Ep. 163: How to Start Novel Revision & How to Avoid Shiny New Object Syndrome – Bonus Mini-episode!

Just how do you start to think about revising your book? And what if you’re being carried away with shiny new thoughts every time you turn around? Here’s what to do! 

Transcript

Rachael Herron: Welcome to “How do you Write?” I’m your host, Rachael Herron, and this is a bonus episode brought to you directly by my $5 Patreons. If you’d like me to be your mini coach for less than a large mocha Frappuccino, you can join too at www.patreon.com/rachael

Well, Hello writers! Welcome to episode 163 of “How do you Write?” I’m Rachael Herron. This is a bonus mini episode answering your questions that you ask. 

[00:00:25] So, let’s jump right in. Let’s not, dwell on the fact that the dog of my heart died on Saturday. I am struggling with that, but I have managed to get the words done anyway, and I don’t know how so, yeah, that’s a good thing. And thanks for those of you who read the blog post and reached out, and it’s been very, very kind and nice of you.

[00:00:47] A couple of things also, before I get into the questions, I’ve had a tremendous response as I always do to the, what I made last year and how I made it. Talking about money, I did want to mention that, of course, you probably already know this and you thought about this, but that was gross. And I have a hell of a lot of write-offs. I have the retreat, I have conferences, I have part of the house because, I work here. We have the interest on the house. I take home a lot less than that. I will update you on what my net intake was for 2019, after I do taxs and after I know that. So just wanted to mention that.

[00:01:26] Okay. Let’s get to some questions. I’ve got two good ones today. Stacy says, I finished my first draft in NaNo and took the month of December off; I’m going to break in here. And just say, Stacy! You did it! You finish your first draft in November. Is that not amazing? In NaNoWriMo, Congratulations. I hope that you are truly celebrating still. I know we’re well into January, you should still be dancing and hooping that up.; I’m going on.; Now, I’m signed up to do your 90 days to revision course. Yay! So excited and nervous. I’m reading through my manuscript now and taking notes on the big issues I need to fix. Good God, there’s a lot all in caps. Any suggestions on what to do until the course starts? Am I on the right track? Thanks!

[00:02:12] Yes. And I want to address everyone who might be listening to this and not, not just you, Stacy. So we make it useful for everybody. But what you’re doing is exactly right. Taking a read through your manuscript, getting that overview of what the book kind of looks like to you. But this is what I want to say to you and to everybody else listening who has a revision that needs to be done and that is a lot of you because revision is a very scary beast. Don’t overthink it too much. And I know that sounds frustrating to hear, but until you have a plan of action and you write down on a piece of paper that you’re going to spend an hour a day, three times a week, working on this revision until you have your plan of action of what to start on and how to start on it. You don’t have to worry too much about the little picture stuff right now. Don’t spend any time at all. Copy editing any sentence, ‘cause who knows if those sentences will end up back in the manuscript. Really the best thing you can do, the best way to spend your time right now is kind of dreaming. Doing that awake dreaming, doing that, lying in bed, going to sleep dreaming, asking yourself the questions like, why don’t I feel comfortable with these particular scenes? Why do I feel like it drags here? I don’t I really understand that character the way that I want to understand them, and these are not questions you need to write down in your car. These are questions that will come up to you. Our brains are really incredible computers. They’re incredible machines. They understand story structure on a really deep level. When you’re doing a revision, basically you are bringing a story into a structure that resonates with the reader. It gives them the, the predictable story structure with tons of surprise. They don’t understand why they need something to shift at the midpoint, but they do, and you provide it to them. If you don’t understand story structure, if you’re listening to this, there are tons of story structure books out there. I really love “Larry Brooks’ “Story Engineering”. That’s the one I recommend the most. So that’s what you’re doing in revision. But your brain already knows these things, even if you can’t put words to them. So at this point, while you’re still kind of looking over the book and thinking about the revision that has to happen, let yourself play. I always bring it back to post it. So you know that have a pack of posts it in your purse, in your backpack, anywhere. Every time you get a tiny little idea, write it down. 100% you will not remember it. If you are out on the trail and you have a great idea that might work in this book, you need to write it down. Take a note in your phone. You won’t remember it. I would say 9 out of 10 times when I tried to remember something just in my old little brain pan, it falls right out. So, at this point when you’re planning on approaching revision, just kind of play with it in your brain, and that is all the work you need to do until you sit down on day one and start to revise using whatever plan you like. So that’s it. That’s just have fun, Stacy. That’s what I’m saying. Just have fun thinking, don’t work too hard. It’s all good. You could not work at all from this day forward until the class starts and you would be just fine. 

