The blog of novelist Alis Hawkins, a woman described by her own son as 'strange but interesting...'
Friday, 17 September 2010
Rewriting - advice
While I am engaged in the re-write all this seems very germane. I'm particularly interested in Elmore Leonard's opening advice- cut, rewrite then cut and rewrite again.
Thanks, Alis. Virtual hugs very welcome (I've just said good-bye to the new baby, who came for a visit, and I'm suffering from withdrawal. There's nothing quite like the feeling of a warm baby on your(my) shoulder...)
Ten Rules for Writing Fiction includes some great advice, but I do agree with Elmore Leonard - cut, rewrite, cut again. When people ask how many drafts I do, I say "one" - but it's a draft that is in a constant state of revision from the very first day. With each re-reading it's a question of spotting which words are not pulling their weight and then being ruthless with the Delete key ...
Hi Len! The more we all talk about this, the more it emerges that most of the MNWers do a huge amount of revising as they go along, rather than adopting the 'get it down in the shitty first draft' method that Emma Darwin outlined on her blog a while ago. Interesting.
5 comments:
Elmore Leonard may be very wise, but just at the moment, I find the advice very dispiriting...
Sorry Frances...Sending you virtual hugs and good 'enjoying rewriting'-type vibes...
Thanks, Alis. Virtual hugs very welcome (I've just said good-bye to the new baby, who came for a visit, and I'm suffering from withdrawal. There's nothing quite like the feeling of a warm baby on your(my) shoulder...)
Ten Rules for Writing Fiction includes some great advice, but I do agree with Elmore Leonard - cut, rewrite, cut again. When people ask how many drafts I do, I say "one" - but it's a draft that is in a constant state of revision from the very first day. With each re-reading it's a question of spotting which words are not pulling their weight and then being ruthless with the Delete key ...
Hi Len! The more we all talk about this, the more it emerges that most of the MNWers do a huge amount of revising as they go along, rather than adopting the 'get it down in the shitty first draft' method that Emma Darwin outlined on her blog a while ago.
Interesting.
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