Revising

I know so many writers who dread revisions and understandably so. We are often ripping apart sentences that we spent a long time crafting, trying to find the perfect words to help bring a scene alive, maybe even cutting several paragraphs or an entire chapter only to have to weave the important details back in other scenes. It’s not easy, but it is one of my favorite tasks. After my critique group meets, I can’t wait to get home and revise. Half the time, I’m already reworking the scene in my head while I drive home.

I was just as excited to roll-up my sleeves and make changes when I received my editor’s notes. I also see the importance of having an editor who loves your story as much as you do. After all, she will be reading it several times during the editorial process. Can you imagine having to read a story that doesn’t grab you over and over and over again?

What I’ve learned from the first round of edits:

• While my overall mechanics are good, I did occasionally slip into the wrong tense. Something for me to watch for in my other novels.   
• Comment boxes are a writer’s friend. Yeah, they are intimidating. Like a fat red marker on a term paper. But if you read them one at a time, it’s not so bad. My editor’s insight and guidance has enabled me to see exactly where my story needed work and her notes helped me to address those areas.
•  No matter how hard I tried to catch word echoes before my editor saw my manuscript, I missed several. I was even surprised how often my MC said ‘just’. J  

Will I have to make more changes? Most likely, but I don’t mind. I still love revising. This is probably proof that I’m a little weird, or maybe a nerd. I’m okay with that.