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Revision--What's That?

3/21/2022

17 Comments

 
Picture
By Christine Liu-Perkins

When I began writing for children, revising was difficult for me. My first drafts were decent, but when critiques came in, I didn't know how to implement the suggestions. Sure, I could tweak words here and there, but I couldn't see the entire manuscript in a new way that enabled substantial changes. I was not at all ready for the kind of revisions editors would ask for.
 
I was surprised to discover that even well-known authors work through revisions. For example:

  • Candace Fleming's initial version of The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia was deemed "boring" by the editor. Understanding the difference between fact and truth led to her riveting final book.
  • Jim Murphy described the pain of deleting passages to focus the narrative of what became The Crossing: How George Washington Won the American Revolution. 
  • Kathleen Krull had only one sentence left intact of Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez after revising with the editor.
  • Melissa Stewart struggled with the structure for No Monkeys, No Chocolate through "10 years, 56 revisions, and 3 fresh starts." Take a look at her Revision Timeline for a chronicle of her process.
 
Clearly, if I wanted to publish, I had to learn how to revise.
If you're interested in revising skills, here are some sources that can help:
  • Sneed Collard offers:
    • a book: Teaching Nonfiction Revision: A Professional Writer Shares Strategies, Tips, and Lessons (with classroom exercises by Vicki Spandel)
    • a podcast (and transcript) in which he introduces his thoughts on revision
    • an article about revising on the paragraph level
  • Kate Messner's Real Revision: Authors' Strategies to Share with Student Writers has insights and exercises for various steps in revising fiction and nonfiction, plus tips from multiple authors.
  • Anatomy of Nonfiction: Writing True Stories for Children by Margery Facklam and Peggy Thomas is a terrific guide for creating nonfiction from start to finish. Chapter 10 focuses on revising, and also handling critiques.
  • Candace Fleming recommends six steps for revising nonfiction picture books.
  • Melissa Stewart offers several video mini lessons on writing and revising
  • Pat Miller shows how her Substitute Groundhog changed through thirty drafts over three years.
  • Michelle Cusolito finds using dummies helpful
  • Helga Schier explains doing rounds of revision using post-it notes
  • For revising both fiction and nonfiction, check this list of resources provided by editors Harold Underdown and Eileen Robinson.
Have you found other sources helpful? If so, let me know in a comment below. I still have lots to learn!
 
 
 
 
 


17 Comments
Marcie Atkins link
3/22/2022 04:27:56 am

These are such great resources! I'm having trouble with the links. Anyone else or just me? All of the links are showing up blank on multiple devices and multiple browsers. If others are able to click on them, then perhaps it's just me.

Reply
Annette Whipple link
3/22/2022 04:53:10 am

I was going to say the same about the links...and wondered if it was just me. :)

FABULOUS post! I know some are shocked when I say Whooo Knew? The Truth About Owls took 35 revisions. BUT once I completely changed the structure and audience (and 90% of the text), it worked!

Reply
Susan Kralovansky link
3/23/2022 07:35:01 am

The links are now working.

Christine Liu-Perkins link
3/23/2022 10:17:57 pm

Annette, I'm inspired by your persistence! Congratulations on figuring out the right combination for your book!

Susan Kralovansky link
3/23/2022 07:33:59 am

The links are working now.

Reply
Christine Liu-Perkins link
3/23/2022 10:26:38 pm

So sorry, Marcie. I hope you were able to get links that worked today.

Reply
Marcie Atkins link
3/24/2022 04:09:36 pm

Yes, thank you! I got them. :)

MARIANNE BLACKSTONE TABNER link
3/22/2022 08:39:05 am

This was nice to have in front of me this morning after feeling a bit discouraged about revising my nonfiction story even further. Thanks for sharing these revision tips and resources Christine!

Reply
Christine Liu-Perkins link
3/23/2022 10:22:55 pm

Marianne, I hope some of the ideas sparked a fresh revision of your work. The process can really be up and down, but the breakthroughs are worth it!

Reply
Rose Cappelli
3/22/2022 08:40:28 am

So many resources. Thank you! But I'm also having trouble with the links.

Reply
Susan Kralovansky link
3/23/2022 07:36:01 am

Hey Rose,
Everything is working now.

Reply
Christine Liu-Perkins link
3/22/2022 10:44:53 am

Ack, technical error on the links! So sorry. We're working on getting them inserted.

Reply
Christine Liu-Perkins link
3/22/2022 11:53:23 am

Meanwhile, here's where you can get a pdf of this post with the links
https://christineliuperkins.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Revision-Whats-That.pdf

Reply
Susan Twiggs
3/23/2022 09:16:57 am

So helpful. Just starting revisions on my expository nonfiction. Obviously a long way to go!

Reply
Christine Liu-Perkins link
3/23/2022 10:24:19 pm

Thanks, Susan. Hope your revisions go well!

Reply
Melanie A Vickers
3/26/2022 05:45:53 am

I'm struggling with revising my narrative nonfiction. All the NF Fest posts were fabulous, but this article is smack dab-in my face-spot on for me. I soooo needed to open and read this today. Melanie

Reply
Christine Liu-Perkins link
3/26/2022 10:17:12 am

Melanie, thank you for letting me know. I hope for you an insight that pushes your revision forward!

Reply



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