's okay. It's more than okay. Working steadily, at your own pace and in your own style leads to the best work getting done. It leads to something you can be proud of. A piece of art that is well produced.

Revision is not easy. It requires commitment, and it requires that we go through each sentence with a fine-toothed comb. But rushing isn't going to help anyone, and it certainly won't benefit the quality of your work. And ultimately, revision is about producing quality work. So if you're revising, or just feeling stuck in the mire of writing, or struggling to get started, just remember the story of the tortoise.
Remember he is admirable and smart, dependable and able. And then work at your own pace, knowing you will finish. Because you will finish, and with commitment and dedication, you will produce good work.

Fights and Explosion! What to Look Out for When Writing the Exciting Scenes

You know that moment when you've reached the moment you've been waiting for? When you've been writing toward this big scene all along and now you are there? When you know the next pages will just fly out of you because you've been thinking about them so long? When the scene is so filled with emotion that you have to chase down your words because you brain is thinking faster and jumping around quicker than your fingers can type? That's where I was this weekend. One of the few and far between times when writing isn't just amazingly easy but it's also truly exhilerating. And now we can all collectively sigh, as we all think if only it could be like that all the time.

The reality is that exciting writing moments such is this don't occur often even though, man, they feel good. As I saw on my friend Peter's facebook post this week, most of the time we all just need to keep our butts in the chair until we produce that pages we need. But occasionally we hit the lucky moment of one of those rapid scenes where somewhere you magically just know what the characters say and think and move and do.

So what do we do when we reach these moments? I mean, obvious answer is we go with them, and enjoy them greatly. But what do we have to make sure not to miss? And in what ways can we elevate the scene to an even greater level?

Here are some things I think we should look out for. These are important all the time really, but especially in the most exciting scenes, and particularly those that are pivotal to the plot.

• Consistency of character. In our excitement, sometimes we come up with that great line and think of our future reader just being so in awesome of that witty line or poignant sentence. But the truth is if it doesn't work within who you are character is and what he consistently says or does, unforunately, it's got to go.

• Including important details. Sometimes in the heat of the moment, we forget to mention the little ticks and details that make the scene so tangible. Adding just one small fact such as the color of a shirt or a reference to a character's unique mannerism, or even inserting a subtle clue into the dialogue can make all the difference. Not only does it make the scene exciting, but it keeps it memorable. It makes it matter more.

• Watch your pacing. Pacing is a huge part of story writing, and often something that can be hard to figure out. When the pacing picks up in the exciting scenes, one thing to be careful of is that while you want it to be an accelerated pace in comparison take the time to help your reader understand exactly what is going on here — how the characters are feeling. Conversely, you want to make sure your scene isn't too slow. It still needs a decent clip to it. Rereading your scene with fresh eyes after a day or two can often help you evaluate this more clearly.

• Pay attention to what isn't be said (or isn't being done). So often, we focus on what characters say and the movements a character does. I think part of that comes from the fear that we want our readers to understand our message. We don't want to make it too subtle that they miss something. But what a character refuses to say or do speaks volumes. The secrets they keep are just as important as the words they reveal. Such secrets don't always have to be implicit either. You can call attention to the fact that a character started to say something and stopped. Or that in the chaos of a situation, she didn't choose the hallway everyone else did. Things don't always have to be verbalized to make an impact. But you want to make sure they are noticed. Because even if it does take a more sophisticated reader to pick up on the nuance of a moment, that moment can inform your character, or your situation, in ways perhaps no words can.

And, more for the sake of the writer than the writing,
• Remember this feeling to help you through the more difficult writing days. Because even though it might take a while, it is sure to come again.

I hope your exciting scene comes soon! Enjoy the writing, and know we're all struggling through the same things :)

Keep the Reader Reading — Disclosing Information at the Right Time

Providing the right information at just the right time is an essential part of crafting a good story. You want to make sure not to give away to much, to create tension and suspense, and provide a payoff for your reader among many other things. But in order to do all of these things well, one element to keep in mind is the idea of when, how, and how often you provide information that your reader needs to know.

For my current revision process, this is something that has been on my mind. I moved a scene up to make sure the reader has enough information to keep him interested. I studied my order of scenes to make sure each scene laid the foundations for the ones to come. But because my first revision mandated that I delete so many of my initial pages that essentially served as backstory rather than action, in earlier revisions, I really tried to analyze where information was introduced to make sure that the reader knew just enough of what she needed to know, when she needed to know it, so that she would remain engaged and wanting to move forward with the story.

As the story then progresses, however, it is equally important to make sure that while you provide the necessary information for your story, you also are not repeating the same information again and again. Of course, you want to make sure to give your reader all the necessary clues and reminders so that the story remains understandable and fluid, but repeating information can also become redundant. Even though certain characters might not know what your reader might already know, it is important to be aware that to simply restate the information for the sake of an unknowing character can negatively affect the reader's experience of your novel — because they already know.

