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The Ten Stages of Revision Emotions

June 17, 2011 Roni Loren

So this year I've been diligently working on the draft of the second book in my series, MELT INTO YOU. This one is tentatively scheduled to release sometime next summer, but the manuscript is due to my editor at the end of this month.

Well, I finished the draft a couple of weeks ago and sent it to Sara to get her feedback and to make sure I hadn't suffered from the dreaded second book syndrome. *shudders* Luckily, Sara liked the book and only had a few changes she suggested.

A few. But one was a biggie. She suggested I cut the murder mystery subplot and replace it with something different. Not a huge change in word count, but a very significant change with regards to the story's plot. Hence began my journey through the Stages of Revision Emotions.

The Ten Stages of Revision Emotions

Stage 1: Shock (You want me to change what?) or a "Dammit, that makes sense"

Okay, so in the list of revisions, there is usually one, maybe two, shockers. Your favorite scene needs to be cut or something you thought was vital gets the ax. But most of the time with Sara, her suggestions resonate with me in that "Damn, why didn't I see that?" way. Or she picks out things that were niggling at me but that I couldn't quite put my finger on. That's the gift of having someone with an editorial eye. They can see things you can't because you're too close to it.

Stage 2: Blind Confidence - "I can totally fix this."

This is when you get excited. Things don't look so hard or too bad. You just need to change A B and C and you're golden. La dee da, I'm the kickass writer girl.

Stage 3: The "Oh, Crap"

You actually sit down to make those seemingly innocuous changes and WHAM! you've just blasted your manuscript to swiss cheese. Plot holes are bleeding on your pages, threads with loose ends are flapping in the breeze, your characters have been flattened to road kill.

Stage 4: Sticking Your Fingers in Your Ears and Humming

You've hit the denial phase. This can't be done. If I make this change, I'll have to rewrite the whole book from scratch. My agent/editor must be crazy to think I could change this. It's impossible. I'm just going to leave it the way it is and turn it in. I am the writer, so I get the ultimate call on revisions anyway, right?

Stage 5: Despair

This book is a giant pile of stinking baby dung. I will never be able to fix it. I'm going to fade into oblivion and never be published again. How did I think this was a good story?

Stage 6: The Muse Taps Your Shoulder

"Who the hell are you? Oh yeah, I remember you, creative genius. Where the f*#% have you been you stingy, rat bastard?"

Stage 7: The Idea - *cue angels singing*

You're lying there in bed, taking a shower, talking yourself out of eating the entire cake because you're a talentless hack. And then it hits. The Idea. The way that will fix your book and achieve what your agent/editor wanted from this revision. You suddenly see the seemingly obvious fix and realize how dead on that revision advice was.

Stage 8: Mania

This is where you realize you have two weeks to make this brilliant change and you have oh, ten, twenty, thirty thousand words or whatever to write. You eat, sleep, and breathe your manuscript. The ideas flow and you're excited about this story again. Thrilled to see it turn into something way better than what you originally had. It's a high. People may want to put you in a white jacket.

Stage 9: Peace

You finish that bad boy and turn it in. Then you eat that whole cake anyway, but this time, it's because you've earned it. :)

Stage 10: Ah, hell.

You get another set of revisions back and the process starts all over again. :)

These stages also apply to getting feedback from crit partners and beta readers. The key, for me, is recognizing that I will get there. That when it seems I just am not good enough to fix it, an idea will come. But it won't necessarily happen day one after I get my revision notes. My mind needs time to process and stew before tackling things.

So how about you? Have you been through any of these stages? Any other stages you would add?

You've Got Rhythm, But Does Your Story?

May 16, 2011 Roni Loren

As I wade through my editing for MELT INTO YOU, I'm discovering that one of the big things I pay attention to when doing my read through is cadence, or the rhythm of the words. I think it was Margie Lawson's workshop where I first heard this term used in relation to writing.

We all know about voice and style, but cadence is more the way the words sound in your head as your read them. It's the flow and the music of the prose. It's why I may use a one-word incomplete sentence somewhere instead of something longer. Part of that is my style, but a lot of it has to do with making sure the rhythm works.

