Friday, October 01, 2010

Yonder grass is looking greenly

Yes I love revisions, yes. I do.

But.

BUT.



NEXT, PLEASE.

I'm kinda ready to be done now! See, sometimes revisions are all cozy futz-futz, tinker-tinker, and other times, the need to write a new scene falls out of the sky, and my brain does not want to write a new scene. My brain is nonplussed. It's like, "I thought all that writing malarkey was over. I thought we were revising here." Yeah. Dirty secret: revising involves writing. It's like when you just mopped and somebody runs over your floor with muddy feet. You clap your hands to your cheeks and scream, "NOOOOOOOO!"

At least, that's my reaction to muddy feet.



Who am I kidding? I rarely mop. And the scene-writing is fine. It's just that as one nears the end, one gets so ready to be DONE. But it is hugely satisfying to take the almost-book and polish it to a high gloss. Just, sometimes, a deep breath must be taken. A whole new scene. So you go write a blog post instead. At least, that is what I do. Ha ha.

Really think about the term "revision." Re-vision. This is your chance to see if you've got everything running at full awesome. Don't be afraid to make drastic changes. I am not making drastic changes. Not now, but over the course of writing this book, there was much drastickness. Drasticity.

BE BRAVE!

On a happier note, a couple of things. First, Lips Touch is an honor book for the Oregon Spirit Book Award! This is awesome; it's an award given by the Oregon Council of Teachers of English, and I love English teachers!

Secondly, Lips Touch is up as the October title for Readergirlz! Thank you, Readergirlz! This is so cool. Check it out. There are guidelines for a book party, if you are inclined, including discussion questions, a play list, and recommendations for what kind of food to make, invitations, and even what movies to watch. This was SO FUN. The live chat will be October 20, if you want to put together a little gathering for that night. I'll be blogging more about it, of course. But go check it out :)

11 comments:

Kristie Cook said...

Congrats on the honor and the Readergirlz selection!!

Another writer friend and I were just having this convo yesterday about "the end" not quite being the end. We agree we love the writing and even editing and polishing. But realizing, just when you think you're done, that a bigger change needs to be made is frustrating. You know it will make the book better, though, so you do it...and all the domino effect changes that must be made, too.

Yeah, I'm anxious to wrap up Purpose and move onto the new stuff. Totally know what you're saying here.

Unknown said...

(it's because Lips Touch is so dang incredible.)

Also, I believe I'm having my first official machete-through-the-jungle writing experience. Thanks for the inspiration to just sit down and get it out. =)

Pen said...

Really enjoying your blog.

Your books look awesome, but I haven't seen them anywhere down here at the bottom of the world (New Zealand). I may have to try and source them from further abroad.

Shelli (srjohannes) said...

good luck on revisions Laini! :) I was on faculty wit alvina this last weekend and love her - you both are so lucky to be working together.

Anonymous said...

"Running on full awesome" just made my day.

Thank you so much for blogging about how you write! Your explanations really click with the way my brain works. I've made more progress with my current writing project than I ever have before, and your Not for Robots series and posts here have been a huge help and influence. Thank you thank you!

Crystal Cook said...

Well I'm glad I'm not the only infrequent mopper out there. :) I love to read about how you write. And congrats on Lips Touch! A truly beautiful book :)

storyqueen said...

I will be getting the edits for my mg from my editor soon....and it will be a little hard to dive back in.

I prefer drafting to revising. Maybe it's the non-perfectionist in me.....

Congratulations on the accolades that Lips Touch continues to draw. Well deserved.

Your book changed my life as a writer:)

Shelley

John said...

Nice blogging, My review is very good example.
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