Time for a change. I’ll be fiddling with my blog’s background for a while. Seems the photobucket folks have parted ways with the site I’ve used, thecutestblogontheblock.com. So forgive my under-construction look until I find a nice skin I want to stick with. Isn’t writing sometimes like that too? You just can’t stop fiddling with a work-in-progress. Sometimes it ends up being worse than it was before all the tinkering. How can you know when a piece is finished?
Writing Tip for Today: Even accomplished writers often look at their published work with an editor’s eye. When you are in revisions, the “cooling off” period is often your best clue as to how much more rewriting you should do. Draft in a white-hot heat, then set it aside. For novels, a complete draft probably ought to sit for at least a couple weeks if possible. Shorter pieces should cool off a minimum of a day or two. In rounds of revisions, a cooling off period can allow the biased subjective mind to take a back seat to the objective editor’s mind. This sequence should occur as many times as necessary. Focus on different aspects at different rewriting sessions–structure, voice, theme on one pass, and later, maybe tightening, grammar or other small picture items. Always do revisions in a separate copy of your document, in case you hate it the next day. The advice to “sleep on it” is good for writers and bloggers alike.
Try This! Critique groups are great, but what if you aren’t in one or yours has adjourned for summer? Continue to print out and read aloud your drafts, even if it’s to the family pet (they don’t criticize!) You’ll hear many things your eye alone misses.
