richard harland's writing tips

home good writing habits the elements characters story language getting published

 

 
Good Writing Habits
 

Other Good Writing Habits Topics

 

1. Preparation

2.Writing Through


site map

site index

 

 

3. Feedback & Revision

 

(ix) AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

 

When I revise, there are always some areas for improvement, even if no one has identified a problem. Going through the novel from first page to last, I take these improvements in along the way.

For a start—there’s the start. The original version was a stab in the dark. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, I know where everything’s going, I can see exactly what needs setting up when. The opening fifty pages of a novel are crucial, and most writers I know expect to re-work and improve them.

Then there are the passages of action. I see ways of making the sequence of movements cleaner and stronger, so that the reader can really see them. Of revisions that I do off my own bat, I probably revise action more than anything else.

With passages of description, as when describing a setting, my revision is mostly trimming. I’ve almost always used too many words and thrown in too many details. Working over it again, I pare description back to the essentials.

As for dialogue, well, it’s either right or it isn’t. No use fiddling about with small improvements. If I need to revise dialogue, I set the old passage aside and write through in a flow, as if for the first time. I’m not a fast writer generally, but dialogue has to be written fast and continuously.

Action, setting and dialogue are three of the four Elements in the next section.

_____________________________________________________________________

manuscript

 

 

OTHER FEEDBACK & REVISION TOPICS

 

(i) YOUR READERS ARE YOUR NOVEL

(ii) FEEDBACK FROM ORDINARY READERS

(iii) FEEDBACK FROM OTHER WRITERS

(iv) FEEDBACK FROM EDITORS

(v) RE-PRIORITISING

(vi) TAKE CHANGES ON BOARD

(vii) REVISION THAT ESCALATES

(viii) KILLING YOUR DARLINGS

go to next

 

   
 
home good writing habits the elements characters story language getting published
 
 
Copyright note: all material on this website is (c) Richard Harland, 2009-10