Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Revision Checlist

1. I spelled "revision checklist" wrong. First item on the revision checklist: Revise the spelling of revision checklist.

2. You know how sometimes if you're at the lake, you can watch a storm come across the water, and you can literally see the line on the water where the rain starts, and that line is moving closer to you? Well, I just described that in my book. I said it was like "a deadline moving closer." Whoops, the author is showing.

3. Question. Can my Pagan character feel rapturous?

4. Let's go with euphoric.

5. You know, my editor has a very fair point. If my main character had really written this paragraph on the wall of a bathroom stall, she'd have run out of space in the ladies' room and had to duck across the hall to the men's room. Maybe I should buy her some paper. I'm the author, I can give the kid paper. Be mean not to.

6. Yeah, she's not getting paper. She's just writing something shorter.

7. My editor's penciled note: "No one got hungry?" has me stumped. I've been over and over and over this chapter and I just can't find a way to feed these people. Can this be one of those places where teachers have their students write a missing scene later? "Now, class, you'll notice that the characters didn't eat in this chapter. The author probably did that on purpose to give you a chance to write a missing scene about how the characters find food ..."

8. I, on the other hand, am having no trouble finding food, and eating lots of it, from revision stress.

9. I don't understand. How can my editor write "great" at the end of a paragraph that's more pencil marks than original text?

10. I've been sitting at McDonald's, which was the only place I could find open to sit and work on revisions after dropping my husband off at work at 4 a.m. But now my computer's almost dead and the only outlet here is at an uncomfortable-looking table near the counter, which is like sitting next to the teacher's desk. It's later now. I'm going to go find something else that's open. Something with better coffee and less beeping.

11. If I revise my own setting, does that count as revision progress?

7 comments:

Caroline Starr Rose said...

Love this, Sarah!

Mary Witzl said...

Revision makes you extra hungry? Well, no wonder I've been making all those extra trips to the kitchen!

Heather Kelly said...

Whoops, the author is showing.

OMG I'm still laughing out loud.

Deni Krueger said...

Yes. Everything counts. Even commenting on other blogs while you try to avoid revision:) I'm doing the same thing, only my notes are in my own 4th draft scribbles instead of an editors.

Christie Wright Wild said...

Oh, that was too funny. Would love to see how the students feed your characters.

Christie Wright Wild said...

I have an award for you at my blog.

Murr Brewster said...

Maybe your editor meant to pencil: "NOW it's great." In which case, time to fire.