Revising a Rough Draft (Really Rough) Part 1

(Just a quick note: new followers may notice that my posts are a little longer. I tried to keep all my blog posts short and to the point, spending little time on my personal journal, caviats, or explanations. This was so you could procrastinate during November and not feel guilty. Now, we're back up to normal-sized posts.)

I still haven't decided what to work on. I'm enjoying this break, even if the waiting can be a little mind-numbing. So, to distract myself, I've been searching for helpful tips which, of course I will share with you!

Right now, I'm focusing on little things to be aware of as you go through revising a novel. We've been through a crazy first draft, not even looking back to check for spelling and grammar. There are bound to be mistakes. But what about craft? What about those little things that every young writer does wrong unless they're careful and meticulously trying NOT to? (And let's be honest: I don't think ANY of us were being meticulous in November!)

A little tip that I picked up in a writing class was Eliminating Your Filter. I found a good article explaining what it is and how to get rid of it. Basically, you want to help the reader live the experiences, rather than tell your reader that the character was living the experience.

Also, here's a fantastic article by author Caro Clark on Beginners' Four Faults. These are some really easy fixes, but they're things that we all do. Especially during NaNo when we're just trying to move forward.

On Tuesday, I'll share some tips on giving each word the weight it deserves in Revising a Rough Draft Part 2 and then, on to Part 3.