That Step Called Revising

Today marks the conclusion of the first and heaviest round of revisions on Stay, Illusion, the sequel to Ruin's Entrance. What better time to talk a little about writing?

Stay, Illusion is now the third novel I've taken through revision (a number of rough drafts, including the sequel to The Footnotes, remain messy accumulations of words and ideas). I feel like the process of revision is getting a bit easier. It's not like prepping a rocket for launch. Lives are not at stake. However, persistence is required. My writing day starts at 5:00 a.m., seven days a week. I get as much done as I can before the kids wake up and I have to engage with the real world--mouths to feed, Lego creations to admire, summer camps and piano and guitar lessons to drive to. Such is the life of a father.

Round one (finished!):

• I reread the manuscript with an eye on the major parts of the story. For example, I identified incongruities in plot and character and gauged whether the themes I thought were the focus should remain the focus.
• I isolated sections of the book, trying to revise one section per day. I eventually reached a certain point in the book that was rather problematic (and that I knew would be problematic--my notes said in all-caps: REWRITE THIS!), and spent an entire week on that single section--deleting, rewriting, rearranging.
• I evaluated characters: were there unspoken stories behind dialogues--a real sense of history between Marius and the other characters? Or were the other characters just mouthpieces moving the story along? If the latter, it was a matter of rewriting the dialogue--making sure that the plot was served and I wasn't rambling, but that there was depth to the interactions and depth to the characters.

Round two begins now:

• I start by using Mobipocket to make an eBook and transfer the draft to my Kindle. I used to print out the manuscripts--I need to see the writing somewhere other than a computer screen, but I don't like to kill trees for the sake of art. I also don't want the task of storing drafts (it's hard for me to recycle something like a rough draft of a manuscript--I'm sentimental--and my bookshelves are overflowing. I don't need more paper in this house!). I love reading the drafts on my Kindle--a perfect alternative screen.
• Using the keyboard on my Kindle, I will take notes on every little thing I notice. Word choice, awkward or confusing sentences, spelling mistakes, WTF? moments, etc. Everything gets marked.
• With Kindle in front of me, I'll go back through my notes and make all necessary changes in the manuscript.

Round three:

• Repeat the same steps from round two with the most recent iteration of the book.
• Go to work with The Chicago Manual of Style, looking up every little detail I have questions about. Regardless of how closely I look at the manuscript, something (or many somethings) will slip past me and my advance readers. We do our best.

Round four:

• Get other eyes on the book. For Ruin's Entrance, I got the print copy ready and ordered  proofs that I handed out to my wonderful readers with explicit instructions to enjoy marking up the text.
• I keep one proof for myself--again, looking at the book in a different medium is always beneficial.
• When the proofs are returned from my wonderful readers, all recommendations are considered and more changes are made.

Round five:

• One more proof is ordered. I read one more time. I invariably find a misspelling, a misplaced modifier, or some other small horror.
• I fix any last (caught) mistakes.
• I publish the book--the happiest day of the affair.

And that's a brief view of the revision stages I go through. Publication of Stay, Illusion is probably at least a month away.