Curious Lit

So you want to be a writer, but you're not sure what that means? Who are the Big 6 anyway (or is it 5 now)? Do I need an agent? Is self-publishing really that bad? Well, I have no idea. But I'm here to find out.

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If I had not existed, someone else would have written me, Hemingway, Dostoyevsky, all of us.

William Faulkner

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Much like Rachelle, Nathan's blog also offers a tag on the topic of revision. I suggest browsing through it to see all the advice that he has to offer, including How to Deal with Revision Fatigue and Nathan's personal revision process.

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David Quammen, Nate Silver, Ben Macintyre, George Dyson, Robert Caro…there was so much great Nonfiction this year.

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If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can’t allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.

Elmore Leonard

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As usual, I went to some of my favorite bloggers to look for their take on this week's topic: revision. On Rachelle's blog, there's a whole tag dedicated to the topic. Tempting as it was to link you to each of the informative and interesting posts, I thought it wiser to let you browse the tag yourself. 

Some of the posts included in the tag are:

What does a book edit look like? (for those curious about the edits that you'll go through if you land a book deal)

How to cut thousands of words without shedding a tear

Hiring a Freelance Editor

The Joy of Revisions

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Author and illustrator Isaac Stewart provides some simple advice for those beginning their revisions.

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3 Things That End A Story Well

By Cat Rambo

Someone mentioned that they’d like to see a post on endings. Endings are hard. You have to go back and look for all the loose ends. It’s like weaving a basket – all those spiky little sticks poking out need to be woven together into a coherent shape. Here’s three things I think about when working on an ending.

Read More

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From the NaNoWriMo website. Includes links to events and writing communities, as well as tips and helpful advice for those of you who are tackling revising or even seeking publication.

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Making people believe the unbelievable is no trick; it’s work. … Belief and reader absorption come in the details: An overturned tricycle in the gutter of an abandoned neighborhood can stand for everything.

Stephen King

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If authors were lovers to the English language

Wilde would whisper flowery sweet nothings in your ear during foreplay but then have his very dirty way with you

Fitzgerald would spend like an hour bragging about how good he was and then come much too soon

Shakespeare would make up positions on the spot but they’d be awesome

Doyle would please you once and then complain when you kept asking him to do the same thing over and over again

Hemingway would explain in no uncertain terms exactly what he was going to do, and do exactly one very simple act, but goddamn if it wasn’t the best time you’ve had in years anyways

Joyce would take FOREVER but eventually satisfy you

Rand would make you do all the work yourself

Poe would cry 

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Holly Lisle lays out her step-by-step plan for a one-pass novel revision. What do you need?

A printed copy of your manuscript  

A cheap spiral-bound 8½” by 11” notebook 

A couple of smooth-writing pens 

A table where you have room to stack your manuscript into three piles and have the spiral-bound notebook open at the same time 

Good lighting 

Nerves Of Steel™

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Like Pale Gold - The Great Gatsby Part I: Crash Course English Literature #4

In which John Green explores F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel of the Jazz Age, The Great Gatsby. John introduces you to Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, Daisy and Tom Buchanan, and the other characters in the novel, and tries to look beyond the surface story to figure out what this thing is ABOUT. Set in the 1920’s against a conflicted backdrop of prohibition and excess, The Great Gatsby takes a close look at the American Dream as it existed in Fitzgerald’s time. It turns out, it had a lot to do with money and status, and it still does today. John will cover the rich symbolism of the novel, from the distant green light to the pale gold of wealth and decay. Also, Paris Hilton drops by.

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Samatha Clark discusses the pros and cons of each form of revision on her blog, and how you might benefit from printing out that hard copy and revising the old-fashioned way.