Revisions Part II

What a lovely gift I received in my inbox today. A great example of a press release that could have used another three or four revision passes. I hate to pick on Fanboys, but they're a victim of their own unfortunate timing:



Interviews are available on Beta and DVD format for the following:
Kristen Bell (by herself)
Kyle Newman (Director) (by himself)
Sam Huntington/Dan Fogler/Chris Marquette (group interview)

In addition roundtable interviews for radio/print outlets are available as well.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE ANY OF THESE MATIERALS. We also have posters available as well.
PLEASE EMAIL ME AT {redacted}

Revisions

The bride and I are working on a press release today. It's on its fourth revision and is just now starting to come together. We started off with two full pages and part of the process has been trimming the fat to get down to one page. I know I've seen a lot of two page press releases, but I can't recall many (or even one, to be honest) successful multi-page press releases.

She just handed me another sheet, so it's revision five now. Very close.

In case you're lost in the shroud of my subtlety - revisions are very important in writing.

Unless you're writing a blog, of curse.

Revision Complete

The first revision of my short story is complete and in the hands of my primary CP. It took a little longer than I would have thought for less than 8,000 words.

I was amazed at the big stuff (two paragraphs condensed into one and re-written in a way that conveyed more information) and the little stuff (several spots where I "thought" a word, but forgot to type it).

It was a nice break away from the WIP novel. As soon as I handed the revised draft off, the characters from the WIP started shouting their ideas at me. Some of them were helpful, but one character is not happy at all with the way she's being portrayed. I'll be sure to include what a whiny baby she is in an upcoming chapter. She'll dig that.

More Revision Day

I'm still working on the second pass through. One section required triage. It was upgraded from revision to re-write. I wanted to reinforce the theme that emerged from the story.

The revised product won't be ready for my critique peoples as soon as I wanted, but that's okay if I'm handing them a stronger story to begin with. Right? Anyone?

Fine. Time to go to my happy place.

Revision Day!

For the most part, I read and follow instructions. So when Professor King told me to put my finished story in a drawer, set a reminder for six weeks, and not think about it again; I did as instructed.

Yesterday my timer dinged on the short story I finished six weeks ago. I started my revisions last night. I did one read through for general purposes ("why did I use that word?", "that sentence is a word salad", "a whole paragraph of pronouns - yuck!", etc.) and then I started a read through with the intent of removing each and every word that wasn't absolutely vital. I hope to finish that tonight.

My next read through will be to look for five little words that sprout like dandelions in my writing. I'm going to mow those pernicious parasites down. (Maybe I should look for clumsy alliterations after that. Nah, not necessarily needed)