Still here, Still revising

Back in November 2023, I had a plan to revise my novel during NaNoWriMo. I created guidelines to get me through the month and renamed it ToNoRevMo (Total Novel Revision Month). I posted through the first 16 days, but once again, fell off on posting or completing the project. I did continue with the revisions for a bit after my last post, but by the end of the month I was overwhelmed with new possibilities for my antagonists.

I put the revision aside and focused on other less creative tasks like the holidays, work, and my health. Ok, so my health may not have been as easy as the holidays or work, but physical and mental health are important. I’ve improved both aspects enough to begin venturing back into my writing. I completed a new scene and am working though the messy middle.

Goals? None at the moment. I am doing what feels good when it feels good to do it.

Aside from writing and revising, I am rejoining my writing community. I am volunteering at a nearby festival soon, and I have plans to attend a few writing events this month. And, hey look, I made a post! Go me!

Day 14 – ToNoRevMo

Half way through? Not even close!

At the end of my last post, I said “Hoping with the next update I can say I have actually revised areas of the draft. I still have 20 days to go. Plenty of time, right?” If I’d only known what was about to happen.

I’ve been stuck on a major piece of this draft — the antagonists, the villains, the bad guys. In my mind, they were various demons, but I also knew they were not associated with Hell or the Devil. I couldn’t wrap my mind around who these beings were and where they’d come from. I had no name for the places they lived and roamed. I had no name for the rules and regulations they live by, nor did I have a name for the leaders who created them.

When in doubt, I search the internet using words from my draft and follow the rabbit hole hoping something comes to me along the way… a name, a location. So, off to the pool of internet knowledge I went. I waded through contracts with demons, deals with the devil, and deal makers. And there it was. One tiny word that has changed my draft: Fae. My demons weren’t demons at all. They were Fae!

Huzzah, right? Uh, let’s just say, I hit my head in the shallow end and floated into the deep end without support. I have submerged myself into the world of the Fae. The more I read, the more I know this is the right fit. However, before I do a full rewrite, I want to preserve the story I have. So, for now, I will set this epiphany aside and go back to strengthening the story from start to finish.

Just 16 more days in this month. I may not be following my initial goal (I was so cute back then), but I have revised more than I had before. Let’s see what happens next.

Day 10 – ToNoRevMo

Well, I did it. On time? No. But I did it!

Last Monday was the day to complete Phase 1 — I finished Wednesday. My hallway is now lined on both sides with 11 sheets of paper documenting the entire novel. Was this helpful in any way? Immensely! I highlighted the main/side character’s names each in a different color and left the characters only making an appearance or two without colors. This let me see the cameo parts better in the flow of the main/side character’s lives. This process also showed me who can be left out as they don’t help or progress the story, and which character’s stories were started but not finished.

While I should be starting Phase 2 of this revision, it’s becoming clear to me I will not be able to pass through each section from start to finish in a nice and easy flow as I’d initially expected. From here, my revision feels messy.

Yesterday, I spent my writing time moving the character information from the sheets of paper into Plottr on a timeline. Now, I have a timeline visual of each character and, of course, they are color coded. Today, I am reviewing each character within the scene and adding the location. Next, I’ll add what happens in the scenes. The previous paper exercise also pointed out the beginning and end of the book are not the problem. It’s the messy middle.

Hoping with the next update I can say I have actually revised areas of the draft. I still have 20 days to go. Plenty of time, right?

Day 7 – ToNoRevMo

If you haven’t been following along, I am on a mission to revise my draft into a submittable novel by end of the month. The goal is five complete pass-throughs which means reviewing at least six sections a day during the month of November. You can read the initial thought process here MyNoRevisMo and here Counting Down to Revisions.

Current Status: Phase 1
Technically, I should be starting Phase 2, today, but I am a little behind. I should have wrapped up my section reviews yesterday and started my next passthrough today. However, I still have about five sections to review to wrap up Phase 1. I’ll get those done tonight — no worries there.

The real worry is what exactly am I going to do in Phase 2? In Phase 1, I used big sheets of paper to breakdown which characters are in each section, which locations are in each section, and a general note on what happens in the section. While doing this, I was able to highlight sections in need of revision and in some cases total rewrites.

To me, the next logical step is to do those revisions and rewrites, but I don’t think I can use the section by section approach. This feels like it needs to be an all in approach. The sheets of paper line my hallway on both sides now . I love this as I can see my whole novel in one space. I’m thinking of standing in the hallway and pulling out specific sections to rewrite. In this phase, the goal will not be a number of sections per day like the last phase. This phase I will complete the revisions/rewrites before Phase 3 starts on November 13th.

What’s Phase 3? I have no idea!

Day 4 – ToNoRevMo

If you haven’t been following along, I am on a mission to revise my draft into a submittable novel by end of the month. The goal is five complete pass-throughs which means reviewing at least six sections a day during the month of November. You can read the initial thought process here MyNoRevisMo and here Counting Down to Revisions.

Current Status: Phase 1:
How am I doing? I should be reviewing sections 19-24 today, but I am a little behind. The initial goal of this passthrough is to review each section for areas which will need revision and which are good to keep. I made it through section 12 before letting myself get a little too caught up in the sections which need revision, and I spent last night revising one section. Oops. It’s hard to label a section as “revision needed” without actually starting the rewrite. However, I have reset my mind with the goal of this first review and most of the day to catch up.

I ran out of room on the walls of my small writing room which also acts as my day job office. I often have meetings during the day and need to keep the background neutral. Solution? I have a very long hallway with nothing on the walls! My hallway will be a glorious reminder: I should be editing!

Day 2 – ToNoRevMo

It’s day two of Total Novel Revision Month, and, so far, I am on track. The goal is to review/revise at least six sections each day with the final goal of making five full passthroughs of all sections.

I’ve decided to make this first passthrough about the who, where, what in each section. I have large sticky notes on the wall, and I am breaking down each scene. I can move the pages around, too. This helps me to see how often people come up in scenes and maybe find people I don’t need. I can also see the locations of each scene. So far, I have my MC on “the front sidewalk” quite a bit.

It’s 7:30pm, and I have not started my review for today. Better get to it!