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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Revision Woes II--all dressed up and nowhere to go

I've got all these great ideas for fixing trouble spots in my WIP (work in progress). Instead of just rewriting rocky patches, incorporating the material in other ways. "Oh, by the way" paragraphs/chapters, and so on.

And here I am without a computer, so I can't do any of it. Unless I do it the old fashioned way--pen and paper!

At least, now, I want to get started on revision very very badly!

My work is backed up online and on thumb drive, and I have a printout of the whole thing packed away with my books. Also, I have the first 45 pages with me.

But I'll believe that the back-ups have worked when I see them on my computer, one way or another. A doubting Thomas!

Worst case scenario: I have to rewrite the whole thing from scratch--apart from the first 45 pages.

But this is how some writers revise, in any case. A bit scary. The scariest part: reconciling version one and version 2. Not a problem if version 1 is lost in cyberspace!

And sometimes the blank slate is the best route to a lean and mean manuscript.
Richard Dana's (2 Years Before the Mast) sea trunk was lost, with his extensive notes and various specimens. All he had to work from was his small journal--a log, really--and his memory. And the book was probably better because of it. [I've just finished reading this book on my e-reader, and it's a surprisingly good read. Less verbose than Moby Dick, at least.]

Gentle blog reader, you'll be happy to hear that I've finished venting my angst!

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