Follow the Revision Road

In pulling together the separate chapter files that comprise the first book in Series #1, the road to revision stretches out into the distance.

First of all, I have to admit, pulling the individual working chapter files together into one single file solidified that, yes, this IS a book. Being in the fictional world while writing a draft of a book tends to be very different than entering the fictional world via revision.

The bricks that make up Revision Road are many.

The items on my Revision Checklist for each scene/chapter include include:

• Spell Check
• MyWriters Tools
• External Environment Layering:
  - Weather
  - Outside bldg. details
  - Outside sounds
• Layering Outward / Physical Details:
  - Hair/eye color
  - Height/weight
  - Style of clothing
  - Facial expressions
  - Body language
  - Visceral Reactions
• Senses Layering:
  - Sight
  - Hearing
  - Touch
  - Smell
  - Taste
  - Pain
  - Temperature
  - Time
  - Motion/Acceleration
  - Direction
  - Balance
• Anchoring:
  - POV
  - When / Time passed
  - Where
  - Current Feeling
  - Voice
  - Dialogue / Tags
• Scene Review:
  - Beginning Hook
  - Exposition
  - Backstory
  - Sensory Details
  - Emotions
  - GMCD Clear
  - Themes/Motifs
  - Ending Hook
  - Pacing
• Foreshadowing:
  - Plant
  - Payoff
• AutoCrit (Details):
  - Typos
  - Repetition
  - Continuity/Timeline
  - Clarity (Who’s who)
• MyWriter Tools Round 2
• Spell Check Round 2
• Levels (1 thru 10):
  - Level of Caring
  - Level of Worry
  - Level of Conflict
  - Level of Tension
• Character Growth Arc
• Beginning Scene Pacing
• Middle Scene Pacing
• Ending Scene Pacing
• Overall Scene Pacing
• Dragon Speaks Reading

By reading each chapter, I enter a fictional world and make sure that each of the above items are layered into the story and/or applied to the revision process (such as using MyWriter Tools, AutoCrit, the Pacing Techniques from You Can Write a Novel by James V. Smith Jr., and Dragon Speaks Naturally).

There are some rewrites--amazingly, I've learned a few little somethings during the process of writing the series--then I weave in the above to ensure the scene and chapter best entertains the reader and the writing and characters best connect with the reader.

Revision first, editing next.

What a journey this has been and continues to be.