Friday, July 9, 2010

Spilt Milk

     I know I have been away for a while but I have a clever excuse. Yes one of those lame things that keep me dawdling deep in adventure and away for random spurts of time. Yup! There I said it. Now if it weren't for these few and frequent things I wouldn't be near as any fun by the next post. Think of them as a way I rejuvenate my writer senses, or just another way to kill time while coming up with the next idea for a book or revision. Speaking of revisions they just might be the death of me--figuratively--but at least it will be a fun death. LOL.

     So amidst all the critique, revisions and the mountain of editing I have done these past two weeks I have found that spilt milk is the genius of it all. Being a liquid, milk is clearly without form, but somehow in the hands of a testy toddler it becomes a fish, a tree, a unicorn, or even a giant chicken--sometimes a rather large nose with a goober hanging from the corner of it. Now of course the trick is to spill it first. Now I'm not saying to make your writing an accident. Instead, be okay with the mess that it is and wait to see what comes of it as you ponder its possibilities. Give it room to spread across the page and flow over the edge--let it take on form in your mind. Let it develop legs or inquisitive little ears. Let it question its existence and bask in the light until it is just feisty enough to call you to acute attention. This is usually about 24 hours for me, but each writer has their own red and green light when it comes to  revisions.


See what I mean? Spilt milk. All you ever need to know.



What are your rules for revisions after you receive critique? Are you a spilt milk kinda gal/guy?

 

3 comments:

  1. I try to do revisions as soon as I get a critique or revision letter. I do take my time doing them to get it right.

    I use a detailed outline before I write, which I'm open to changing, so I don't think I fit into the spilt milk category.

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  2. I'm the same way. I try to do them ASAP, then I let those sit and go back and re-read.

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  3. It is great to see how every writer is so different and still much the same. Crazy eh?

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