My vacations are officially over. No more play time. I'm buried in edits.
But!
Taking that break in between "first draft" and "revisions" reminded me of why it's so important to allow yourself some breathing room after you type THE END. You need that detachment.
After spending four months living and breathing this novel, I stepped away from it for three solid weeks. I didn't look at it once. Did I think about it? Of course. But what did I find myself doing when I had a few brief moments of boredom here and there while on vacay? Scribbling down notes about my next project.
By the time I sat down to work on my first pass of revisions, about a week ago, I'd become so detached from the characters and the story that I actually struggled a bit to get motivated enough to work on it. My brain was like, Wait a minute, I thought we were done with this. We're not? Well... what do we have to do to be done, because I want to be done!
Once I really got going on revisions, though, it became much more pleasant. I remembered my original vision for the piece. I remembered why I started this book in the first place. I remembered the point of my story. I remembered what I loved so much about my characters and their journey. And since I'd had some time away, when I came back to it I saw it as a whole, instead of dots that needed connecting.
Distance allows you to see the whole book and pinpoint areas that need adjustments. It allows you to be objective about your own work. In my experience, this makes your revision phase much more effective than if you jump right in like an eager beaver. The length of your break is entirely dependent on you as an individual, and the individual needs of the project. Whether it be a week, a month, a year... that's up to you, and no one can tell you you're wrong for whatever time you choose.
So my question today is, How long do you break after typing THE END? And what benefits have you noticed from doing so?
Happy Writing,
~Lydia
I do NaNo every year, so I always take the month of December off from that particular project (and usually writing in general). I catch up on reading, sometimes work on other projects. Beyond that, I try not to let things sit too long - I get antsy.
ReplyDeleteIt took me a while to realize the importance of distancing oneself from their novel before plunging into revisions. I find my edits go much smoother now, and I also tend to come up with new ideas more easily to spice up scenes.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree, I have to take a break from a manuscript before I can think about edits on it. The biggest help for me when taking a break is that I'm not so married to what I wrote anymore that I can't change it. Often I'll come to a scene and say "oh, yeah, definitely need to rewrite that." If I just wrote it, though, I'm far more likely to try and make it work. Which never works.
ReplyDeleteI take mini-breaks leading up to longer ones because I start to miss it or it'll hit me to change something and I'll get swept back into it. Generally, the ultimate break is about 6 months. Then I usually have enough distance to determine whether what I have is worth anything.
ReplyDeleteI took a six month break from my current project, (although I thought I was abandoning it and I only went back to remind myself how awful it was). When I read it as a reader rather than a writer, I realised it wasn't awful at all. There's was a lot of promise. And the story was pretty cool. So I think the main thing for me is to have enough time to read it with fresh eyes, so it's like it's the first time I've ever seen it. Which means months. Kinda helps that I don't have an agent to worry about!!
ReplyDeleteOh no, Lydia, I meant to take 30 days between my middle-novel draft and the revisions, but my next project swept me away and I haven't seen that other novel in months. Who knows what will face me when I finally crack open those pages again?!
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, I'm knee-deep in revisions of my YA which I started right after I typed "The End" because it is more time-sensitive.
Best wishes with the revisions and the new project!
At least a month, sometime more depending on what's going on. I want to make sure when I read it, it seems fresh so I can see when things don't make sense. :)
ReplyDeleteI take 2 weeks off between my first draft and edits. I take the time to recharge and read something in my genre for pleasure and inspiration, as well as go over a few of my writing reference books. For me it's imperative to have fresh eyes when it's time to dive back in.
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