SIMON SAYS – Tips for the Revision Process

Whether you’re an established writer or just starting out in your career, there are no right and wrong ways to revise your work. Some people do revisions and edit as they go along, while others insist on finishing the entire piece before they even start to look at any alterations.

The Alchemist’s Portrait went through over twenty versions before it was finally ready, my other novels between five and ten each, I think. However, it isn’t strictly a revision process for me. I don’t just sit down and write the novel from the beginning and work through to the end, although this is what may authors do.

Since writing The Alchemist’s Portrait, I have spent a lot of time on the outlines for my subsequent novels, ensuring the plot is just right before I even start writing the actual book. I spend perhaps six months working on the detailed outline to the story. This outline usually comprises at least one paragraph for each chapter of the book and can be as much as ten thousand words in length. Sometimes during the process, a piece of dialogue or an action sequence begs to be written, because it is rattling around in my head and so I do write that right away, since I can always move it around in the story later on the computer. Planning your book out in this way isn’t for everyone, but I find it works well for me.