forest for the trees

[aamcnamara]

Okay, so I have a theory about the novel-revision thing. This theory goes as follows: part of the reason why I can't seem to get my head around it is because I have only been looking at it on the screen.

However, it seems silly to print out 320 pages of novel if I'm just going to change a bunch of them.

(On the other hand, if it would be a useful exercise, it'd probably be worth it.)

So here's the question.

When you're revising a novel, do you print it all out? When? To what purpose? If I were to print it out, would you advise me to print out 320 full-sized pages, or cramp it in eight-point single-spaced two-pages-on-one-sheet to save paper?

(I realize that at least some of this, and probably all, is deeply personal--maybe one writer has to have it printed out double-spaced in Courier, and someone else can do it six-point font four pages on one sheet so they do--but I thought I'd get an idea of the range out there anyway, and an idea of where to start.)

Comments

[1crowdedhour.livejournal.com]

Print it out -- I know paper is expensive and printer cartridges are worse -- but it's your first novel. You need to print it out in a way you can work with it. (And keep in mind those poor graduate students in the future when it is in an academic archive somewhere.)

[alan-yee.livejournal.com]

I'm unsure of what I'm going to do when I get around to revising my first novel. It's slightly over 500 pages in double-spaced Courier, which is waaaaaay too much paper to use to print it out. Not sure if it'll work for me, since I'll need to make major revisions, completely re-write several large sections, and make a lot of notes, which is hard to do by hand.

Your theory is interesting. I wonder if it holds any truth to it. I might test it out with a short story though, since it won't be as much of a hassle as a novel to revise it by hand.

[aliseadae]

I have never written a novel so I don't know if this translates all too well to novel-writing and novel-revising but I know that my cousin would print her school papers, cut the paragraphs apart, then rearrange them manually on the floor. I had a poem that I did that too, printed it out and rearranged it manually by stanza. Somehow having something /there/ and in front of you helps. I don't know how that would go with your novel.

[kelljones.livejournal.com]

My first few novels I printed out to work with, because that was the only way I could see them differently enough that I could actually read and evaluate the words on the page, not the book in my head. I also had to wait quite a while after writing them before I could actually read the words.

Later, I did manage to train myself to revise on screen, particularly if I change fonts/programs/etc., but I still usually have to do at least one print version for revision somewhere in the process. (I typically do multiple revisions.)

I can do double-sided pages, but I still need a 12-pt font and 1" margins, or there doesn't feel like there's enough room to take notes on it.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I always go through this. Always. I always do both of the things you've mentioned today:

1) Decide that it is not worth printing it out at this point since I'm going to change much of it, and then have difficulty making those changes because I don't have the printout to work on;
and 2) Decide that I should totally send it to somebody smart for critique, only not right now, because I want to do several things to it first, and then have difficulty with those several things.

Always. Every single time. Your mileage, of course, etc.

[janni.livejournal.com]

I print it out late in the process (double spaced, normal sized font), when the story is all down and I'm editing for language, but I could see arguments for any stage depending on individual processes.

[cristalia.livejournal.com]

I do my first revision on a paper printout. It's...too fluid on the screen. There's too many options for changing and I just blank out and can't cope. Paper makes it solider.

I do double-space Courier -- easier to rewrite lines, smudge around the punctuation, and add in paragraphs that way -- but I double-side them to save the paper.

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

I've only done short plays, so I'm not using up all that much paper (latest one is 10 pages), but I'd suggest doing full force 1 inch margins--maybe even an inch and a quarter--double spaced, and one sided. I need all the room I can get to make notes about costumes, edit, etc. The unused side can also be recycled (ripped into quarters for scratch paper, or printed on again).

When my friend, Val, was done with the first draft of her (not yet published novel) and wanted multiple copies I gave her $20 bucks, which prompted other friends to pitch in money, so--if you're comfortable with asking for donations--that might help.

[notadoor.livejournal.com]

I revise almost everything by longhand, and I can't imagine trying to do a novel on a computer screen. There's too much information to keep track of and too many things you're trying to analyze at once; most word processing programs aren't versatile enough to organize your work in as many different ways as you need. Even the writer-centric WP programs fall short for me.

That said, I usually print it out in .5 spacing Times New Roman, which saves paper but still gives me enough room to write my corrections in above the line (my handwriting is also tiny. YMMV.) I print one-sided because the blank halves are useful when I need to rewrite entire scenes, and because I make notes on them.