I've been meaning to post something on revision for a long, long time, and now that I'm in the throes of it myself (revising the first draft of a short story that's taking way too long!), I thought I'd share some nuggets of wisdom from the masters:
Today's Revision Nugget: Yearning
I've blogged about this one before, but it's so important to every story, so critical, that I wanted to bring it to your attention again, this time in the context of revision. Seems important to get this one thing right --really right-- before the rest of the story can fall into place the way it should:
Here's Robert Olen Butler (From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction):
REVISION TASK #1: Find the moment in your story or novel "in which
the deepest yearning of your main character shines forth," surround it with sensual, authenticating detail, and make it sing! Force the reader to respond "in a deep, visceral way to that first epiphany."
Go.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Revision
A 19th Century Condition in a 21st Century World
Yikes, I think I've got Monomania. Maybe you've got a case of it too.
In case you missed Benjamin Nugent's delightful NYTimes post on his time writing and living "like an unprosperous gentleman-landowner of 19th century Russia," here's the link: Upside of Distraction
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