So a couple weeks ago I mentioned off hand that I initially wrote Farro in three weeks. This is true, the first draft went from nonexistent to "the end" in under a month, but I've spend many months more rewriting and editing. I go through stages and writing is (unfortunately) only a single step towards completion.
I thought I would share these steps with you. So prepare yourself for a rather lengthy post!
Step One: Write your book.
The biggest mistake I see aspiring authors making is writing a couple pages, maybe even a couple chapters and then reading over what they wrote. Why a mistake? Because these authors will inevitably see the flaws in their writing and come to resent the whole project. They're likely to even scrap it. This isn't where I'm going to tell you how to write a good book -- I'm not sure anyone can tell you that -- but I will impart to you this one gem of knowledge: Write. Don't make calendars and deadlines and goals, just write because you like to write. Don't look over what you're working on, and don't -- for heaven's sake! -- start a new project right in the middle of the first. You're supposed to be writing for fun, and if all the sudden you find yourself growing bored, introduce a dramatic setting, a thrilling climax, a new character. It'll spice up your story and keep your words coming. That is, after all, what's most important. Just write, we forgive you for the typos!
[Time: 3 weeks]
Intermission: Let it sit.
If you're like me and you wrote your book in a few, sleep-deprived weeks, then this is especially important. You've finished, so give yourself a break for a couple weeks, maybe even a month. Read some books you've been meaning to get to, reconnect with friends, rent those movies you've been meaning to watch. Give the writing side of you a break.
[Time: 5 months. Why so long? Because I needed it. I was tired, and unemployed and I needed time!]
Step Two: The Rewrite
This is where I sat down and focused on character/plot fixes. This is where I went through and extended scenes, cut scenes, tightened scenes, etc.. I took it chapter by chapter, the original document open to one side of my screen, the new document on the other. I reworked those sentences that weren't inline with the narration style, I altered the style completely in tense/action scenes. I did about a chapter every other day, brushing the grit from the surface of the story, bringing forth it's deeper themes and potential.
[Time: 2 months]
Step Three: The Edit
Ugh. Of all the steps this is my least favorite, for obvious reasons. I'm not great at spotting my own typos (see earlier posts for details), so I usually strong arm my husband into helping. First I take a chapter and I read it ALOUD. Why aloud? Because it's the single best way to edit for voice, style, dialogue, word choice, etc. If you do nothing else, proofreading, revisions, etc., then please -- for the love of all that is holy -- read your book aloud. Second, I send said chapter to husband, who does a pass for grammatical mistakes, further word choice advise, and style corrections. Third, check over husband's changes, make sure I agree with all of them, see where maybe I need to rework a whole paragraph in light of his changes, etc. Then it's done. I check that chapter off my list. Hooray Arreana!
[Time: 2 months]
Step Four: The Polish
So all throughout step three I was finding problems, right? Well, the ones I encountered frequently I added to the "Farro Checklist," a now-7-page bulleted list of all the problems that I will ctrl+F and double check in the final stage. I'll format my book here to make sure everything is consistent (i.e. when I say "Kah" it doesn't appear "kah"), I'll check to make sure anything I was unsure about in the editing process gets changed and inputed here. It moves fast, it's satisfying -- who doesn't like checking things off a list? -- and, after writing the novel, it's probably about the most fun you'll have with it. I get to see the final product, to see it come together at last.
[Time: 3-5 days]
So, as you can see, Farro took me a considerable amount of time. Usually books don't take me that long to complete, but life threw me a couple doozies, and I'm afraid the whole project was put on the back burner for a while. Hopefully Sulfur will go considerably faster!
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