Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Revising for Continuity
I just lost half today's readers with that boring title didn't I? Revising for continuity. Ugh. That sounds like . . . well, anything that starts with revising is bound to end unpleasantly. And I don't know about you guys, but I find continuity hard to come by. It's hard, over the course of a 400 page novel, to keep all the details straight -- even harder over a series. Yet mistakes in continuity, especially obvious mistakes, drive readers nutso.
I was at school this past week, gorging myself on writing classes and critique sessions, and got some awesome advice on how to avoid those sneaky continuity errors. Side note: this is most useful at the end of the book, when doing fairly major revisions.
1. Pick an object or secondary character. This can be a bit player that appears only a few times, an important secondary character, or some object that reappears a few times throughout the novel.
Find every instance it appears, copy the text, and past it into a clean document.
Go through the whole novel like this, moving every appearance into that separate document sequentially.
2. Read through the new document from start to finish. Look for two things:
For everything to stay the same -- some details should never change, such as a name (Ellen or Helen, anyone?). Does your second floor apartment suddenly become a two-story condo? Does the ring your heroine inherited and carry everywhere with her change from diamond to pearl? I read one (published) novel where the hero only had one brother, who was a new dad staying home with the baby at the beginning of the novel, and a single, player, bachelor at the end.
For things to change - While details should provide continuity, look to see if this character or object has a mini-story arc itself. Give him/her/it a purpose and obstacle. It might echo the primary story arc, contradict it, add to it, or something else entirely.
For example, in my WIP, my heroine has a pendant that means a lot to her. In the opening scenes, she's trying to conceal her identity, but starts playing with it (a nervous habit) and gives herself away. The pendant itself appears in five scenes throughout, and has its only little arc: 1. Pendant reveals Naomi's identity; 2. pendant is hidden away in Naomi's pocket; 3. pendant is covered in blood when Naomi is injured; 4. pendant is washed clean; 5. pendant is returned to Naomi. It's not a big arc. It's an echo of the same arc Naomi travels, but there's a purpose there. There's change and movement. There's drama.
Once you've made sure the details which should not change have remained steady, and the growth and progress has been shown, put each peice back in the novel in its proper spot.
What do you think? Are there characters or objects in your novel that you think could benefit from this type of revision trick? Are there continuity errors in books that drive you crazy? What other tips do you have for maintaining continuity? Any thoughts on letting objects have their own mini-arcs?
I was at school this past week, gorging myself on writing classes and critique sessions, and got some awesome advice on how to avoid those sneaky continuity errors. Side note: this is most useful at the end of the book, when doing fairly major revisions.
1. Pick an object or secondary character. This can be a bit player that appears only a few times, an important secondary character, or some object that reappears a few times throughout the novel.
Find every instance it appears, copy the text, and past it into a clean document.
Go through the whole novel like this, moving every appearance into that separate document sequentially.
2. Read through the new document from start to finish. Look for two things:
For everything to stay the same -- some details should never change, such as a name (Ellen or Helen, anyone?). Does your second floor apartment suddenly become a two-story condo? Does the ring your heroine inherited and carry everywhere with her change from diamond to pearl? I read one (published) novel where the hero only had one brother, who was a new dad staying home with the baby at the beginning of the novel, and a single, player, bachelor at the end.
For things to change - While details should provide continuity, look to see if this character or object has a mini-story arc itself. Give him/her/it a purpose and obstacle. It might echo the primary story arc, contradict it, add to it, or something else entirely.
For example, in my WIP, my heroine has a pendant that means a lot to her. In the opening scenes, she's trying to conceal her identity, but starts playing with it (a nervous habit) and gives herself away. The pendant itself appears in five scenes throughout, and has its only little arc: 1. Pendant reveals Naomi's identity; 2. pendant is hidden away in Naomi's pocket; 3. pendant is covered in blood when Naomi is injured; 4. pendant is washed clean; 5. pendant is returned to Naomi. It's not a big arc. It's an echo of the same arc Naomi travels, but there's a purpose there. There's change and movement. There's drama.
Once you've made sure the details which should not change have remained steady, and the growth and progress has been shown, put each peice back in the novel in its proper spot.
