Questions tagged [revision]
This tag should be used for questions about revising your literary works, such as how much time you should calculate for this step or how to keep track of different revisions in case you want to switch back to something you have previously written.
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How to write for an updated edition?
I have a wargaming rulebook that I self-published over a decade ago, that has some interest around it. (Overall, the form is a combination of technical writing + creative design components.) I've been ...
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Why can I not self-reflect on my own writing critically? How can I self-edit?
When an editor goes over my writing, even if most of their feedback is Writing 101 advice, it's still super helpful because my writing has a lot of flaws.
But I never notice these flaws (big picture ...
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Step in the Process of Revising Sentences
Lately, I've been having great trouble revising my work for rhythm, because it is hard, not only to think of different word orders and sentence structures, but also to think of other words and phrases ...
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I'm writing blindly and I need help dealing with it
Writing isn't like drawing, and I can't take a step back and look at it and search for flaws in the story, because it's in my head already, and I know it, and I can't forget it. So when I write I ...
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Getting Prose to Flow
I've heard some advice on writing, which says that writers should read their drafts aloud, in order to hear any flaws in the sound of their writing. But after I've done this, how should I change my ...
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Should I drop my chapter because I don't like it?
I'm writing a chapter where my character is having an educational competition and I feel that my writing is very poor. I can't find events to write about aside from asking and answering questions of ...
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How can I focus on writing one book?
I'm only 9 and I started writing a few books, but I didn't even finish them all. I don't know if I should keep writing different books, or focus on one. I sometimes find old books of mine that aren't ...
user44633
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Re-reading and making changes to current work that makes everything worse?
I constantly re-read my work before writing again. It helps me get in the proper mind set. But my biggest problem is that I make more changes on what's already there that I don't get further along in ...
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Archetype or Stereotype?
After feedback on character design for my visual novel, my grizzled Noir Detective is drifting into an Old Jazz Musician. There's a reason I post the artwork: what has gone unmentioned in this ...
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How to revise your "setting bible"
When it comes to revising/reformatting a setting bible (for a video game) to make the setting more internally consistent and better organized, which place is the best part of a setting bible to look? ...
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How to construct a beat to make an effective treatment for the purposes of revision & group revisions of a Novel?
Why this Question is Being asked
In a previous question it was suggested that I write a treatment to assist with revising & cutting. A treatment is essentially a multi-page, spoilerific summary ...
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How long should it take to Revise/Edit to get to Good Enough?
Editing, to focus my question a bit. My goal is to turn a book around from concept to publishable in a 2 year time period. Currently the plan is to write a draft in a year and revise the following, ...
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How do you know when to give up on a writing project?
Writing is rewriting. The first draft of a novel is commonly riddled with mistakes: the beginning doesn't grip, the characters aren't consistent, the plot has holes, the story lacks suspense, turns ...
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How to create a useful diff of a markdown writing project iteration
I wrote a play that I performed this summer, and have done significant re-writes for an upcoming second performance run. In order to help me relearn my lines, I think it would be useful to see which ...
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I have another question about adverbs. Can you check my instincts?
I like adverbs, and I think they're a great component of language. I see them as a good means to communicate efficiently.
I also understand that they can be a sloppy shortcut, and that writing that ...
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What changes should be made to the story if a single book becomes a series?
I've been working in a novel for a while and it's coming out quite big. If it continues to expand in the current pace, it will probably be over 150k words, so I was thinking about splitting the book ...
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Can I avoid free writing?
We write the best way, not when trying to perfect every sentence as we write our first draft, but when writing down our thoughts and not revising them till we finish that draft. Now in some books I ...
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How To Define The Compelling Need Of My Reader
I am in the process of revising my book and I started reading a little about marketing. I got this wonderful e-mail by Jeff Bullas, who explained to me the basics of selling:
It is not trying to ...
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Uh oh - My book stinks. Now what?
The question pretty much sums it up. I'm a freelance author without much of a platform. It's not that I don't like the story - I spent a great deal of time on it - but after taking a cooling off ...
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What websites or programs offer strong revision tools?
I'm wondering if there are any pieces of software that keep copies of revisions made on a document. So say I delete 500 words out of a document and save it. Is there a program that would realize I ...
