Introduced first in 2007, authors debuting children’s books have formed a cooperative effort to market their novels. Last year, I featured many of the stories of how the 2k8 Novels Were Revised. This is part of the ongoing stories from the Class of 2k9 authors and how they went about revising their novels.

Will This Novel Revision Change My Vision of the Story?

by

Cheryl Renee Herbsman

Revision is such an interesting subject. In college and graduate school (in psychology) it was always something with which I struggled. Revision felt to me like I just had to change what the professor wanted me to change to please him/her. And as I did that, I found that the story or novel felt less and less my own.

Agents say, “Drop that character.” The first literary agency that expressed interest in my novel, Breathing, asked me to do a revision. They made a number of suggestions and I worked hard at incorporating the revisions I believed would make the book stronger (such as developing the character of Mama further). But they also wanted me to drop one of the key characters (DC) from the novel. And that was something I just couldn’t do. While they praised my work on the revision, they rejected the novel. This made me wonder if I was going to have to give up my vision for the book, but I pressed on.

Next agent loves novel, as is – and sells it! The next agent loved it as is and sent it out to publishing houses immediately. The book sold quickly, which was very exciting.

Editor requests revisions. When my editor sent a revision letter for my book, I became nervous. What would happen if I didn’t make every change? Would it be tolerated? I decided to hope for the best.

Will Herbsman’s vision of the novel stick? I made all the revisions I believed strengthened the novel (such as giving Savannah a summer job so she spent less time moping, revising the timeline for the program in the mountains so it made more sense, increasing Jackson’s passion for his painting). And I didn’t make the other changes in my book – the ones that just didn’t feel right to me on some gut level (such as removing Savannah’s visions or her saving Jackson from the train). And I sent it in. And . . .

. . . the editor loved it. And she told my agent how impressed she was that I stuck to my own vision of the story and didn’t make every change she suggested. That felt huge to me.

So what I learned with this first book is that it’s important to make changes, yes, but it’s also crucial to be the one holding the vision of the story that gave itself to you.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

It’s well know that I don’t want an honest critique on my novels or picture books! But for some reason, people keep giving me exactly what I don’t want.

Conflicting Emotions of Receiving a Critique

Yesterday, when my local critique group talked about my latest picture book manuscript, three emotions held sway.

• Embarrassment. I am always embarrassed when someone reads one of my works-in-progress, because it’s, well, not perfect. I know it’s not finished, it’s a draft. I know I shouldn’t be embarrassed, that everyone has to go through drafts. Yet, every time, I just want to hide. I want to cry. I am totally and thoroughly embarrassed.
• Outrage. What? You don’t understand that part of my story? It’s perfectly clear! Did you even read it? Even while embarrassment reigns, I’m also outraged that the readers didn’t understand my story, didn’t agree with my wording, didn’t feel the emotion that I know I evoked. Yes, I’m mad. At myself, as much as you, but I channel all that outrage toward you.
• Working it Out. But even while I’m embarrassed and outraged, I’m rewriting in my head. Oh, if THAT is what bothers you, I could do this or that, or say it this way. I won’t let on, of course, that I’m doing that, because then you would be right (see above!). But I’m doing it. Absolutely. Every time. Because I know that I’m trying to communicate something and if you don’t get it, then my communication isn’t clear and I’ve GOT to fix it. The rational brain is there, behind the emotions, clearly, calmly trying to figure out how to communicate EXACTLY what I want. Not what you want me to communicate. But what I want to communicate.

Critique group, I love you. But don’t let it go to your heads. Because I’m still mad at you! BTW, for the next meeting, I’m bringing a revised version of that last story back for a fresh look.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Ever have one of those off days? You don’t sleep and wake up grouchy. You’re half sick but not really sick enough to call it a sick day. You are just disgruntled and don’t know why.

5 Things to do on Off-Days

On those awful days, there are still tasks you can do to be a productive writer.

