Lesson 18 is an important milestone in How to Revise Your Novel. It marks the (relative) completion of story edits, and the beginning of detailed line edits. This is a moment that invites celebration, and sometimes more than a little … Continue reading
This member’s space opera hit a snag when she realized her aliens just weren’t right. There’s so much to consider when creating a species, or a set of species. There’s physiology, of course, which is never easy. And then, unless … Continue reading
Week 17 of How to Revise Your Novel covers the real, red-marker-and-scissors-and-tape part of revision, the part where you finally begin to have an effect on the manuscript itself. It’s huge. It’s exciting. It’s daunting. Sometimes, especially for the first-time … Continue reading
Well, maybe not total seclusion. But if you’re facing Lesson 10 of How to Revise Your Novel, you’re about to enter what we fondly call the Monastery. Lots and lots of things happen in this lesson, and I don’t want … Continue reading
By Week 9 of How to Revise Your Novel, the writer has had a chance to examine her novel deeply and completely. This week the writer is also required to think and write about herself, about what she learned about … Continue reading
What’s the most interesting setting you’ve written so far? Is it a desert with colorful dunes, each with its own magic? Is it the dark, dirty basement where a captive is being held? Is it your mother’s kitchen, where the … Continue reading
When diving into revision, it’s vital to understand the weight you’ve given your characters. Have you really made your most important character the most important? Have you given adequate weight to your protagonist, or is a side character trying to … Continue reading
In grade school, I was taught to remember what allegory was by thinking of it as an alligator – something you can’t see by looking at the water, but it’s there nonetheless. In HTRYN lesson 8, Holly discusses why you … Continue reading
Holly’s style of world building includes such strange objects as wallpaper, blinkies, shin-bangers, sets, props, and gimmicks. These items aren’t always as cut-and-dried as we expect, and sometimes it can be difficult, especially with gimmicks, to figure out exactly what we … Continue reading
This member of How to Revise Your Novel started the course without a lot of hope for her novel. She says: On top of which: before I started this lesson, I was beginning to think my novel was BROKEN BEYOND … Continue reading