I'm comparing this original letter,
Pat,
I know from your comments on facebook and your postings on the blog that you’re busy revising. What’s more, that you’ve been doing it for months. What I’m wondering is what, exactly, you do when you’re revising that it takes you so long to do it? Please don’t get me wrong. This isn’t another bitchy mewling e-mails from people complaining about waiting for WMF. I’m genuinely curious. You see, I’m not a writer or anything. The most I’ve ever written is papers for classes, and those I pretty much write, spellcheck, print, and then hand them in.
Consequently, this whole revision process is a big mystery to me. I know writers do it. And I know some writers (like you) seem to spend a lot more time on it than others. Back when I was a kid, I read about Piers Anthony’s revision process in his author’s notes. Where he would write the first draft of his books longhand, then revise them as he typed them into the computer. Then he was pretty much done. I know your books are much more complex than his, and a buttload longer. But still, I’m curious. Is there anything you can do to explain to us non-writers out here what exactly happens in the revision process? Can you show us how it’s done?
A big fan,
James
to this revised letter revised by Patrick Rothfuss,
Pat,
I know from facebook and your blog that you’re in the midst of revisions. I’m curious. What do you do when you revise, and why does it take so long?
Please don’t get me wrong. This isn’t another bitchy, mewling e-mail complaining about the wait for WMF. I’m genuinely curious. The only things I’ve ever written are papers for school. I just write, spellcheck, print, and hand them in.
Consequently, the revision process is a big mystery to me. Back when I was a kid, I read about Piers Anthony’s revision process in his author’s notes. He writes the first draft of his books longhand, then revises them while typing them into the computer.
I’m guessing your process is more involved than that. Your books are more complex than his, and a buttload longer. Is there anything you can do to explain the revision process to us non-writers? Can you show us how it’s done?
A big fan,
James
First things first, you can find these in Patrick's blog, http://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2010/08/fanmail-qa-revision/#comments.
The first revision Patrick made was in the first sentence. He got rid of "comments on your face book and postings on your blog", and turned it into "Facebook and blog". He also changed "busy revising" into in the "midst of revising". These two changes made the first sentence sound more flowing and it was easier to understand. Patrick then completely removed "What’s more, that you've been doing it for months" because that sentence is actually pretty useless. He then formed another paragraph instead of one huge paragraph because he was making a whole other point. He then erased another whole sentence, "You see, I’m not a writer or anything." That sentence is redundant because it is pretty much implied by the next sentence. He changed the next sentence by replacing "most" with "only" and adding a period in the middle of the sentence to prevent it from becoming a run-on sentence.
In the first sentence of the second paragraph,(third for the revised version) he changed "this" to "the". Patrick then removed "I know writers do it. And I know some writers (like you) seem to spend a lot more time on it than others." and made a new paragraph instead of having a run-on paragraph. The next sentence is the same. The sentence after that is changed to present tense and changes "Where he would write" to "he writes". Patrick then splits it into ANOTHER paragraph. The only thing he changed in that paragraph is changing this sentence, " Is there anything you can do to explain to us non-writers out here what exactly happens in the revision process?" to this "Is there anything you can do to explain the revision process to us non-writers?", which makes it flow better.
There really isn't that much to analyze about this post, since it's so straightforward, though if you were a bit more specific (rather than just saying, "this made it more flowing") it would read better.
ReplyDeleteWhat book are you on right now?
In the future, I will still give you writing assignments. However, if you have something else you want to write about, whether it be talking about your day, something that caught your eye, pictures/video, something that made you interested/sad/angry/happy/mellow, etc., then you can choose to ignore my suggestion and write whatever you want. Just make sure it's a good 350+ words.
Assignment for today: Plan your next 365 days. Make sure not to just make a list (I will do this. I will do that. Then I will do this again.), and talk about your motivations and complexities. What do you wish to do? Why? Is there something you'd like to change in your life? What do you want different about this year as opposed to last year? Show, don't tell. This shouldn't be you _telling_ what your plan is; it should be you _explaining_.
Or alternatively, work on your 1000 word post.
ReplyDelete