Well, I’ve started. Block Revision, that is. This is a process – a major process, a very long major process – that involves going scene by scene and fixing things. Finally writing on the actual manuscript using all the worksheets and index cards from the past few months.
The process: You start with your new outline (the bright colorful index cards) and go from your new #1 scene (in my case that was my old #3 scene) and just start. You take a pen and make revisions based on your hit list (or laundry list – which I mentioned last week was the list of all the things you don’t want to forget to change as you’re going through this process), your targets (or goals for your revised novel), and your new ideas (from the worksheets and the index cards themselves). As of right now, I’m on Scene #3 which is a brand new scene.
So, before I started this process I set up my desk with all my supplies (some stuff I bought at Staples last week – I love school/office supply shopping!). I have my Hit List, my index card outline, my manuscript binder, my worksheets binder, additional notebook paper for new stuff, and a major amount of pens. Then I bought snacks! I got trail mix with nuts, raisins, and chocolate chips. I bought fizzy flavored water (this week is Watermelon) and double chocolate chip mini cookies. Ahhh…snacks!
The last thing I needed was courage. This was huge. HUGE, I say! It’s a constant battle too, as I keep second guessing myself at every turn…and I’m only on scene 3. Yikes. I don’t mind going slow – I really only get to work when little man naps – but I still would love to be done with the block revision by late October. For one thing, we’re going on a family vacation at the end of October and for another, I hope to have the entire revision process done by the end of the year, and there’s still stuff left after block revision before type in (where you go to your actual computer document and make the changes).
So…I’m trying not to think of what’s ahead. I’m just concentrating on the scene in front of me and trying my hardest to make it the best scene it can be. One scene at a time.