[00:05:40] Mariah, my friend Mariah asks, “Do you have tips for how to deal with shiny new object syndrome? Oh shiny new object syndrome is so real. Jessica Abel calls it the slutty new idea and slutty new idea – not to slut shame ‘cause sluts are awesome. Uh, I used to be one. Wow. I can’t believe I just said that out loud on radio. It’s not the radio, it’s the podcast. We are in the 2020s now. Anyway, back on track for the shiny, let’s just call it the shiny new object syndrome. They are so shiny, and for me, I get shiny new object syndrome. At two different times. I get it when I’m between projects and it seems like every single thing I hear could be a story. So everything is glimmering. Every news article I see, which is not very many to be a fit, to be honest. Every article I read in people magazine on the airplane. Every little story that someone tells, I think that could be a book. That could be a book, that could be a book. And for me, again, comes down to postage. I try to trap these on post-its or notes in my phone. I just use, Trello on my phone to capture those things. And I don’t really give any of those shiny new objects while I’m in between projects. I don’t really give them a lot of room in my head because I know that this is my process and this is a lot of people’s process, that you’re just kind of bouncing things around in your head and the shiniest one is going to stick. The shiniest one is going to hold up its hand and you know, wave at you from the waves making you come out to save it. That’s kind of the fun element of the shiny new object syndrome. The other time that I am probably you, Mariah, have it are when we are in the middle of the doldrums of writing a book. I just watched the documentary maiden on Netflix and it was a wonderful, it was about the first all women vote race around the world. The, what’s it called? The Whitbread, I think it was, and there’s this, these agonizing parts where they hit the doldrums where the wind goes out, if there’s no wind to catch your sails, you’ll drift for days and even weeks and in writing books sometimes a lot longer than that. But it really happens to us and when we’re in the doldrums or when we are kind of losing the passion that we had, because that is a natural part of writing books, then everything starts to look shiny. And I do have for myself, you can capture it any way you want. But I have an Evernote file called ideas, and after I’ve done my words for the day on the, dull, old objects as, which isn’t the shiny new object. But if after I’ve done my words on the dull, old object, I will let myself go in and poke at it and kind of play with it and think about the characters, think about what could be happening, think about what the conflict is. And the thing is, they’re always genius books compared to the one you’re writing. When we think about a book, when we are projecting into the future about a book, that book always looks wonderful because we haven’t gotten our hands in yet. We haven’t mucked it up and we are firmly in the process of mucking up a first draft or screwing up a revision, the first big revision or screwing up the third or fourth or fifth smaller revision that you’re doing and that doesn’t feel good. 

[00:09:12] Human beings are trying to avoid suffering. That’s what we’re, this is what we’re all doing on a minute to minute, day by day basis. Every human being, every, I think every living thing is trying to avoid suffering. And when you’re, when you’re in the doldrums of a book, when you’re anywhere from like 25% to 75% of a book, that whole middle section a for me is not comfortable. So I’m always trying to avoid it. A good way to avoid that is by being attracted to those shiny new objects, and we all face it. So give them a place where they are safe, where you can put them, and they know that they don’t have to come knocking on the back door of your brain at three in the morning. They’re safe in an Evernote or in a notebook or wherever you keep those kinds of ideas. Give them that honor. So that they don’t keep bothering you and just try to finish the work in front of you. I know I can say that at it as if it is easy. It is not easy. And the fact that we’re all trying, I think it’s really, really amazing. 

[00:10:13] So thank you for those two questions, ladies. I really appreciate it. Just a quick note about the classes. I do have 90 days to done, open right now. I think I only have one more spot on 90 days to done. So if you are interested in writing your book, either from first word to last word or from somewhere where you got stuck in the middle to the last word,  that is https://rachaelherron.com/90daystodone. And, I do have a few spots left in the revision class, that is http://rachaelherron.com/revision. I’m pretty sure that’s where it is, but sign up for those really quickly if you want them, we start on February 1^st. And that’s obviously three-month course, 90 days, and people really finish their books in there. They really do their revisions and it is so fun. And Stacy, I’m really looking forward to working with you. So that is our mini podcast. I’m going to stop recording and maybe go lie on the couch and cry. 

I do have to say though, that Clara. Dog of my heart. You can see, you can see her rachaelherron.com/blog/ you’ll see the post I made about her. She was my heart and I’m so lonely and blue and sad. I’ve still got two dogs of course, but, but Clara was my girl. But I have to say, I just came home from like doing 1000 errands and I opened the door and my house – my house smelled as sweet as it did when I left. Clara was a big, stinky border collie. No matter how much I washed her, she, she, her glands just secreted that border collie undercoat sent. And I’m thinking, that’s one nice thing about losing her. Ooh, I’m going to cry. But we have to think of those things, right? So missing her, hope that you are doing well and we’ll talk soon my friends. 

Thanks so much for joining me on this episode of “How do you Write?” You can reach me on Twitter, twitter.com/RachaelHerron, or at my website, www.rachaelherron.com, you can also support me on Patreon and get essays on living your creative life for as little as a buck an essay at www.patreon.com/rachael spelled R, A, C, H, A, E, L and do sign up for my free weekly newsletter of encouragement to writers rachaelherron.com/write/

Now, go to your desk and create your own process and get to writing my friends.