The Beginnings of Revision

I have a full-length novel completed. But does it really say what I want it to say? Would you actually find it interesting if you picked it up right now to read? How much information is only in my head and not in the story like I thought it was?

In my last post, I wrote that it was time to edit my novel. Editing is not the correct word to use for the work I am doing on my story right now. Some of that happens along the way, like correcting a typo or changing a word. I am revising my novel. I would like to share what I have been doing.

Even using the word “revise” makes it seem much simpler than it is. Before I began to make changes, I needed to set up my story to facilitate revision. I started by making a synopsis of each section in my story. I use Scrivener, which has a built-in place to enter a synopsis. Currently, I have three story arcs. Each section, which may be considered a chapter, alternates from one arc to the next.

My next step was to take each significant action and input it into a timeline program. I use Aeon Timeline for this. This program accommodates for the three arcs in my story. By the end of the story, characters from the three arcs come together. I was very pleased to reach the end of my timeline and discover that the timing of each arc meshes just as I needed it to!

It was tempting to jump right in and start re-writing parts to improve how I said them. In fact, I started to do that but I stopped myself. I had to have all the parts right before I did that. It would be a shame to put effort into re-writing paragraphs that might not end up in my novel anyway.

Secure in the timing of events, I decided that my next step was to address the many questions I had come up with, listed in my Project Notes in Scrivener. You see, whenever I thought of something that I could add to my story or something that needed double-checking or anything like that, I made a note of it.

I ended up with quite a list! I am in the process now of working my way through it. Some of the things were really easy, so I attended to them first. My list is now a little shorter. Some of them will take more time, like making sure I have created a picture for the reader of what is happening or what a character looks like.

And then there are always the story elements that “seemed like a good idea a the time”, but when you look at them more carefully with the distance of time, you realize that they do not fit as well as you thought. I have one element in particular that I am not ready to solve. Some of the characters in my story have made significant technological advances in a future that is beyond the lifetime of most of you who read this. I need to determine what kind of food they would eat that takes advantage of technology and no longer requires the kind of intensive farming that we expect. This does not need to actually be “real food”, but it needs to contain enough to sustain them. The idea I used when writing my first draft was successful at moving the story forward, but it does not really work. I have set that problem aside, while seeking advice from some sci-fi writer friends. There are many other things to work on in the meantime.

And all of this is now on hold. I have spent much of October preparing for National Novel Writing Month. Soon I’ll be focused on a month of writing. November is my favourite month.