Shrunken Manuscript Reveals Novel’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Shrunken Manuscript Technique Helps Visualize Problems
Following my directions for shrinking, marking and evaluating a novel, here are some recent examples:

Fresh eyes

How do you find fresh eyes to read through a manuscript?

Don’t claim it. One trick I’ve heard is to put another writer’s name on it and

Shrunken Picture Book

How I Shrunk my Picture Book Manuscript – and Why I’ll Do It Again!
by Lee Wind
At a schmooze of the SCBWI Tri-Regions of Southern California, discussion ranged far and wide, pulling info and tips from many sources. Lee Wind showed a shrunken manuscript of a picture book, complete with glitter, colors and stickers. The report [...]

Revisions Take Time

Take Time to Revise
Jim Danielson, who attended last weekend’s Illinois retreat, has also posted a picture of a shrunken manuscript.
Here are other links for the Shrunken Manuscript technique:

Instructions for the Shrunken Manuscript Technique
Shrunken manuscript v. Spreadsheet plotting

Intensive feedback, like you get in a weekend retreat, can be overwhelming and after a while, I know [...]

A Washington Voice Retreat

Western Washington SCBWI Retreat: Voice
The retreat was great. There were about 40-45 people there and they were split into two groups. Group A came to me, while Group B went to Patti Gauch, then we swapped for the same presentation again. I sorta knew how Patti would approach voice (and I might have done many [...]

3 NaNoWriMo Tips to Make Revision Easier

NaNoWriMo is in full swing! That means over 50,000 writers are slugging out 50,000 words, working on the first draft of a novel, in the 30 days of November. But I’m thinking ahead to December when that first rough draft needs revision. Here are 3 things to keep in mind as you’re writing [...]

Surprise Yourself in the First Draft

I’m working on the first draft of a novel and I’m about 2/3 of the way through the plot, when something interesting happened.
Embrace Exploration
I’m at a point where the E, the main character, is house bound for a couple days and suddenly M, his friend, becomes the legs of the story, the only character who [...]

An Apt Phrase

When I’m writing or revising a novel, one of the fun games I like to play is the search for an apt phrase.
An Apt Phrase

Lately, I’ve been listening to recorded books of Rex Stout’s classic detective series about Nero Wolfe, the overweight, orchid enthusiast. His sidekick, Archie Goodwin, tells the story and does all the [...]

Kristin O’Donnell Tubb: Class of 2k8

Updated Post: When Kristin Tubb sold her novel last year, she wrote the following about the revision process. Then, Kristin joined the 2k8 marketing efforts and encouraged many of them to guest blog their revision stories this year; it’s been fun hearing their stories. Finally, Kristin’s own book is released this month. So, [...]

5 Resources for First Drafts of Novels

Need help on the first draft of your novel? Here are some great resources.

Planning or Outlining: Many revision techniques found here can also be invention techniques for those first drafts. As I’m working on my first draft of a new novel, I’m finding that many of the same techniques are helpful.
For example, [...]