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Resurrecting a story: Rewrite or Edit?
I started a book about 2 years ago, got about halfway through, and then got sidetracked. I know this is a typically bad habit of novelists... Fortunately, the book idea that distracted me made it to ...
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Is there a revision functionality in LibreOffice Writer?
Is there a way to identify content of a document based on the date it was typed in Office Writer?
@Mark Baker - yes that is my question. I did find a revision option under file. If you choose it, in ...
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How do I know whether to revise or submit elsewhere?
I wrote a few short stories over the past few years, and I have shared a few of these with beta readers and asked for feedback. I have one that I decided was ready to go find a home, so I found a ...
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Revision Process Order
What would be the best/most fluid/easiest way to revise your manuscript? I've read A LOT up on this and have 2 pages of stuff to revise and check for.
Fixing the following things:
Main Plot Holes,
...
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Is it more optimal to make a longer story or leave it at three pages?
I have short story that is three pages and a paragraph. It's based off a short story by one of my favorite authors in order to learn their prose. Three pages seems a bit short. I think the length of ...
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Can I, as a reader, submit a "Bug Report" for a novel?
I just finished a new release.
I encountered a passage in the book that doesn't quite make sense.
Just a single sentence that is out of place.
Grammatically it is fine, but in context it doesn't seem ...
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I want my coauthor to feel comfortable making changes to my work
I'm sending a draft to my coauthor (senior and more experienced). I'm new to the world of coauthoring and was wondering what would be a good way to suggest that he has absolute liberty to change ...
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What are First Drafts, Second Drafts, etc.?
I've been reading a few questions on this site, and I've seen the terms First, Second or Third Drafts. What does this refer to actually? And could someone give a clear detail of what they are, and why ...
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How should a writer use version control to track drafts, rewrites, and revisions?
I'm a writer, not a programmer. I'm just now for the first time learning about version control and how it works, and I am wondering how version control could streamline my workflow.
In a previous ...
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Text Editors. Suggesting & Tracking Changes to Plain-Text Documents
Many word processors are capable to tracking and displaying changes made to a document. Those changes are typically displayed in special markup supported by the editor. E.g.
But when using a plain ...
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Critique My Poem Please! [closed]
I really need someone to critique this poem for me. It's for a Poem Portfolio in my Creative Writing Class. I just need some help on where to include things like imagery, sensory details, similes, ...
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How to get over writer's block related to revising?
I'm a PhD Student in the social sciences. When I do focused free-writing on a topic, my thoughts just fly out and I can easily generate 600-800 words an hour of relatively high quality text. However, ...
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Do I have to revise my book on paper?
When I read books, blogs, or even answers like this, the advice is usually always the same: To revise properly, you must print out your manuscript, and revise on paper. The thinking goes that one ...
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What software can handle both revision control and layout?
I'm desperately looking for a book publishing solution that can handle revision control and layouts. My issues/requirements are as follows:
Typists are extremely non-technical and I would like to ...
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What counts as a word when dealing with a word limit?
I am trying to determine if it will be feasible to revise a manuscript for a journal that has a 6500 word limit. Currently, the manuscript is between 7500 and 8000 words long, depending on how I count ...
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How Much Exposition is Too Much Exposition
I am in the process of figuring out how to write a mostly autobiographical piece (maybe, eventually, novel) about my experiences related to dancing (Swing, Blues, and a little Hip-Hop, in case you ...
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What methods can I use to revise my writing?
Background
I am finding it challenging to transform an early draft into a finished product. My biggest challenges are putting the prose in the proper order and using topic sentences and transitions ...
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Is Mac OSX Lion's Revision Control System useable by writers?
The upcoming Mac OSX Lion operating system is touting a new file revision control system called Versions (demo video here).
What I'm using for version control right now is rather rudimentary - I ...
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Do you always revise your stories or do you sometimes move on?
When you finish a story, say a short story, not really intending to publish. Do you go back and revise it or let it be, starting on another story?
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When to accept an editor's rewrite request?
So there's an editor who has accepted a story of mine for publication... but he wants me to change the ending. Normally I'm pretty open to editorial changes, but in this case the proposed changes ...
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