• Read out loud. We all know the value of reading a work-in-progress out loud, but do we do it? Not always. So take this day and just read the story out loud. You don’t even have to change anything. Just mark places where the word jumble up when you read that sentence aloud. Or places that confuse you. Or places that displease you. Plan to tackle those places tomorrow when you feel better.
• Spell check & grammar check. This is a great day to do those grunt tasks of spell checking and grammar checking. Just run the software and make the changes that you can without really thinking about it. If you run into problems that will take too much thought or concentration for today, then mark them to take care of tomorrow.
• Write letters. This might be a good day to toss off a first draft of a query or a synopsis; wait for a better day, though, to edit and send it out. Or write a fan letter to an author and make his/her day. Write a fan letter to yourself. Write email letters to friends and catch them up on your life. Letters are great pieces of writing and the process of connecting with another person might just brighten your day.
• Write an acrostic poem. I just took Crescent Dragonwagon‘s class called Fearless Writing. Crescent recommends doing acrostic poems at many times in the writer’s life. For example, before she was married, she wrote acrostics on the word marriage, on her current name, on the name she would have if married, and other related terms. Not fond of poetry? Then try writing something, anything, but in a new and different format from what you usually use. Try something new.
• Take a Sick Day. If you truly feel bad, give yourself the day off. Most jobs give employees at least ten sick days a year. When’s the last time you took one from writing? Take the day off and don’t feel bad about it. Sleep. Go out to eat. Take a walk. Relax. And come back tomorrow, ready to work.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

This week, I’m taking Fearless Writing, a class taught by Crescent Dragonwagon, children’s book author, cookbook author, writer and fantastic person.

Day One

I went to the Historic Arkansas Museum on Sunday evening at 6 pm for the Fearless Writing class and found it locked and dark. One other gentleman was also walking around, lost, looking for the class. We finally realized that on Sunday the class was held earlier in the evening. Sigh.

However, later that evening, CD called and said she would make up the class on Monday morning for the two of us who can’t read schedules. I hadn’t expected such graciousness! It was my mistake, not hers.

That first meeting, we were asked what challenges we face as writers, what burden we wanted lifted, what questions we wanted answered about our work. The groups’ responses were typical: how do I know if I’m any good, how can I do justice to this story, how do I make time to write, how to I put writing as a priority in my busy life.

In Fearless Writing, we are dealing with the psychology of writing, psychology of rewriting, the psychology of creativity. Why do we create? How do we validate ourselves as creators and our work as legitimate, worthy pieces of art?

For me, the transitions this year loom as my youngest son graduates from high school. I know enough about myself, my writing, and my writing process that I know I need to be dealing with this and not ignoring it. That’s why I’m sitting and listening to this fascinating woman each night. She’s reminding me of what I already know. Reminding me that I know how to stand firm and do my work.

Day Two: New Tools for Psychology of Creativity

Crescent Dragonwagon is also giving me some new tools for dealing with the psychological effects of creativity. For example, she uses acrostic poems as a way to “take your emotional temperature.” We wrote our full name down the side of a page, then she timed us and we wrote a narrative poem.

Interesting how the mind searches for story and closure. Almost everyone’s poem was a whole idea and usually had a narrative line. (Of course, they needed revision, but the first drafts were surprising & amazing.)

Crescent has recently sold Fearless Writing and it will appear as a book from Ten Speed Press in a year or so. When it comes out — oh, yes! — I’ll be letting you know!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

5 Days on Psychology of Revising

For six years, I’ve taught the Novel Revision Retreat across the country and I’ve thought a lot about the psychological issues that writers face as they face the work of revising a novel. It’s interesting that most psychological discussions of writing involve writer’s block. Not much discussion of everyday issues of a working writer. Of course, I’m not a psychologist: these are just my observations. Your experience for any particular novel may vary widely from this!
5 Days on Psychology of Revising
Hope
Fear and Humility, part 1
Fear and Humility, part 2
Gifted and Talented
Perseverance

Perseverance or just plain Stubbornness

We’ve heard the stories: Dr. Seuss? first book, To Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937) was rejected twenty-eight times. Neil Simon, in Rewrites: A Memoir tells of over twenty drafts needed for his first play.

Most of us would have to agree with Vladimir Nabokov, “I have written–often several times–every word I have ever published. My pencils outlast their erasures.”

Or Dorothy Parker, “I can’t write five words but that I change seven.”

