Ever since I started writing, I've been plagued by the thoughts that at the end, it'll need months of revision and hard work and the story will end up being totally different from what I wrote in the first place. Most of that is probably true but if you truly love the idea, it won't be so hard.
I recently finished the first go at revising a book I wrote in the summer of 2011, which seems so long ago now. I left the book for so long because I had fun writing it for the remarkably short two weeks it took - not something I've replicated yet! - and because I had no hope of anything professional for it - it was just something for me. Then I noticed it the other day and thought, hmm, why not start revising it? I took a hard copy and a couple of highlighters and spent a few days pawing through the pages, often highlighting whole sections that made no sense or where the "find and replace" function had gone horribly wrong, or I'd made stupid spelling/grammar mistakes. But because I'd left it so long - which I recommend highly - there were some really great bits I'd forgotten about. Any faith I'd lost from the stupid bits was made up for by the odd gem I stumbled across amongst those newly colourful pages. It's worth it.
Now that I've changed all the glaring errors and a few tiny mistakes, I'm a lot more confident in my writing. I fixed the odd plot hole and tied up loose ends. There's still a long way to go before it's a beautiful, polished book but I've made the first few steps and those are the ones that count the most. Had I not made the effort to revise it, I wouldn't have been inspired to write a sequel. I had forgotten how much I loved that set of characters and through the revision period, I was enlightened and desperate to continue their story. I encourage you to do the same.
Lydia
No comments:
Post a Comment