Smart, structured approaches to revising your novel and using feedback to improve your story.
Sunday night I watched Scott Pelley interview director Christopher Nolan on 60 Minutes about The Odyssey that opens on July 17. At one point Pelley considers the grandiose epic movies and complex storylines Nolan’s known for, and the sheer number of people involved to bring them into reality. The following exchange really stood out to […]
I have a 112,000-word discovery draft sitting on my desk, and I’ll be honest with you — the thought of revising it is a little terrifying. I know what needs work. That’s not what terrifies me. I keep asking myself the questions that make any writer spiral: What if there are too many changes? What
“Something came up.” “I had to put out a fire.” How many times have you said that as a reason for not getting to your to-do list? If I had a nickel for every time those words have come out of my mouth… It’s the same for your creative project, too. You know, that writing
I was on my third novel when I realized that I had something. The setting was vivid. The characters wouldn’t stop talking. My writing group had great feedback… and then the suggestions started coming. Open later. More cave scene.Dead body in scene one.More police procedural.Less cave scene. (Sigh.) So I went back and tried to address