Or John Kenneth Galbraith who jokes, “There are days when the result is so bad that no fewer than five revisions are required. In contrast, when I’m greatly inspired, only four revisions are needed.”

Or Truman Capote, “I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil.”

We understand that revising means doing it again until it’s right. But psychologically, that means the best trait a writer can have is stubbornness. On days when there is no hope sheer perseverance takes over.

Help

On those days, I highly recommend Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland. It?s my favorite books on the psychology of making art and goes into much more detail on many more subjects than I can here in five days. There have been days–like when I got that rejection of a novel after two revisions and fourteen months of dealing with an editor–that all I can do is sit at my desk and cry and re-read this book.

And start again.

Perseverance comes in two forms: revising until the story is right and making your art your way over a lifetime. It took Dr. Seuss twenty years after his first book to write The Cat in the Hat. ( 2007 annotated version). It often takes the work of years to hit your stride and produce your best work. We are in this for the long haul and this current book is just one of the waystations. Think career. Get stubborn. Persevere!

A great story of perseverance–it just takes until you’re 96 years old!

How do you deal with those deadly rejections?

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

5 Days on Psychology of Revising

Hope
Fear and Humility, part 1
Fear and Humility, part 2
Gifted and Talented
Perseverance

More on Writing a Novel

Gifted and Talented

If you have finished a draft of a novel (however messy!), you are Gifted and Talented.

The fact that you are Gifted and Talented has an important implication for revising your story.

GT Learners. First, I’ve talked with Gifted and Talented Teachers about how their students learn. When they learn something new, there’s a stage where they are very uncomfortable. Usually, GTs learn quickly and easily; they catch on. But sometimes the material is more difficult than usual, or more complex, or more puzzling. For some reason, they don’t catch on. They are unsure of what to do next.

At that point, GTs get uncomfortable and since they are rarely uncomfortable with learning, they often bail out. Anger, frustration, fear, impatience–do you experience some of these emotions when you face a revision that just doesn’t seem to be working?

The very fact that writing well is a process of revision is frustrating to a GT. They are used to getting things right the first time around. Maybe the first obstacle is embracing writing as a process.

Once you accept the process, though, you must also accept that facing difficulties in the revision process is normal! But if you’re a GT (and you are!), then it’s doubly frustrating because you so rarely face things that are hard. When I do the Novel Revision retreat, I warn the writers that they may hit a brick wall sometime during the weekend. The process of thinking about revision may start to overwhelm them.

Forewarned is forearmed. I try to head off the problem of frustration by warning that it is inevitable. When revising your story, you will face difficulties. This is normal! Let me say that again: Difficulties are normal. To be expected. Inevitable. A normal part of the process.

You have two choices: face them squarely and deal with them; avoid them and quit. And of course–you can’t quit!

As a GT, you are uniquely qualified to solve difficulties in revising because you do catch on quickly. You know how to locate and use resources that will help. You absorb information from a wide variety of sources. Given a day or so, you could probably tell me 30 ways that others have solved similar problems.

If you have a complete draft of a novel done, you are Gifted and Talented. That’s good news. It might mean you have a lower threshold for frustration, but in the end, it means you’ll make it through the writing process in great shape.

Hope
Fear and Humility, part 1
Fear and Humility, part 2
Gifted and Talented
Perseverance

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

5 Days on Psychology of Revising

For six years, I’ve taught the Novel Revision Retreat across the country and I’ve thought a lot about the psychological issues that writers face as they face the work of revising a novel. It’s interesting that most psychological discussions of writing involve writer’s block. Not much discussion of everyday issues of a working writer. Of course, I’m not a psychologist: these are just my observations. Your experience for any particular novel may vary widely from this!

are just my observations. Your experience for any particular novel may vary widely from this!
Hope
Fear and Humility, part 1
Fear and Humility, part 2
Gifted and Talented
Perseverance

Top 10 Ways to Stop the Sting of Critiques

Yesterday, we talked about the fear and humility of receiving critiques. Here are my slightly tongue-in-cheek Top 10 Ways to take the Sting out of Critiques!

