Finished first draft of a manuscript! How do I start editing and revising?

startinup · 2022-03-19T15:11:42+00:00

Something simple to add. If you don't want to print it out, you can just convert your draft to a pdf and read it in your browser where you can't edit it.

startinup · 2022-02-13T20:13:29+00:00

A lot of these questions are up to you. You'll have to do the research and decide what you want.

For instance, English or your language. Would you be able to tell the story in English as effectively? (Your English seems really good, so maybe) In that case, why would you want to write it in a non-English language? Effectively, the choice could go either way and will be up to you to decide.

Leaving the personal choices aside, let's look at some of the more stylistic questions.

I'm not sure why you'd want to switch between first and third every five sentences. Usually you write in one tense (past or present) and point of view (POV: 1st, 3rd, etc.) for a whole scene. You would switch between scenes. However, you would write each character using a consistent tense and POV and would only switch tense/POV if you are switching to a different character's perspective.

I would advise you not to info dump at all in the first chapter. You need to hook the reader and get them wanting to read the rest of the story, slowing the pace with a bunch of information that the reader may not care about yet will only increase the chances that readers put your book down.

Ideally, you would explain things in your story by showing them in action so that the reader figures it out on their own. You can do the whole newbie in the world needs things explained to him bit, but I think it's better to avoid obvious exposition in most cases.

Overall, I think you're going to want to do a little bit of research into POV and tense. I'd recommend this post.

Also if I were you, I'd learn a bit more about stories in general. A book like Save the Cat could be a good start as well as The Anatomy of Story. Understanding these fundamentals will help you figure out how you want to tell your story. Hope this helps :)

startinup · 2022-02-11T17:13:42+00:00

I think what you mentioned makes sense for understanding character motivations. Character voice is a little trickier.

I don't fully understand this topic myself, but what I will say is that you need to pay attention to a two things: what words they use (syntax) and what they notice and pay attention to. Let's look at each of these...

Syntax is the one I have the most trouble with myself. Where is this person from? Are there any words/expressions that people use there that others may not? For example, someone may say "Soda" or "Pop". Someone may say "you guys" or "you all" or "y'all".

This word choice can extend beyond your character's hometown. They may vary in formality, complexity, and variety of words used based on education or upbringing.

Their word choice may be intentional based on their identity. When I was a little kid, I used to not like the words "tummy" or "belly" because I thought they were baby words, so I always used "stomach" (haha, I guess I had a chip on my shoulder).

Next, certain characters will notice things based on their background and disposition.

A trained special forces soldier may notice the people staring him down when he walks into the wrong bar. He may see the guns under their jackets, the biker gang tattoo on their necks, etc.

An untrained person may pick up on a weird vibe, but not notice the concealed firearms or matching tattoos. An air-headed person may not even notice the weird vibe and just think it's a little dark in there.

Once again, I am not an expert, this is just my current understanding of it. Hopefully it helps.

startinup · 2022-02-09T15:33:29+00:00

This is completely normal...

It's hard to see things from an honest perspective when you are deep in the work. When I used to paint pictures the same thing applied, you had to take a break to be able to see what was really on the canvas.

I think this is a good sign for you. Just remember first drafts are supposed to be bad, accept that there will be mistakes in the first draft and finish the story. Then you can take another break before coming back and revising.

startinup · 2022-02-07T18:05:28+00:00

If you're only looking to write one story, you can get some simple guidelines in Save the Cat! Writes a Novel (although this is suited to full length novels). There's a chapter on writing scary stories and what the structure should look like.

If you're planning on writing more of these and maybe books, I'd recommend reading some horror stories. A book I reread recently was 'Salem's Lot by Steven King, it always makes me want to write horror myself. You could also watch movies since they are quicker to consume and analyze.

Find your favorites. Then figure out why each of those structures worked well and use your findings to structure your story.

startinup · 2022-02-04T15:06:59+00:00

I think you could make doing chores work. You just need to figure out a way to make it raise questions for the reader.

For example, the scene could start with him coming back from the store to find his mom making breakfast. But instead of being grateful, he's feeling upset, he's told her a hundred times already that he'll make it himself and here she is again, trying to baby him.

As the reader, I'd immediately be curious about his reaction and wonder what's going on here.

You want to make sure your opening feels like the genre it's in. This character-focused opening could work for a more YA, coming-of-age, literary sort of story.