What do you think? Are there characters or objects in your novel that you think could benefit from this type of revision trick? Are there continuity errors in books that drive you crazy? What other tips do you have for maintaining continuity? Any thoughts on letting objects have their own mini-arcs?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Books by the Crew
37 comments:
In individual books, no problems...but series? Oh, heck, yes! I learned to keep a bible of things like ship names, relative names, bar names...
I caught a few things in editing with the first book...pants that became a skirt then returned to being pants...but not much else.
You have the patience of a saint, Hal...to do what you're talking about! I think I'd go bonkers to do this with every detail! ;-)
Chance, I love that your skirt turns back into pants. The series bible is a great idea - I haven't tried a series yet, and I'm so impressed by your ability to keep all the details straight over several books.
I don't do this whole system with every detail. That would be horribly overwhelming, and likely isn't necessary for *every* detail or character. But there are a few details or characters in my WIP that benefit from this. The whether, for example. I have a bah-gillion descriptions of the whether in mine, which is an issue, as the whole novel takes place over 24 hours. lol. That could definitely benefit from some improved continuity :)
Hal, I think this is a great trick for continuity. I like to keep track of things in Excel when I'm revising, so I can see some of these details too. I haven't done a series bible yet, even though I've seen it recommended many times before. Maybe I'll have to add that to the list too!
I think this might help me with a couple of things when I get to the revision phase. The heroine's little boy, for example. I'd want to make sure he didn't get out of whack.
I was just thinking of this--continuity--the other night. But my problems with continuity are more motivation continuity or character arc continuity. A little harder to fix/keep straight. Any tips there?
This is a cool trick. I remember Naomi's pendant but I didn't remember it beyond the first couple scenes. Neat arc. :)
Donna - ahh, Excel! lol. I love Excel. I think a series Bible like Chance brought up is a great idea. For some reason, I always envision those on paper, but an electronic one you can search through quickly for detailed info would be so useful. Hell, you could even do it in Excel!
Marn, that's exactly the type of character this trick is suited for. Someone who appears infrequently enough that it's hard to see the big picture specific to them. Putting all the little snippits where he's mentioned or appears into one continuous document can let you see at a glance if there's anything wonky.
The bigger character arcs are a problem for me as well. I struggle to see the whole thing/big picture. One suggestion I got, that I'm going to try, is make a list (by hand, so it's easy to see on a notepad or something) of every scene. Give it a short title, and then in 10-12 words, describe what it accomplishes. Not who is in the scene, or what they do, or a run down of the character's goal -- what work the scene does to progress the story. Does it introduce a character? Escalate a conflict? Add tension? Give your character a first glimpse at a different way to think about things?
At the end of the list, you should have a clear picture of that major arc for your protagonist(s). Of course, that assumes that all scenes have a clear purpose and accomplish it :) I have a feeling all I'm going to find with my list is that half my muddy scenes in the middle either accomplish nothing, or are just a repeat of something accomplished in an earlier scene.
I could use a continuity revision technique from one scene to another. I'm awful. Probably because I don't write day to day like I should, so by the time I've picked it up again and start writing, I have a whole other mood and sets of likes and dislikes contributing to the story. *LOL*
I'll have a character who is a POTC fan (write what you know, right?) but at the end of the book is making HP jokes. Now generally I know I'll probably take out both of those, but even I can spot the continuity problem there. Not that a character (or author) couldn't love both equally.
I love the scene idea!!! I've been struggling with that. One of the scenes I've been working on has been very slow going compared to other scenes and I think it's because I can tell I don't know what the scene should be doing. What is the purpose? Once I have a purpose, I can direct the scene there. I should just write shit down, I know, but anymore, I don't like writing stuff for stuff's sake. I want there to be a reason for it. *LOL*
Interesting Hal!
I'm a bit like Hells. I try to keep it all straight in my head while I'm writing. But since I don't write everyday (or every week) like I should, sometimes those facts get lost in translation. DRD, I never really thought about keeping track of things in excel during revision. *pondering* Good food for thought once I get there.
Hellie - I'm the exact same way. If I don't know what a scene is supposed to accomplish, I can't write it. I freeze up. It's the whole reason I plot (loosely). If I don't know where I'm going, I can't figure out how to get there. Of course, the plot I come up with ahead of time changes 57 times before I get to the end, but it gives me that basic "this is what needs to be accomplished before the end" road-map.
