The 3 Rules of Revision

Those of you who know me know how much I hate revisions. I really, really do. For me, it’s all the work of drafting with none of the fun. This explains the snark in last week’s comic as well as tweets like this:

At first I just used the angst for Twitter fodder, but eventually it got to the point where I was seriously floundering. I had feedback from four beta readers and much of it conflicted, not to mention that I had my own deep-gut worries. How the hell was I going to fix this mess, and more importantly, which things was I going to “fix,” and which things were actually right the way they are? Well, a couple of things happened. I called on a pretty amazing writing buddy (of which I’m lucky enough to have several) to help me talk it out, since she’d helped me talk out some of these same things before ALL THE FEEDBACK. Some things she just helped me logic through. But the main thing she did was tell me that the way I had some of these things was just right—as my gut was screaming at me all along. I’d become so afraid of unintentionally ignoring good critique out of fear, that I’d gone too far and started ignoring my own writerly mojo. Then I looked up and saw this quote, which I have printed and taped to the top of my computer screen: “Let me be wise in my creation, let me be fierce in its defense, let me be true to my message and my vision.” –Laurell K. Hamilton Funny how when you see something often enough, you forget to really notice it. I’ve always thought this was a beautiful quote, although potentially dangerous in the hands of writers with big egos or a reluctance to let in feedback. But its value is clear. When too much feedback brings in the doubt monsters, you have to go back to your own message and vision, and be true to that. Voilà:

Now I am revising and making progress as should be (even though it’s still totally no fun).

But I relearned an important lesson from my near-loss of revision sanity. Three of them, actually, and I’m going to share them here. The most important thing about them is that yes, they are in order of importance—and that’s what’s so easy to forget.

~*~

1) Trust your instinct.

If you feel deep down that you shouldn’t change something, don’t change it.

Just make sure that your deep negative reaction to a suggestion comes from genuine conflict of vision rather than fear or hurt feelings. Sometimes the critiques we react to most negatively are the ones that we deep down suspect are right. Just like insults that hurt our feelings, they’re worse if we secretly know they’re true.

So if you get a suggestion that makes you mad or sad, don’t reject it out of hand. Let it sit, think it over, and try to be honest with yourself. Do you hate this because you know it’s right and that hurts? Consider changing it. Do you hate this because it just doesn’t jive with your artistic vision for your book? Stick to your guns. You’re the creator; no one can make you change your work.

2) Trust your readers.

Not your beta readers: your future book readers. Rarely are beta readers and critique partners your actual ideal book readers.

I give a lot of critique, and this is one of the things I most often find myself saying. “Trust your reader” means don’t underestimate the intelligence of your audience. Don’t over-explain. Don’t dumb it down. Don’t smack them in the face with clues. Trust them to understand your vision and message, and revise accordingly.

Will all of your future readers get it? No. But the ones who do will love you for it. Write for the few, not the many. Readers, like kids, know when they’re being talked down to, and they don’t like it. Trust your reader, and they will sense it.

3) Trust your critique partner(s).

At some point during the writing process, it becomes necessary to get outside opinions. Writing in a hermetically-sealed bubble can be a good thing, but revising in one usually isn’t.

There’s a caveat to this lesson: you have to have good critique partners and beta readers. Finding them isn’t always an easy thing, but once you do, you’ll know it. And you’ll quickly realize whose tastes mesh with yours, and whose opinions (though always valid) simply don’t match up with what you’re going for. I’m lucky enough to have this, so I know it’s out there. If you haven’t yet found someone who suits what you need, keep looking. A good reader is one of the strongest tools a writer can have.

And once you’ve found one…

Trust them with your work. Trust them with your emotions. Trust them to know how much you can handle, and if they push your limits, trust that they believe you’re ready for it. Trust that they’re being honest, and that they don’t have ulterior motives.

Finally, trust their opinions in every regard except when it conflicts with numbers 1 or 2.

~*~

So there you have it: my three rules of revising. Funny how all three of them come down to trust, isn’t it? The past couple of weeks have been a good reminder of this for me.

Writers, do you ever find yourself forgetting lessons you’ve already learned? How do you get back on track? Also, do you have your own “rules” for revisions? Feel free to share below!

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Posted in The Art | 19 Comments

A Book Comic

Book Comic by Annie Neugebauer

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Posted in Silly Stuff | 18 Comments

Sacred Animals

If you’ve been following my blog for some time, you know that every once in a while I like to break up my posts about books, reading, writing, and poetry with some random hypothetical questions like this and this. Today I have another one for you, and I admit, it’s an odd one—so hear me out.

 

If you were to create your own religion, which animal would you choose as sacred, and why?

For the sake of discussion, let’s assume not only that you don’t already have a religion of choice but that there are no religions existent in the world.

It can be whatever type of religion you want—monotheistic, pantheistic, etc.—and you’re welcome to make up as many details as you’d like, if that’s part of the fun for you. But what I really want you to think about is which animal (existing, not made up, though that could be fun too) best represents your mind’s concept of divinity.

As I’m sure some of you are already thinking, some of our world’s current religions do have, and have had, certain animals that they deem(ed) sacred. Hindus, for example, often don’t eat beef because they traditionally believe the cow is a higher form of life. (*According to Wikipedia, it is “a caretaker and a maternal figure” as well as “a symbol of unselfish giving.”) Ancient Egyptians revered cats, believing them embodiments of gods—often even mummifying them like people after death. And then, of course, there are religions that believe all animals are sacred, such as many Buddhists, Jainists, and Wiccans. On the flip side, many Muslim and Jewish people don’t eat pork, as they believe pigs to be an unclean animal.

