Review and Revise
A few weeks ago, I took the plunge and posted two stories to BookCountry: the first draft Whiskers and Wings (my NaNoWriMo 2008 story), and the first six chapters of Raven’s Shadow, my current work-in-progress.
BookCountry is a relatively new online community for writers. It has a lot of great features, including discussion boards and articles about the craft and business of writing. The biggest thing, though, is the ability to share and critique work. Critiquing is emphasized; you’re required to give feedback on three works before you can post your own. I know I needed that kick in the pants to force me to read first! And I’m glad I did. It’s enlightening to read and give feedback on someone else’s work — you can see areas that you maybe need to work on, yourself. Plus, it feels good to help out a fellow writer.
But of course, what we really want is feedback on our own work. Once I’d done my three reviews, I posted my stories. And then I waited.
After a week and a half of biting my nails, I got my first review! I was so excited when I saw it. Someone had read and given me feedback on my work! Both excited and more than a little nervous, I clicked to read it.
The review was from RJ Blain on Raven’s Shadow. I’ll say right now that it was a great review. I don’t mean that it was all glowing and positive and showering praise. I mean that it gave me a ton of really valuable feedback.
When you post a story for review on BC, you select two specific areas you want feedback on, in addition to general feedback. I asked for comments on pacing and voice, two areas I’ve been concerned about in my writing. I can’t judge either myself; I’m too close to the story. RJ’s comments were incredibly helpful. The voice, she said, was consistent and good — “promising” was one of the words she used, which made me happy! It needs some work still, obviously, but for now I can live with that. Pacing is where she really helped me out. The story dragged in places. The tension died too quickly. Things were wrapped up in nice, neat bows, leaving no suspense. And the scene with the future roommate seemed unnecessary.
The review gave me a lot to think about! Having those issues pointed out to me, I could see them myself. It was obvious I needed to do some rework on those first several chapters — and I need to do it before moving on, because it would seriously affect the rest of the story.
The biggest fix I made was changing the timeline: in the first draft, Allison was looking for a roommate; in the new draft, the roommate (Lia) moves in in the second chapter. As a result, Lia is fully integrated right from the start. That takes out some of the biggest draggy pieces of the first draft. I made a few other changes, too. I wound up taking out paragraphs, sections, and even an entire chapter, and doing a lot of new writing. The end result is a new draft that feels much firmer; it will give me a good foundation to build the rest of the story. Hurrah!
I’m thrilled with the experience. It was a bit nerve-wracking to have someone I don’t know reviewing my work, but it really helped. I’m hoping to get more reviews that will help me as I go!
