tips for major and minor revisions
Whenever you decide to make a change in your plot, it's never just one change. If you move a scene, there's lots of new writing that needs to happen to put your characters and story where it needs to be. It can be one of the more tedious tasks of writing, but, hey, it's all in service of making your book better.
Which is the goal.
In my NIGHT SOIREE third draft, I decided to make a couple of pretty major changes. Moving a battle for something Lord Umbra wants towards the end, and changing Orb's character arc completely. I ASSUMED moving the battle would be the way easier revision, but surprisingly it's been way more difficult.
There are so many pieces that have to change about moving that battle and who gets hurt, and what happens to them in the meantime.
Whereas, adjusting Orb's arc is a lot subtler. Short lines and scenes and hints that gradually change his trajectory.
I'm sure this isn't always the case, but for me, it has been, so I wanted to share in case it resonates with anyone else!
With any revision, these are my favorite tips to make the process easier:
Take lots and lots of time to think this through. While you're walking, swimming, sitting. Thinking is solving, it'll make the writing so much better!
Make sure you understand why you're doing it. That way, you can keep that in mind so that your revision accomplishes what you want it to. I WANTED a different ending for Orb, and I think his new arc is going to give all my characters that vibe.
Keep congratulating yourself for every new line written, every page accomplished! Every little goal matters, and they deserve to be celebrated. I'm about 1/3 of the way through this draft and deciding to feel VERY EXCITED about how far I've already come (instead of thinking of all the work left to be done!). We do it because we love it, right?!
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