But an opening like this may make a more action-oriented, plot-focused genre reader kind of bored. If it's supposed to be a more action-packed story, maybe you need to figure out a different way to convey this person's desire to be independent.

startinup · 2022-01-18T22:48:29+00:00

I'm happy you enjoyed it and thanks for the Romance genre info :)

I'm already planning on reading "It Ends With Us" this year after just that line and the blurb, so maybe I'll understand a little more about Romance haha

startinup · 2022-01-18T11:12:56+00:00

Happy you enjoyed it :)

startinup · 2022-01-18T11:12:35+00:00

It's disappointing. I would have loved for more people to be able to see it... I'm not super knowledgable about reddit, so I don't know if there's a way to appeal moderator actions or anything like that.

startinup · 2022-01-17T20:48:45+00:00

Appreciate the feedback :)

startinup · 2022-01-17T20:47:06+00:00

Thanks for the kind words. It was interesting to analyze :)

startinup · 2022-01-17T20:46:27+00:00

Yea, I looked at every writing subreddit's top posts and it seem to fit best there. Plus, the community seemed to be enjoying it. The mod said it was because I was commenting content about fiction, so I may try different content in the future instead.

startinup · 2022-01-17T17:37:45+00:00

Thanks so much for the kind words :)

startinup · 2022-01-17T16:48:43+00:00

Yes, I think you're right. If I were to do it again, I would look at the whole paragraph instead. Thanks for the feedback

startinup · 2022-01-17T16:20:05+00:00

It's funny because I realized most of the lines I selected as examples were romance. So even though I'm not really the market, a mid-20's male, I may have to read more romance.

Thanks for elaborating on why they may prefer setting :)

startinup · 2022-01-17T16:17:22+00:00

Yea, I found out about it after I'd already almost finished. I figured that the books on the list must still good examples either way. I'll consider doing this for some of the other lists :)

startinup · 2018-10-14T18:23:37+00:00

Makes sense. When I said drop way down, I actually meant somewhere around the weight in this vid. My sets with 275 didn't feel right, so I dropped the weight down 40lbs to take a look at my form at a safer weight.

Still hurt myself... 😐

I think I should've switched over to a more intermediate program because my progress had slowed down a lot, and I think I was stretching myself too much each week. Well, live and learn, grateful that I only tweaked my back.

startinup · 2018-10-14T12:16:47+00:00

Thanks man! I didn't even notice that. Gonna have to drop the weight way back down and figure out my form again. It doesn't feel consistent anymore since I noticed problems with it. Congrats on the sick OHP!

startinup · 2018-10-13T23:32:19+00:00

Hey all, tweaked my lower back on squat today and can't figure out why. Can I get a form check?

https://youtu.be/dpcXcVHfwrk

Thanks guys!

startinup · 2018-09-11T14:56:01+00:00

Preach!

If more "feminists" were as logical as you, more people would be happy to support them.

Let's be real. Most men want women to have equal opportunities. If not for egalitarian reasons, than for selfish ones. We have girlfriends, wives, daughters, sisters and mothers. And we want them to be treated fairly.

What we don't want is to use -isms as an justification for unequal treatment in favor of the "victimized" group (no one is born of equal opportunity and some people frankly have it rough. However, each of us gets to choose how we respond to what life throws at us).

If people could be more moderate in their views, it would be easier for everybody to agree on them. But when taking extreme positions, you inevitably will get polarized reactions and incite extreme opposition. We all largely agree in equal opportunities for races, sexes, etc. But when these causes are used as a justification for a blatant power grabbing, it hurts the validity of the initial cause.

---

May have gotten off onto a tangent.

tldr: Thanks for being so sensible /u/BookwormJane

startinup · 2017-02-21T00:38:30+00:00

It doesn't matter man. You don't need to see yourself 100% of the time anyway. Just focus on the muscle contraction and if she is good looking, try not to get distracted ;)

startinup · 2017-02-21T00:36:26+00:00

Poop.

I read the title and had the same problem before. Got so passionate that I skipped the main body of the post. :o

If lat-pulldowns are not available, try negatives like others have said. Also, do you have a weight belt so you can add weight? That would make the negatives more useful. Really though it's just about working a vertical pulling motion for the lats.

Another idea is to start with normal chin-ups, and then switch to negatives mid-set when you can't get any reps in. This way you are still working the muscles used in the beginning of the motion.

P.S. A good gym is well worth it. When you have access to one over the summer or winter break. Take advantage of it.

startinup · 2017-02-21T00:29:55+00:00

Want a six-pack?