And one of the best ways to see if your story has good cadence or rhythm is to read it aloud. A lot of times when we read our own work in our head, our brain naturally skims. Hell, we've written it, we know what's there and what's coming. But this can hurt you because you may be missing places where a reader with fresh eyes may stumble on a sentence. Even in our heads we need places in prose to "take a breath" while we're reading.

Maybe your crit partners point this out, but most likely it's such a subtle thing that many will intuitively feel the little stumble but not really get hit over the head enough to mark it down and bring it to your attention.

So I literally sit in my office and read passages of my book out loud. Pretend you're the narrator doing the audiobook. Does it flow? Does the scene sound how you want it too--pretty, ethereal, hard and fast-paced, sensual, etc?

Not every scene is going to have the same cadence, nor do you want it to. If they're in the middle of the car chase, the words better not read like poetry. So know what your intention is and then see if the rhythm of the words fits what you were going for.

So here are my opening lines of my prologue in my draft. (And yes, I know, a prologue! *gasp* But well, it's there. I like it. Sara or my editor may cut it, which is fine, but for now, this is how the book opens.)

Most of the time temptation climbs onto your lap and straddles you, demands you deal with it immediately. Give in or deprive yourself. Choose your adventure.

Jace’s general stance: deprivation was overrated.

But he’d never faced this kind of temptation. The kind that seeped into your skin so slowly you didn’t even notice until you were soaked with it, saturated. To the point that every thought, every breath seemed to be laced with the desire for that thing you shouldn’t have.

And right now that thing was nibbling flecks of purple polish off her fingernails.

So okay, see where you'd take the breaths (hint: breaths happen at commas and periods)? And we're in a dude's head so the thoughts start off short and to the point, but then he gets wrapped up with how much this is getting to him. If you read it aloud hopefully it flows. It did when I went through it.

But do you see where I'm going with the cadence thing? Do you think about this when you're going through your work? Do you read it aloud either to yourself or to a writer's group?

Also, because I forgot to announce on Friday with all of Blogger's problems, the winner of Elana Johnson's Possession (ARC) is MayDay_Aura! (I'll be emailing the winner.) Thanks for all of you who commented and entered! :)

New Title Revealed!

February 16, 2011 Roni Loren

As most of you know, I recently found out that I was going to have to change the title of the book formerly known as Exposure Therapy. So I was tasked with the job of coming up with something that was more romantic but that was still sexy and that had series expanding potential. Easy peasy, right?

Ugh. Wrong!

I went through a few days of brainstorming both alone, with agent, and with other writers on Twitter. I then submitted five or six possibilities. Well, this week my editor came back and said that though she liked one suggestion, she really was hoping for something more romantic. And we needed the info stat because her meeting with the art and sales department for my cover was yesterday. Eek!

So back to the drawing board (and to Twitter) I went on Valentine's night. My poor husband was totally ignored, lol, while I came up with another list to send the editor. By the way, thanks so much to Jamie Wesley, Julie Cross, Tiffany Reisz, Teri Anne Stanley, Dawn Alexander, and Alyssa Palmer for all the brainstorming help. : )

Anyhoo, I sent off the list to Kate (my editor) late Monday night. Then lo and behold, I had a wonderful email first thing Tuesday morning.

We have a title!!!! Woot! Kate loved a few different ones on my list, but after checking in with the marketing department, they decided on the two that would be best for book one AND book two.

So *drumroll please* my debut book will be titled...

CRASH INTO YOU

:D I heart it. I suggested it because the song Crash Into Me really does fit my book, but that title is already taken by a YA. (Lyrics for the song are at the bottom of the post if you're interested). So yay! I have a title. And so does the second book. Book two will be called MELT INTO YOU. I love that one too. So I'm super pleased and beyond excited. It's starting to feel real!

So what do you think? Like it, love it, hate it? You can be honest. :) And what are some of your favorite titles you've come across recently?