We all have different methods and preferences when it comes to how we handle the revision process. Depending on the size of the document and how much revising I’m doing, I’ll do it on the screen. This usually only happens when I’m writing short stories or only looking at a single chapter of a manuscript.

However, when I’m into a huge revision, I prefer to print the document and haul out the red pens. Before you get up in arms about my killing trees needlessly, after I’m done and my revisions are entered in my document, I shred the paper and it goes for recycling.

This is probably one of the more severely marked up pages in my manuscript.

I’d hit the dreaded sagging middle. I didn’t like the way things were coming together. I had a pile of “crap” that did nothing to further the plot. All it did was take up space.

I’m currently working on page 314 of 355 and I’m thinking there will be a few more pages hit “the cutting room floor” (actually a separate document in case I need snippets from them later on) before I’m done.

I think my biggest challenge is going to be reading my handwriting when it comes time to actually enter my revisions in my manuscript.

But I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. For now, carry on with the red pen and when I hit the last page, I’ll let it sit for a bit so I can digest what I’ve changed and maybe go off and read a couple of books before sitting down with my chicken-scratched pages and the computer.