What can you do when you reach revision overload, but need to continue editing to meet your deadline? Mix things up a little. Work your way backwards from the last scene to the first. Changing the sequence of the action breaks you away from the story enough to allow for a closer evaluation. This method can help you spot unnecessary dialogue, characters who contribute nothing, action that goes nowhere and scenes that don’t move the story forward.
Another trick is to change the font of your manuscript. Make the characters larger. Use Arial instead of Times New Roman. Have blue text instead of black. Print out several pages rather than work directly from the computer screen. Playing around with the look of your WIP will help create the distance you need to see the words from a different perspective.
What do you do to overcome revision overload?
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That's actually a great tip. Mixing things up breaks up the monotony in a routine. I can see that helping me in my edits, tons. Thanx!
ReplyDeleteCheck out how creative and fun you are! Great ideas.
ReplyDeleteI usually just remind myself how bad I want this writing thing and force myself to plow ahead.
Wow! These are great ideas! Can't wait to try them out. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOooh, I like this idea. Great tips, changing size and font.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
oh that's great advice! thanks. i'll have to remember that for the next go-round. :)
ReplyDeletejeannie
Where Romance Meets Therapy
Thanks, for the great ideas, Lynnette. I work in Courier New, but I switched my first chapter to Times New Roman for a contest recently. The pages looked fresh and inviting. When I proofed the entry in the new font, I saw things differently and caught a typo I hadn't noticed before.
ReplyDeleteThose are great ideas...I like to read my magazines backwards, but never thought of reading my MS that way!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips. A lot of times when I get burnt out on revisions, I take a break and read a book. That reminds me of what I'm trying to accomplish.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great tips! I often will print my ms. out in Times New Roman, single-spaced for revisions just to make it look a little more like a real book. It tricks me into enjoying the process a little more.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of printing out a hard copy. Often I can catch my mistakes much easier when it feels like I'm reading a book rather than seeing it in the same computer format.
ReplyDeleteI am going to start my revisions in this next month, so these are great tips for me! I like the idea of changing the font and printing it out. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat tips. I actually like to change my font and use orange as the color for the text. And sometimes I'll print out a section and revise the print out, which gives me the chance to double edit the section.
ReplyDelete