Be sure to keep reading...

Another revelation I had was how important it is to keep reading while writing, especially when doing revision. I can't tell you how many times I've come up with a new way to approach a sentence, scene or plot twist just by reading another writer's work. In the beginning, I had a tendency not to want to read for fear I would be influenced, or worse, want to plagiarize (Egods!). But now I find it very helpful to read. And not just my own genre'; everything on my "to read" list.

So don't be afraid. Lose yourself in a someone else's book and look for inspiration. Keep writing!

The need for continuity...

Another thing I've learned about revision is that you need a continuous block of time to do an effective job. You can't start a revision one day, and then leave it for a week, and expect to maintain continuity. Better to wait until you have a big chunk of time to read through what you have and make notes on what you'd like to change. Then the actual time spent in revising will be reduced dramatically. Ah, if I'd only known this a while ago...

Revision

There's not enough room here to tell you what I've learned in the ten years I've been writing, but yesterday something struck me that I wanted to share. I'm in the middle of the second revision to my second novel, "Staying Afloat," (the story of a stay-at-home wife and mother who morphs into a sex-crazed adulteress) and it occurred to me how easy it is to fall in love with an especially creative metaphor, sentence, or word and how difficult it is to cut it, even when your critique group tells you to. I found the only way I can bring myself to do this is to cut it and paste it to a new document I call "leftovers," hopefully to be used another time. It makes me feel better to know my favorites have not been totally discarded. Keep writing!