Thursday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

WE’RE READY FOR REVISION PRE-FLIGHT: 10 SELF-EDITING TIPS

By: Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Even if you love revisions (like me), the thought of diving into them can be overwhelming. If you don't enjoy them, it can be downright soul crushing. Where do you start? What do you look for? How do you know when you're done?

To help make the process easier, here are my top ten tips to give you a place to start, a map to follow, and a guide to get you through your revisions. 

1. Remember: It’s all about the story. 

Anything goes in a first or even second draft, but once the serious revisions start, you have to be ruthless to pull the best novel you can out of your draft. A well-written scene that slows the pacing or doesn't nothing to advance the story doesn't belong, no matter how much you like it (and we've all been then). Check each scene against the core conflict, character development, or character arc and make sure it advances one of them in some way, no matter how small. If you can't bear to cut the scene, then try looking for ways to make that scene serve the story in some fashion. Sometimes all it takes it a little tweak or an added detail to get the scene back on track.

2. Try layering it. 

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To read the rest of the post, click here:

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If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

• When Is a Good Editor Not Good for Your Story? — Guest: Misti Wolanski | Jami Gold, Paranormal Author http://ow.ly/RZ7lK
• Are you guilty of using empty words in a story? - Venture Galleries http://ow.ly/RZ7H8
• Want To Do More Creative Work? Focus On Your Support System. http://ow.ly/RZ7Lr
• Go Teen Writers: Leaving Room for the Imagination http://ow.ly/RZ8ck
• You vs. Yourself: Defeating the Self-Doubt Slump - WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™ http://ow.ly/RZQHI
• Crisis is conflict on steroids. - Venture Galleries http://ow.ly/RZQZP
• How to Deal With Harsh Criticism of Your Writing http://ow.ly/RZR7n
• 6 Tips to Improve Your Facebook Posts Social Media Examiner http://ow.ly/RZXN2
• The Book Designer — Practical Advice to Help Self-Publishers Build Better Books http://ow.ly/S01rd
• Fiction University: We're Ready for Revision Pre-Flight: 10 Self-Editing Tips http://ow.ly/S01E7
• 4 Essential Tips On Writing Young Adult Fiction http://ow.ly/S01TR
• Want to Sell More Books? Stop Pushing and Start Connecting | Live Write Thrive http://ow.ly/S01ZJ
• Writability: So You Want to Write YA Thrillers? http://ow.ly/S026Y
• Fiction University: Second Fiddle, Sweeter Music—Using Secondary Characters To Give Your Novel A Bigger Feel http://ow.ly/S02eI

Happy writing and running, Kathy