This was something that my mentor brought to my attention for my current revision. Because my protagonist is keeping a secret from many people, as he begins to reveal the truth, I need to be continually conscious of both the way in which he does it —meaning word choice and the analogies he uses — as well as how much information is revealed, and potentially repeated, each time. The more I thought about this, the more I realized he was right. Of course while I was writing I thought it was important to make sure my protagonist explained things to the important people in his life. But with the reader standing in a place of dramatic irony, these conversations or revelations need to be abridged, or perhaps portrayed through indirect dialogue rather than a repetition of what has already been said.

Essentially, what I am saying is this: You don't want to sacrifice your reader for the good of a character. The reader is the one who must stay engaged. She is the one you want to make turn the page, and she is the one who you don't want to bore with your over description or constant reminders of what she already knows.

Much like my last post about keeping a reader emotionally engaged, you also want to respect the reader's intelligence and ability to make connections and remember what has already occurred. Sometimes, as the writer, it is hard to see it from the reader's perspective or as someone reading it with fresh eyes. We already know the whole story. But in this part of the revision stage, it is important to really look at your manuscript as if you'd never seen it before. However hard that may be, it is important to constructing the reading experience you want your audience to have.

But being aware of what's already been said will only serve to make your novel stronger. You want your manuscript to be as interesting as possible. And information that someone already knows doesn't have have the same appeal as the new information that can be found on the next page. One of the most important things for us authors is to keep your reader reading. And if taking out a repeated section of dialogue, or extracting information that's already been established will do that, then by all means, take it out!

Disclosing information in the right places can be like a balancing act — making sure there is just enough over here to balance a lack of something over there. But it will all be worth it in the end. When you're reader keeps turning the page, and there is no boredom to be found, then the tinkering and the revising will all be worth it. So ask someone to read your work. Or pretend you're a first time reader and see what you find. I can guarantee your novel will be better for it!

Don't Rush, but Hurry Up — The Importance of Pacing

Yesterday, my friend recounted a story to me in which someone said to her, "Now don't rush, but hurry up!" The more I thought about it, the more I realized just how perfect this statement is. This is exactly what you want to do with you a novel. You want to hurry yourself to the action; to the real meat of the story. But you don't want to rush getting there, or leave out any of the crucial parts.

Pacing is a complex problem that will come with every novel. Of course, we all go into a novel with a certain plan, knowing roughly how much time we are looking to cover, and how we want the narrative voice to read. But the difficulty of figuring out the level of detail that you want to describe, how to do so in an interesting manner, and then keeping this consistent throughout can sometimes prove challenging — particularly when you want your pacing to keep the reader engaged, and always wondering what will happen next.

This is something I've been thinking a lot about over the past two weeks while working on my third round of revision for my manuscript. My mentor instructed me to go back through every scene, and really evaluate how I could tighten things up, or if I really needed a scene at all. This type of evaluation was really aimed at the questions, "Do your readers really need to know this?" and "How does the exposition/dialogue/event further the story?"

As I went through my manuscript line by line, I realized there were three main areas were I could enhance and contribute to the pace of my story. First, I looked for material that I could cut. These sections were in some way unnecessary. This could be a description of a place or person that just doesn't need to be in the story, or a conversation that doesn't further reveal or build character, or maybe just a statement of the obvious that the reader can glean for herself. Perhaps it' two lines, or two paragraphs, or two pages, but cutting unnecessary material can increase the pacing significantly.

Next, I really looked at dialogue. Dialogue is something that can help the reader get a lot of information in short spurts, and deepens character. But because you want the dialogue to have a quick movement, longer monologues and lengthy conversations are often something to avoid. This was particularly important for me because of the age of my character. Thirteen year old boys are not often very verbose, so I tried to pare down my character's words particularly when it came to any type of repetition.

The third area I looked at was exposition. In my first draft I had tons of exposition to start the story. Now, most of it is gone, and the action of my story starts right when you read the very first page. This meant that I had to figure out ways for information to come through a variety of sources as the novel continued, but not in such away that it slowed down the action. Good exposition can be one or two lines, so I tried to focus on key pieces of information, rather than general descriptions.

While this is something to be aware of in the first draft, I think pacing is an element that needs to be looked at in revision, when you've gotten everything you wanted down on the page and can then see the whole scope of what you're working with. And just as pacing for each of your projects will be different, so, too, will your revisions. But the key thing is that for each of your manuscripts, you only want to include what's necessary. You want to plunge your reader into the action and keep them steadily wanting more and not feel as though they are plodding through or digging for some buried treasure. You want to remove the debris from the path and provide a clear line toward the destination, all while not take too long to get there.

So like following any treasure map, creating the right pacing may not be easy, but it certainly can be done.