I'm almost finished with my first revising read-through, on word doc page 163 of 204. This time through I'm looking at the content checking to see if things make sense and are consistent. For example, I found mistakes like changing the name of a side-character or the eye color or knowing the name of a stranger before meeting them. Those things had to be fixed. The Everything Guide to Writing Children's Books by Lesley Bolton had some good advice on the revision process. (Click cover below to view on Amazon, if you purchase anything after clicking one of my links I'll receive a percentage of the sale while your cost remains the same.)
I'll need another read-through to check the content again. Then I'll have 3 or 4 read-throughs after that to check for other specific things. The last read-through will be checking the grammar. I'm having fun reading my manuscript again. I'm excited to finish revising and get an agent to help me get a publisher. I can't wait to get my book into the hands of all you readers out there!
Another writing book I enjoyed was Writing Magic by Gail Carson Levine.
Have you read any good books about writing?
That's totally exciting!!!My dad has a few books that he calls TH BIBLES of writing. I'll have to send you a few of the titles!! Good luck on your revisions!!!
ReplyDeletexx, inky
That would be great! Thanks!
DeleteI'm kind of obsessed with craft books right now, and I found SAVE THE CAT by Blake Snyder very helpful. It's a screenwriter's guide, but the Four Act breakdown he uses for plotting was fabulous. And I plan to storyboard my book like he outlines for screenplays to see how the action flows. There's a summary of his method somewhere on author Robin LeFever's blog. I think I saved the link.If you want I can send it your way. Just email me! And good luck!! I'm right there with you on making time to write with little kids...it's beyond challenging!
ReplyDeleteSarah- I've heard some writers write the screenplay of their book before writing it. I think that would be awesome! Sounds like a good one to read.
DeleteYay! I can totally sympathize with the "pregnant with my 4th boy" thing. I was really hoping to have my first draft completed by the end of last year and any revisions done by the end of April when my baby is due, but obviously that's not happening at this point. I'm really excited to read your book! Keep up the good work. :)
ReplyDeleteI was hoping to be done with all my revisions before Christmas too! That didn't happen. My next goal is to be done before baby comes so I can query to agents before then too. We'll see what happens. :) Good luck on your book! Maybe you can finish the 1st draft by April!
Delete