1. Avoidance: Have someone else read the critique for you and only highlight the good comments. Read only the highlighted comments.
2. Revenge: Give the creep back an ever harsher critique than you just got.
3. Denial: Write out the reasons why the critiquer is totally off base. Ignore all suggestions.
4. Excitement: Fake excitement about the critique and tell everyone you know exactly what’s wrong with the story and how you plan to fix it.
5. Suspicion: Read each comment with the suspicion that the critiquer is trying to get your manuscript out of the running, so their own manuscript will do well. Therefore, you can safely ignore any comments you want to.
6. Surprise: Allow each comment to be a revelation at how far off base this critiquer is.
7. Pride: Take pride in your ability to “take it” from the tough ones.
8. Loneliness: Understand that you and you alone are in the situation of receiving harsh critiques; such things have never been written about any manuscript and will never be written again.
9. Forgiveness: Realize that the critiquer has sinned by so harshly criticizing your story and at some point they will have to come and ask for forgiveness; be ready to give it gracefully.
10. Hope: Find hope in the good things the critiquer noticed, and Hope in the process of revision.

Read more:
are just my observations. Your experience for any particular novel may vary widely from this!
Hope
Fear and Humility, part 1
Fear and Humility, part 2
Gifted and Talented
Perseverance

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

5 Days on Psychology of Revising

For many years, I’ve taught the Novel Revision Retreat across the country and I’ve thought a lot about the psychological issues that writers face as they face the work of revising a novel. It’s interesting that most psychological discussions of writing involve writer’s block. Not much discussion of everyday issues of a working writer. Of course, I’m not a psychologist: these are just my observations. Your experience for any particular novel may vary widely from this!

Hope
Fear and Humility, part 1
Fear and Humility, part 2
Gifted and Talented
Perseverance

Get regular updates from Fiction Notes

Hope

Once we finish a draft of a novel and start thinking about revising, there is hope. In her slim volume, Writing Past Dark: Envy, Fear, Distraction and Other Dilemmas in the Writing Life, Bonnie Friedman starts like this:

The happiest I’ve even been was departing before dawn to the bus station in Madrid. The tiny bread shop and the tobacconist were still dark. The wet pavement gleamed when a city bus heaved past. Ahead of me lay unknown towns and countrysides that matched names I knew only from a map, and a new friend who was herself departing just then from across Madrid clutching a plastic bag like mine that was filled, like mine, with an egg-and-potato sandwich and a tangerine. The world was doors opening in all directions. I felt free, and awake, and full of laughter. Writing has often been just like that for me.

That’s hope.

It’s the feeling that we are at the top of our game and building on this solid draft, we can accomplish something unique, special, earth-shattering.

We need that hope at the beginning, or else we wouldn’t start. We know that it will be long and involved and at times discouraging to dig into this story and start messing with it. We know that the results are uncertain. We need that hope.

When Pandora opened the forbidden box, she released all the world’s evils. It sent the world into despair. But then, Pandora opened the box once more and found Hope waiting. Though Hope seemed weak, it was the strongest of the things released that day.

Hope, not optimism.

Optimism is a general outlook on life, or is based on positive thinking. Hope is an emotional response, in our case, the response to a specific task of recasting a story into a stronger form. It is based not on positive thinking: I know I can do this revision well. For me, it?s based on my hope that the writing process will come through for me again.

Hope, not despair.

Despair has enough play in the life of a writer: witness the steady stream of rejection letters that we receive. It’s enough to send me into a writer’s block. But when I face my story, I forget all that. It belongs to the world of submissions and that’s not the world that concerns me when I?m revising. While revising, my loyalty is to the story, the characters, the language–what does this story need to come alive? How can I tell this now familiar story in the strongest way possible? I hope that the process will reveal the best way to tell this story.

Not false hope.

Am I indulging in false hope? No. False hope would be based on laziness, unwillingness to try. I approach revision with an open attitude and try to find ways to work with the story better. I use a variety of writing strategies to find new ways into the story. I may fail, yes. But my hope is based on process, work, past experience of struggling through difficulties in telling a story.
Here is hope: When I look at my story I realize that there’s one more thing for me to try. Hope sends me forward into revision.

Emily Dickinson on Hope

Emily Dickinson’s poem, Hope.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win