I'm revising my WIP right now, and there are whole sections I haven't read since originally writing them over a year ago. I don't even entirely remember what happens in the middle. Uggghhhh :)
Sin - I've got to get back into the habit of writing every day. It's so much harder when I skip weeks (uh, months). I think I'm going to steal Donna's idea of a spreadsheet as well :)
I had the same reaction Chance did. This sounds VERY overwhelming to do all the details. But I see that you didn't mean ALL the details. I have a secondary romance in my first MS that could probably benefit from this.
I never thought of giving an object an arc, but I love the idea. Especially one that mirrors the MC arc. My problem is that I'm not very good at seeing these things, so I'm even worse at writing them. I know my secondary romance should have something to do with the main plot or it has no business being in there. But hell if I know how to make that all work.
I do keep a story calendar so I can keep track of both what day of the week I'm on and how much time as elapsed. And I usually determine how much time I want the story to cover when I first start. Current WIP will cover just over 2wks, so I need to make sure I keep a close eye on time elapsed. I also maintain my storyboard the way you describe keeping track of scenes. I throw scenes up during plotting, but then I replace them with what really gets written as I go along.
Just finished a book that I really loved, but the author got a bit confused on her time elapsing. The story covered a month and the last week was mangled in the writing. It was three days left and then it was four. And the heroine had that time of the month on one night and the next day that was all gone and back to boffing like bunnies.
It wasn't enough to make me not like the story, but it sure pulled me out a lot in the last quarter or so.
The bigger character arcs are a problem for me as well. I struggle to see the whole thing/big picture. One suggestion I got, that I’m going to try, is make a list (by hand, so it’s easy to see on a notepad or something) of every scene. Give it a short title, and then in 10-12 words, describe what it accomplishes.
Hal, this is actually how I use my Excel spreadsheet. I keep planning on doing a blog post about it, but I haven't done it yet. LOL It's storyboarding, but using Excel, which I like because I can update it quickly. I use it more when I'm revising, but when I'm drafting I can put notes in there.
I have a column for whose POV, so I can see if somebody is taking over the story, or if they're missing. I also see what the hook for the scene is, the goal, etc. It helps me keep track of the details, because I'm more of a big picture gal too. :)
I can't storyboard in excel. I storyboard on a big cardboard board I have for it, and use post-its. I can change those easy too. *LOL* But I love storyboarding for the big picture.
I know it doesn't work for everyone. :) I like it because I can keep both documents open and switch back and forth instantaneously. I can keep notes in there so I don't have to worry about them getting lost.
I'd probably trip over a cardboard thing and crack my head open. LOL
Like Hellie, I have to have my big posterboard. And it's up on the wall so no tripping or losing anything. Plus, I keep the POV's color coded so if I see way too many pink post-its, I know the heroine has too many POV scenes. Great way to keep this balanced as I go.
It's ironic because I use Excel for all sorts of things at work. Excel all day long! But I can't use it for anything pertaining to writing. Maybe it's Excel overload? But I can walk by my Storyboard and fiddle with it without even turning on my computer. LOL!
Terri - I can't see these things as I'm writing either (and I'm not sure I'm convinced anyone can). The arc with the pendant is something that was there, but I didn't *see* until I tried this exercise. Then I was like, "holy cow, the pendant has an arc that mirrors the main arc!" Then I could take that and either play it up, so it's more obvious, or change it, so it doesn't mirror the arc, or anything else. But I can *see* it when it's in one document, and it's easy to play with and change around when it's all together, before dropping it back into the main manuscript in pieces.
I was trying to come up with examples about objects with arcs from movies we would all know, but my brain is tired today :) I'm sure there are tons. The ring from LOTR is the most obvious example (though I don't know the story well enough to be able to define the arc). I'm rambling now....
That's interesting that the author or editor didn't pick up on the continuity errors you mentioned. They're hard to spot when it's your story, or one you're close to!! Too bad they're easy for readers to spot :)
The writing program I use has options similar to what Donna described. Below the window where I write, it has a little narrow window with columns, where I can scribble down notes. I can view those notes all at once, rearrange them, lay them out like note cards, etc.
But even with all that, I still end up with post its all over the wall. There's just something about seeing the entire thing in one big area, than all cramped up on a computer screen. I don't feel like I ever really see it if its on the screen. But that's totally a personal preference thing.