All of this is fascinating to me. In fact, the contrast between existing sacred animals is what got me thinking about this to begin with. In my mind, for example, there is little difference between the cow (holy to over a billion people) and the pig (unclean to billions) in regard to sacredness, but entire religions—huge portions of the world—beg to differ. So what makes one animal worthy and others not? And, to the point, what would be my factors if I were to choose?

Here are some of my thoughts:

Affection– I think many people’s knee-jerk reactions will be to choose their favorite animal. My husband might choose dogs and I might choose cats, simply because we love them. But on second thought, I’m not sure that’s a good enough reason to deem an animal holy.

Appearance– I wouldn’t want an ugly animal. I can’t imagine worshipping the Star Nosed Mole, for example. (You’re welcome.) The peacock? Maybe. Except I happen to know they’re also loud and stinky.

Behavior– I also can’t quite imagine worshipping an animal that acts dumb or goofy. Chickens, for example.

Food Chain Hierarchy– What about predator vs. prey? Does that affect things? How would I feel witnessing my holy animal being hunted? How would I feel seeing it slaughter another creature? Which is more holy: the tiger or the doe?

Intelligence– Is smart what I should go for? How smart? Chimpanzees, dolphins, and elephants are all said to be extremely intelligent. Does that make them more spiritual than worms and snails?

Symbolism– In the end, I suspect this is what will drive most people’s choices—and perhaps what drove the choices of existing religions. In a culture that’s too fast-paced and hurried, perhaps the sloth would be an admirable choice. For a person who longs for speed and virility, the horse might make more sense.

In the end, this hypothetical isn’t so much about religion as it is about animals. What characteristics in animals do you admire, and why? Which traits are deal-breakers? What drives your perception of other life-forms?

*Please forgive me if I’m incorrect about any of the details above; I’m by no means an expert on world religions.

And just in case you’re wondering, my answer is the owl. Owls are indeed one of my favorite animals. The owl is beautiful, noble, intelligent, other-worldly, a predator, and represents both darkness and wisdom. They are also rare enough to be special but not so rare as to be unobtainable. Not to mention how freaking cute the little ones are.

So how about you? If you were to create your own religion, which animal would you chose as sacred, and why?

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Halloween Links Roundup for October

I don’t usually do links roundups, but since all of my posts this October have been Halloween/horror themed and I was involved in the Horror Writers Association’s Halloween Haunts blog series, it just seemed natural that I would start gathering a list. So I did, and here it is. =) Enjoy.

Lit Jack-o'-lantern glowing menacingly

My Faves from HWA’s “Halloween Haunts”
Famous Monster (Hunters) of Filmland (and Beyond) by Ed Erdelac
The Gift of Fear by Rebecca Cantrell aka Bekka Black
Stoker Spotlight Interview with Rocky Wood
Why Horror? by Cher Green
A Halloween Primer for Horror Writers by Lisa Morton
Be Careful Who You Scare: A Halloween Cautionary Tale by Laura Benedict
Diary of a Horror Writer–Entry 62 by Russell James
Tricks, Treats, and Chainsaws by James Chambers
Fort Fear–Writing the Origin Story for a Haunted Attraction by Adrian Ludens
How the Application of Corn Starch Prepared Me for Novel-Writing by David Annandale
The Ten Movies That Should Always Haunt Your TV On Halloween by Benjamin Kane Ethridge
In a Gulf Coast Graveyard by James Kendley

The Beauty & Grotesquerie of Halloween
25 Unforgettable Homemade Halloween Costumes Made from Recycled Materials | The Daily Green
Amidst Swirling Words & Leaves | Words XO
30 Halloween Party Ideas: Decor, Entertainment, Food, and More | Biz Bash
Halloween pumpkin gallery | eBaum’s World
A Quick Craft for Halloween Spookiness | Tameri Etherton
Famous Works of Art Halloween Costumes | Flavorwire
Spooky Spines | What I Saw
Poetry Friday: A Monster in My Room | Iza Trapani

Horror & Fear
Sympathy for the Monster | Candy’s Monsters
The Myth of the Lonely Monster | Candy’s Monsters
31 Things That Scare Me | Author Jennifer Chase
The Haunted South | Deep South Magazine
Are You Ready for Fall Chills? | Doing the Write Thing
How to Write the Hairy Scary | Word Whores
The 10 best scary paintings | The Guardian

My Posts
Jack-o’-lantern Jars
Why Horror Should Be Its Own Genre
20 Spooky Poems: Suggested Reading for the Halloween Season
The Skeleton (with a brief explanation)

Miscellaneous
And finally, if you’re on Twitter and you could use more horror tweets in your life, check out my new Twitter list of HWA members. I haven’t even had time to check out everyone individually yet, but no doubt there are some great professional horror writers to follow. And if you’re in the Horror Writers Association and I missed you, let me know.

*

That’s it, folks! What’d I miss? Feel free to share your favorite blog posts about tricks and treats below. And have a very safe and happy Halloween!

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The Skeleton

The Skeleton

Jiggly-jaggly bones
shaking as he moves along,
perambulating these halls
as if he could belong…

*click photo to enlarge

poem © Annie Neugebauer
2011. All rights reserved.

art © Andie Wolf
2012. All rights reserved.

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Posted in My Works | 14 Comments