Comments on: Shrunken Manuscript

By: YA Book Reads » Blog Archive » Interview with Robin Bridges

YA Book Reads » Blog Archive » Interview with Robin Bridges — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:05:15 +0000

[...] I usually write a chapter or two when I get a new idea, then outline the rest to make sure I have a big enough idea to fill a novel. Then I might rewrite those first few chapters and get the beginning of the story right before finishing the first draft. When I’m ready to revise, I print a shrunken version of my manuscript out and edit with blue ink. (Shrunken manuscripts come from Darcy Pattison’s book, NOVEL METAMORPHOSIS!) [...]

By: What’s On My Night Stand « Emily Smith Pearce

What’s On My Night Stand « Emily Smith Pearce — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 08:37:22 +0000

[...] of my work in progress, a young adult novel. I found out about the shrunken manuscript technique here and can’t wait to dig into that. Also using the spreadsheet technique (from the same [...]

By: Using the 3 Act Structure to Guide Novel Revision

Using the 3 Act Structure to Guide Novel Revision — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:14:19 +0000

[...] the revisions, the structure has become top-heavy. Skimming those chapters or laying them out in a shrunken manuscript revealed that several scenes repeated; there was escalation with each repetition, so it wasn’t [...]

By: Uma Krishnaswami: Shrunken Manuscript

Uma Krishnaswami: Shrunken Manuscript — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:23:07 +0000

[...] Novel Revision Retreats rely heavily upon the Shrunken Manuscript technique. Basically, you use the magic of word processors to shrink the font of the mss until you can see [...]

By: Shrunken Manuscript Pics

Shrunken Manuscript Pics — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 18:16:20 +0000

[...] Walker has some great photos of a shrunken manuscript. Click on the photos to see it [...]

By: Alternate Ways to Approach a Novel

Alternate Ways to Approach a Novel — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 18:04:11 +0000

[...] way works for that first draft. I believe that in the revision phase, you DO have to take a look at the big picture to make sure everything fits into [...]

By: Tracking Red Herrings « Nitz Bits

Tracking Red Herrings « Nitz Bits — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 21:23:49 +0000

[...] Retreat. One question about pacing made me think about how to use Darcy Pattison’s shrunken manuscript technique as a way to make sure that red herrings and clues are being distributed throughout the [...]

By: Final Thoughts on Revision « Writing on the sidewalk

Final Thoughts on Revision « Writing on the sidewalk — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 19:27:26 +0000

[...] then using a marker highlighting the strongest chapters. For full instructions please select this link. This more visual form of revision helps you to locate areas that drag in the manuscript. I think [...]

By: Charlotte Rains Dixon

Charlotte Rains Dixon — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:00:00 +0000

Wow, doing anything like this has never occurred to me. I am such a visual person that being able to see where the strongest chapters land would be hugely helpful. Thanks for this post.

By: Jeremy Trylch

Jeremy Trylch — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:14:44 +0000

Thanks for posting about the Shrunken MSS. I found it a very useful technique. Interesting and fun!

I don’t have a printer, so I used the highlighter in the Formatting Palette and saved my document as a PDF. I was then able to evaluate my MSS using the thumbnail drawer of the PDF. The thumbnails really shrink the MSS. Like a mini-me of the Shrunken MSS!

But it works great! And it’s Green! I posted about it on my blog with links back to your site as well as Kate’s

http://jeremytrylch.com/blog/shrunken-manuscript-green-variation/

Thanks for the help!