J. asks:
“Do you revise as you write or after? How much revision do you do?”
I usually do sentence level revision as I write, because I don’t always hit the right word.
The Casino smelled of undeath.
During tech, the Casino still smelled of undeath.
During tech, the Casino stank of vampires.
Even in the strongest tech, the Casino reeked of undeath.
The sentence level revision is inevitable, but sometimes I screw up:
“No. I did tell him I would give bring you his peace offering in exchange for the DVD.”
Beta reader’s note: (give bring) which one?
And sometimes all of the as you go revision won’t help you, because you are just dumb:
He scrambled out of the cart. I sliced a long shallow gash down the ox’s flank. It bellowed. Blood dripped on the ground. I ran my hand along the cut. It came wet with hot crimson and I waved it, flinging red drops into the wind.
The ox moaned. I grabbed the chain loop.
Beta Note: (wouldn’t they [oxen- ilona] have tried to run away?)
A real duh moment right there. Kate cuts an ox and he just sort of stands there and take it and does not take off in panic. O_o
When I do find the right words, they make me happy:
The mist grew thicker. Moisture hung in the air, tinted with the odor of rotting vegetation and fresh soil. Somewhere in the distance a bird screamed. No movement troubled the still woods. No squirrels chattered in the canopy, no small game scurried away at our approach. Nothing except vampires gliding alongside the path, their emaciated shapes flashing between the trees.
love how ‘The Casino smelled of undeath.’ evolved
and I really, really like the last paragraph you posted. very intense, it pulls you right into the scene.
Thank you for the little peek into your writing habits as well as advise. I find it very interesting to see how people work in their creative processes no matter what medium they use.
Of course if I spelled “advice” right, it would be a better comment!!! Ha…Ha
LOL Maybe the ox was mezmerized by Kate’s cool sword? *snicker*
I once wrote an article when I was 18 or 19 and I quoted a mom as saying “You can’t prop a breast!” for her reason that some women don’t breastfeed. I thought it was so cool and funny. People did not appreciate it, and my parents never let me forget it. Geesh. What the hell? I think that’s when I first realized not everyone has a sense of humor.
Haha I bet the DVD one is when Kate is talking to Curran!
I wish I could do that word level upgrade as I’m writing. That always comes so much later and then it’s painful. I never get exactly what I want for every sentence, but at least I get closer.
Thanks for letting us see how you work. It’s always fascinating. And boy do I love your descriptions.
I have to fight against my urge to revise as I write. Why? Because once I start revising all forward-momentum screeches to a halt. I putter. I tweak. I throw my hands up in the air and delete-delete-delete.
Revising while I write is the kiss of death for me.
*sigh*