Thursday, April 23, 2020

U is for unify in the A to Z of revising

UNIFY the manuscript during the revision. Unify means to make something cohesive. How do you make a first draft cohesive? Well, in my case, I went on quite a few tangents during my writing. I didn't know where I was going (pantser here) and so I threw out a number of possible plot lines, themes, and so on. Now I have to look at that hot mess and take out those things that do not tell my story. I have to make sure every word adds to the overall theme and plot - that characters are consistent to their own personalities and the changes that they may go through.  I need to make all the elements of the story stick together.
 C0 (together) hesive (stickability). Uni (one) fy (to make)


1 comment:

Margot Kinberg said...

Thanks, Jan, for sharing the way you sew the pieces of your story together. Each part is important, but what's even more important is the whole story itself. It's a bit like a musical piece in that sense. Each instrument is important and has a role to play, but you don't get a full, rich piece unless all of the instruments are playing in a unified way.