angeladegroot

The revisions to my picture book project are far from complete but I believe the manuscript needs to rest and rise before I can significantly improve on what I have. I'm pleased with the progress I've made over the last couple of weeks but the little man (my muse)  needs to go off and find the file on how to solve some of the remaining issues.

So now I'm about to tackle the revision process for my MG fantasy adventure. Ack! I'm standing at the base of the Drakensberg mountains and I'm not sure how to get to the top. Step by step right? Choose a path and get hiking.
 

The step by step thing made me think about Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life and so, rather than start on my revisions, I decided to read the chapter on plot.

Anne writes: “Plot grows out of character. If you focus on who the people in your story are, if you sit and write about two people you know and are getting to know better day by day, something is bound to happen.”

Lamott says that we need to find out what our characters care the most about because then we'll realize what's at stake. Something must be at stake for there to be tension. Without tension the reader will not turn the page. "Think of a hockey player- there had better be a puck out there on the ice, or he is going to look pretty ridiculous.”

Because I am such a fan of lists, I am going to list what is at stake for all of my characters, minor ones too. This will give me (and the little man) something to think about as I read through my draft and make the easy changes. This will be my analysis, list and sticky note phase of revisions. Before I can get the revisions started, I need to find out where I stand.