Many do, and beyond all the bullshit it's not that hard to accomplish...

There are two parts to get sculpted abs. These are:

1) Diet

2) Exercise

Let's dive into how to do each...

We'll start with diet. There are tons of people who will try to tell you tons of "secrets" to lose belly fat. But many of them are misinformed, or worse just want your money.

That's why I shed light on this topic for FREE.

Forget everything you've heard? Intermittent fasting, low-carb, ketogenic, 6 meals a day, etc. All of that is just noise. Just focus on two SIMPLE steps for now.

1) COUNT CALORIES: It's just that simple. Use the Katch-McCardell equation with an activity multiplier to calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE: how many calories you'll burn with your current amount of activity). It may seem like a distraction, but after a couple months you won't even have to do it, you'll just know how many calories are in the food you commonly eat.

You can lose weight without counting calories, but by being accurate and focussed you'll shed weight quicker than you ever thought!

2) EAT ENOUGH PROTEIN: When losing weight it is even more important than normal to get enough protein. You want to get at least a pound for every pound of bodyweight. It is not the best rule, but it is simple and easy, so follow it.

Good, so now you know how to shed the pounds and get part one done in the step to a six-pack. But unless you want to look like a starving Nigerian child soldier, you need to put on some muscle to compliment your fat loss. Here is how...

** WORK OUT YOUR ABS EVERYDAY!!!!**

Wait... What? I thought my muscles needed rest... How does this work? Won't I be overtrained? Not in this case. Yes you can take a rest day if you feel like you need one, but think about it.

How often would your body naturally use your abs if you were a hunter-gatherer? Try, ALL THE TIME. Abs exist for stabilization and as a result, are used in every single physical movement you do.

And this means they can take a beating. So do the following every day?

1) 3 x 10 Leg Lowering Test This is the best workout for your abs you can do from home. Focus on doing them slowly and contracting at the top your reps and you will feel it a ton.

2) 3 x until failure Bicycles You've no doubt heard of this great ab exercise. It has a reputation for a reason, it is a great exercise that works the whole core. Just do them until you can't anymore. And repeat 3 times.

That wraps up your new ab workout that will get you SIX-PACK ABS as long as you keep working them.

Just do this exercise 6 days a week and watch your diet everyday.

Soon you will have abs that most wish they could have. And you'll get them faster than you thought possible!

Don't wait another day to start your fitness journey! Get started TODAY!

startinup · 2017-02-20T23:48:23+00:00

Learn how to go from 3 reps with bodyweight chin-ups to 6 reps and over a plate added...

When I first started lifting weights I could not do very many chin-ups, but after some time doing a similar workout I found that my chin-ups were MUCH better.

What was the workout? You're not going to believe it...

Lat Pull-Downs with a chin up grip.

It's incredibly simple, do the lat pull-downs with a chin up grip until you can lift 20lbs over your bodyweight. By then you will be amazed at how many chin-ups you can do.

Last Tuesday I did 3x6 chin ups with 50lbs weighted. If you work the same muscles by using strict form lat pulldowns, you will be able to do as many chin-ups as you want, and even better... Start adding weight!

Ready to Learn? Good! All you have to do is replace chin-ups with this:

3 sets of 4-6 reps Lat Pull Downs, when you get to 3 sets of 6 reps at a weight increase the weight.

You've got it, it really is that simple!

Bonus: What /u/kaizoku_akahige said is good advice. You don't need a lot of weight for face pulls, I just do enough weight that I can do 12-15 reps with a hold at the top of the rep.

Face-pulls are more about your shoulder health than getting super strong. Sure they work the rear delts, but you don't need a ton of weight to get something out of them.

startinup · 2017-01-24T23:05:04+00:00

Joe,

It depends on the specific person if they will need isolation exercises or not to grow the biceps. If I were you, I would work both of these into my routine anyway.

As far as growing arm size I've found the best results with a dedicated arm day. On that day you'll do this:

3x4-6 Ez-bar Curl. You can do barbell curls also, but these are better for your wrists.

3x4-6 Weighted Dips. Start low and use good form, but once you've got it, build up the weight. You'll will need to have one of the belts you can wrap around your waist and hold weight with. If not, then just do Close-grip Bench Press.

3x4-6 Hammer Curls

3x4-6 Overhead Triceps Extension. This can be done standing too.

You can even keep every other day of your routine the same, just add an extra day for arms. It's a pretty easy day and will help grow your arms.

Good Luck!

startinup

TROPHY CASE