Starting in the Middle of the End
Revising backwards and late afternoon writing sessions
If you are new here, hi and welcome! Since this post is about the next stage of my novel writing journey, if you wish to catch up, I recommend reading any of these posts to get you up to date :) thank you for being here!
For the longest time, I firmly believed I was a morning writer. As in, I could only write in the AM. If I missed the window, if work or life got in the way, then I missed my writing time. As you can imagine that brought on a lot of frustration, working like that. If I didn’t hate my corporate job at the time enough, feeling as though it was the reason my writing wasn’t getting done was maddening.
We all have beliefs about our creative practices that can hold us back. There is the imposter syndrome, the limiting mindsets, the feeling that we can’t write unless all the conditions around us are just right.
This past year, I’ve really challenged this belief of mine, this morning or nothing writing thing, and I can finally say I’ve kicked the limitation.
As I mentioned in my last post, I was hoping to start querying in May but after sorting through my beta reader feedback, I realized I needed to do another draft revision. I’ve spent the last month doing just that, which is why I haven't posted anything here for the entire month. Every free moment I had was devoted to my novel.
And I found a new writing sweet spot—in the late afternoon.
I realized if I woke up earlier and got a jump start on work, I could mostly finish by early afternoon. Then, to break up the day and move my body, I either went for a walk or went to the gym/yoga before eating lunch. By mid-afternoon, I was back at my desk. I usually answered the few emails that came in while I was away, but then it was officially novel writing time. Late afternoons when I usually fought fatigue or restlessness, now have become a sacred time. I’ve been able to get into that flow state so much easier, knowing that my immediate and urgent tasks have all been done. I think it also worked because of where I am in the process. I had a plan for every writing session—a spreadsheet and a checklist. Every time I sat down, I knew what I was about to do.
For those of you following my journey thus far, here is what I did for draft six. It was a little funky, but it worked.
The biggest revisions in this draft were in Act One, the first 5 chapters or so. Big as in multiple pages needed to be cut. Certain scenes needed to be challenged. Questions needed to be asked about the necessity of dialogue, flashbacks, info dumping.
When I started this revision at the beginning of May, I did not have the strength, willpower, or desire to go back to the beginning. I was filled with dread. I’d rewritten the beginning so many times that it now felt like a chore. I didn’t want to go into my revision— with this almost query-able draft—with that attitude.
So, I just skipped to the scene I was most excited to revise. It's very freeing to remember that you can do whatever the hell you want when it comes to your own novel. I started with chapter 24, adding a character to a pivotal scene. Then, I moved to 25, 26, and 27. Then, I jumped to chapter 21. I revised all the way until I hit chapter 24 again. I read it all the way through to make sure it still flowed. Then, I jumped to chapter 15. Moved to 16 and so on and reread the whole thing. The next jump was to chapter 8, where I edited and read through it again.
This is probably giving you a headache or anxiety, but I’m telling you—it WORKED for me. By the time I had to go back to chapter 1, I was so familiar with the whole story, backwards and forwards, that even though the edits were still frustrating at times, I felt so much more confident in what I had to do.
I ended up cutting 15 pages off the beginning. The opening needed to move faster, and I think (I hope, I pray, I plead) that I have accomplished that. This past weekend, I sent my newly revised first 25 pages to Tamar for another pair of eyes on it and printed out my entire manuscript. I’m now reading through it with a red pen. These will be the last edits I make before I start querying.
It feels very surreal to say that, but I think it's coming at the right time. I feel ready to handle the inevitable rejection and also excited to get more eyes on my story. I’m ready to share it because I can honestly say this is my best work. As in, I’ve worked so thoroughly on it; how could it not be?
I like how this reversal aligned: my late afternoon writing sessions working backwards through my novel. Apparently, it was just the switch I needed.
Super exciting! And a great reminder to stay open-minded and flexible about our creative processes. Thank you.
I love this! It's a useful reminder for writing, but it mostly reminds me of a technique my piano teacher had me use when memorizing a piece: working through it backward, line by line. Hearing each piece separately without the expectation of what comes next gives it a freshness. And by draft six, freshness may be exactly what's needed.