Hal - I actually know who edited this particular book, so I'm surprised she didn't catch it as well. But I did notice that it only really got noticable toward the end. The author should have tried a storyboard and calendar to keep her stuff straight. LOL!
Ter - I use pink post-it notes for my heroine's scenes, and blue for my hero, too! I use purple for my villain, I think. And green and teal for secondary --- gah, I have too many POV characters :)
haha! bring her on the ship - we'll set her straight!
Are you suggesting we kidnap an author?
Heh, we could probably do that. We probably have.
Heh, we could probably do that. We probably have.
I feel like this sums up our ship so well
So how did you decide what to pull out and mash together and what to leave alone?
That's an excellent question, Ter. I have no answer (I'm helpful this morning, I know)
I think part of it is figuring out what's *necessary* to tell the story (and that's probably a question only the author can answer). If the scene feels necessary, and moves the story forward, and accomplishes a purpose, leave it. If not, then it's worth considering if it's actually necessary to tell the story. If not, it's a good candidate for trimming or deleting.
Well, when you put it that way, it's totally clear.
;)
I know, right? lol
Wow! Ya'll are organized. I really don't approach consistency (or anything) in that technical a manner. Once I'm done with the first draft, I read through it and write a rough synopsis. Nothing worthy of submission, just a tool for looking for plot inconsistencies, etc. During later revisions, I make a kind of style sheet, with details like character names, props, etc. With some characters, like my heroine in a recent novel, I sometimes misspell their name. Her last name is Stephenson. Or Stevenson. See that's why I use a style sheet.
But mostly I rely on my memory. (Which is admittedly, a bad idea.)
"I think part of it is figuring out what’s *necessary* to tell the story (and that’s probably a question only the author can answer)."
That's pretty much my approach. I tend to overwrite and in revision find that a lot of stuff that's just authorial indulgence. Me getting lost in my characters and the little world I created. It may be dear to me, but it'll be a snooze-fest to a reader. On average I carve about 10K off my manuscripts.
I'm the opposite. I underwrite then have to add words in revisions. Though I've been known to cut entire scenes that clearly serve no purpose.
See? I'm just the opposite of Pat. I tend to add several thousand words during editing. Answering the questions I left dangling. Rarely, and I do mean rarely, I'll have a questions I decide no one cares about and just chop out the stuff that leaves a reader wondering...
I can't imagine using Excell. Now, I have done the storyboard thing, in revision, once. I have used the W Diagram...to very basic plot but where I find it really wonderful is for writing the synopsis.
The spelling names thing can be such a pain! I had a name in The Chameleon Goggles that my editor caught...Evenly divided between two spellings!
A series bible is a must if you write a series, trust me. My Caribbean Spell one is huge!
I underwrite as well, and I pull out in revisions. My current WIP is down to like 78,000 words. I'm going to have to add in whole story lines to really flush it all out -- *head bangs down on desk*
Kirby - style sheets are a good call (and one of those things that can be passed on to copy editors). I love how we all have our own style and process for dealing with continuity.
I think it's awesome you can spot which scene are necessary and which are authorial indulgence (love that phrase!). My problem is that I can't see which is which, or worse, I convince myself that it's vital and necessary and interesting, when really it's only me having fun with the character.
*slides pillow under Hal's head*
Are you SURE all that had to go? LOL! I'm sure you'll figure it out and get it back up. Maybe you could kill a few more people? Blow something up?
Actually, I do storyboard, in the way that animators storyboard. Basically, with pictures, creating little mini-comics. Sometimes, I draw floor plans and maps to help me with the visuals. My learning process is very visual, so an Excel spreadsheet just wouldn't work.
That would be such a cool way to write, Pat. I've considered doing floorplan layouts of houses for settings, but never done it. I've set the current WIP on a real island so I'm using the map of the island a lot. If I end up changing it to a fictious island, it's going to close resemble this one.
:)
I've tried storyboarding, but the cats ate it. =) At least that's the story I'm sticking to!
I've noticed my heroine's eyes change colors, so does their hair - both color and length. What I've tried to do now is to not mention eye or hair color. First, this stops me from overusing phrases like his-laser blue eyes, his paul newman eyes, etc. ...second, I add them in later. When I've decided on the eye color/hair color...when I'm about three-four chapters in. Then I'm comfortable with how they look, i KNOW how they look and I won't make a mistake on them again.
er. hopefully.....
=)
carrie
Post a Comment