Tools for Revising - TypeIT ReadIT

Wait, don't leave!

You'll be sorry you passed up this info. I've been revising one of my earlier manuscripts, OTHR. I like to read what I've written aloud to hear the rhythm, listen for repetitions, and anything else that strikes me. I was chatting with another writer friend, RRSmythe, yesterday morning. SHe mentioned that she does the same thing using a program called Text Aloud, which saves your file to an mp3 so you can transfer it to your ipod or whatever. Text Aloud isn't cheap, if you add the AT&T voices that read with something more than zombie doldrums.

Since I've been going to the trouble of reading a section into my tape recorder, which saves it as mp3, and downloading to my computer, this sounded great to me. So I searched for a free program that might do the same thing with an acceptable voice. Other voices can be added American, UK or foreign languages. Other languages and foreign voices are also available.

I found TypeIt ReadIt which was designed for students with reading impairments.



It is so easy to use and the voices are decent. Just copy your text into it, click save as sound and you'll have a file within minutes to listen to or drop into your ipod or on CD. Versions for Mac and PC, with choice of file type in .wav for Windows Media Player, .aiff for Itunes or other audio format. I'm heading over to get Duncan, William and Diane.

Worldbuilding and First Drafts

I'm about three hours from the end of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. When a book is really really good, I have to savor it, like the best dark chocolate truffles I ever had (there were only six of them in a little bag I purchased in London). And of course, as a writer, it's fun to analyze the author's style.

I both love and hate that I can't figure out where he's going with his plots. The arcs of plot and character are so well done, the clues so patiently distributed that when they come together at certain turning points in the novels, I say, All Riiight! or Aack! A couple of times I've had a feeling of pure satisfaction at an unexpected but desired result.

This all makes me wonder about his rough draft. How much of his world and magic did he have figured out at the beginning and end of the first draft? How much developed through revisions and into the next two books? I've been trying to find some reference to this on his site.

TR now stands at 95K and I believe there's about 15 more to go. For some reason I'm still waiting to move to the end. Not sure why. Do I have that disease some writers get when they see the END coming? Fear of what comes next? I don't think so. I'm actually looking forward to the revision, to growing and deepening the story. Am I just suffering from inertia? Maybe. But honestly, I keep thinking up new paranormal characters, details, abilities, possibilities and want to incorporate them into THIS rough draft before I start over. And just maybe I'm afraid that once it's done, and I start over, the ENTIRE STORY will change and I'll be writing it over - an completely different book. Ugh! I think that's it.

You know how you read a great author's book and subconsciously you compare, okay, consciously, and it seems like David looking at Goliath in terms of dynamism. Well, you know what I'm saying.

Here's a great post by Donald Maaas on Writersunboxed that addresses this awesomeness. 'The Elements of AWE' Part I and Part II

How much do you know before you start writing? What is left to discover at the end of your finished draft?

Amended: I discover two of Sanderson's posts where he has made available the various versions of Warbreaker in two forms, one is a comparison side by side of how he made his revisions in Word 2007. I haven't gotten that one to open yet (slow internet you know).

AAHHH! Here he says "Before I wrote MISTBORN: THE FINAL EMPIRE I wrote a rough draft of a book I simply called MISTBORN. After that, I wrote a book I called THE FINAL EMPIRE. These were books set in separate worlds, completely unconnected. When it came time to do a follow-up to ELANTRIS, I looked back at these two books and remembered how fond I was of elements of both of them. I decided to combine them, starting from scratch, and using the best elements of both to create a new book. That became MISTBORN: THE FINAL EMPIRE."

Well, now I've faced the worst that can happen. I better get to it.

Revising strategy

Okay, started a new job this week and since training is taking up so much of my time, I've decided to take a chapter of OTHR with me everyday. I can revise it on my lunch hour. I'll be further along than if I let it sit at the house.

I seem to get more done when I have more to do. I'm sure you know what I mean. The adrenaline is pumping, organization mode stays in play, rather than relaxation mode.

MOL update

FINALLY!!! I got my revisions done on MOL to a point where I'm satisfied with it enough to send to my CP for final look. Of course she might disagree once she sees the changes I made.

I was only going to go in and fix the love scene but I started at the beginning and saw many sentences that needed restructuring, a few punctuation changes for better flow, just a lot of little things. But I felt good about most of the changes.

I know, it's late to be re-re-re-vising, but I felt it added to the MS. We'll see what Leah thinks.

Anyway, now I get to move on to the synopsis and I'm actually looking forward to it. But have to clean out my office, hang clothes, straighten the house and do wash before I can think clearly about it. Kind of clear the canvas.

My June 17th deadline should still be achievable for submission.

Keep the Dream Alive - the lull

You're in Revision Purgatory. It's scary here, your momentum stalls. It's a seemingly impossible feat. There's fear, loneliness and a crisis of confidence.

I worry that I won't be able to put it right; that this slashed, cut and pasted version which was once my manuscript will ever look like one again.

I stopped while it was in my CP's hands and read some refresher courses on POV, scene development, and decription and now I see glaring inconsistencies, plot problems and POV slides.

Why did I do that? Well, I did commit to making it - to use an Army slogan - be all it can be at this stage in my career. So better now than later after I've submitted it to a publisher or agent.

I know I'm capable of better, so until I'm satisfied that it's my best effort I won't cut corners. I'll keep my eye on the goal, of being published, not each painful step along the way.

I see my book with my name printed across the binding. A customer taking it from the shelf, reading the back cover with a smile, tucking it under her arm and walking to the register.

While I tackle the excruciating grunt work, I remind myself again to trust the process and believe.

Manuscript reduction

This week I began the revision process to see how much I could trim from my 90K novel. Was there that much dross that I could eliminate? Were there relationships with secondary characters that weren't necessary to a different sub genre?

It was a real high level, major scene slashing and I managed to trim 16k from it on the first pass. I'm sure more will come in the thorough revision process. The problem is that going with the shorter version will bring fewer opportunities to expand the descriptive passages, make use of rhetorical devices and thoroughly explore the characters' emotions.

So this week I'll fine tune the ending and take a look at both versions to see which is stronger. It's bad news when my husband who knows nothing about writing says, "that sounds like too much to cut. Doesn't that mess with the ...flow?" And grand son who is a new author of a fishing manual said, "Nothing like throwing out a little content."

We'll see. Luckily, I have a great critique partner who can help me decide before submitting my first three chapters. I feel the pressure to take advantage of the contacts I made in Shreveport.

Two partials to submit as soon as I can and more post office work looming to work around. This year will be a study in setting boundaries, learning to write around my work schedule to achieve my goal of getting published.