I've got a first draft of a mystery I wrote a couple of years ago. It needs to be revised. I think it could be really good if revised. But everytime I sit down to work on revising it, my mind just goes blank, and I don't know what to do. Any advice or suggestions?

I would like to get this novel finished, because I really think it could be publishable. I would like to actually finish a novel project. It's been a while since I've done that. I don't know what's wrong with me.

This thread has links to some suggestions. The main thing, I think, is to find a way to look at the big picture of your manuscript. Fixing sentence structure and word choice is easy, but it's overwhelming to be fixing those things while knowing there's something much larger you need to fix, and not knowing how.

Eight pages in!

I'm one of those people who gets easily distracted when I go to edit. I try to find a spot with as few distractions as possible, disconnect myself from the internet and don't let myself leave until I've edited whatever my page goal is for the day. ^_^

Found the link to "Checklist for Revising a Novel" here ( http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3476157?page=3 ):

http://bethestory.com/2009/12/21/checklist-for-revising-a-novel

Boy, does it make some sense!

Be well,
Xiri

It's a good checklist, but I would argue that at least until you get the process down, it's a very good idea to print it out. He says he "doesn't revise like Holly Lisle, putting in subplots and such" he does that in his zero draft.

Well, I don't add subplots and such in my revision either, but I do end up fixing a lot, and I find it works tons better on paper. I've seen one person who did this edit on paper truly hate the method. I've seen lots of writers try doing it on-screen and end up abandoning it.

I tried editing my fanfic on screen, so yeah... but it was a short story, too...

2 pages or so.

Be well,
Xiri

Heh, I've found it so useful that I print EVERYTHING for editing, including one-page scenes.

Somehow it's easier for me to see how to move things around on paper, and that's the so-called "big picture" that I'm trying to keep an eye on.

Yeah, but I was dumb enough to buy a laser printer when inkjet got at me at last :-s

And I used it to print out a "World of Darkness" e-book ><

Be well,
Xiri

Laser printers are the best! I won't give mine up till they pry it from my cold dead fingers.

The cartridges are expensive, but they last and last and last! (Do you know how to put yours on economy-mode so it uses less ink? Mine comes out just fine using that.)

ETA: guess I should ask "does yours HAVE an economy-mode?" before I ask the other question. Sorry!

Well sort of, but I feel bad for it being so expensive and of so little use :-s

Be well,
Xiri

Then you just have to print out and edit more stuff, right? ;)

*loves her laser printer too*

Got through seventeen pages yesterday. Today, though, something more than just editing has to happen.

Like...laundry.

Umm yeah... I sent the PDF of my other stuff (that's likely to be a short story, and from NaNo too, but I 'will' finish it ... later maybe), so umm yeah... one guy printed it out and marked most of my typos - 7 pages, full of typos ><

Umm yeah, who's more of a genius, me for sharing it with him, or him printing it?

Be well,
Xiri

I opened the nano file finaly and went through and trashed the things that I marked as trash when I first wrote it and only lost about 15000 words!! Not too bad since I expected to lose a lot more. Now time to start the rewrite.

Xiri, there's a great SF writer that I follow on Twitter and LJ. She's a professional, has written lots of novels, even teaches writing--all in her native language, English. And yet every single post, pretty much, has a typo or a misspelling or a word left out. I don't judge her by it, and neither should you.

There are lots of people in this world just waiting to put you down. You don't need to help them. You are doing JUST FINE.

Caldwell--whooohooo! go, go, go!

I edited twenty pages yesterday, and came to realize I left some of my middle out of my book. So today will likely go much slower, as I attempt to figure out what needs to be there and get it written.

Wheee?