Revision lessons

Things learned (so far) while revising Bones of Faerie:

– There are a lot of words in the world. Use more of them.
– You know those writers who withhold information from the reader for no good reason? And how you thought you weren’t one of them? You were wrong.
– It’s amazing how much you can cut out and still have the story be intact.
– And when you’re done taking all of that out? Take out some more. There’s always something more to delete.
– If you could take every last word away, the story would be perfect. But you can’t, so it won’t.
– Commas aren’t always your friend.
– But replacing them all with semicolons isn’t the answer.
– That lyrical prose you’re so fond of? There are ways to lighten it up and let it breathe, all while not losing the lyricism.
– Sometimes, it’s time to let the strange stylistic quirks go.
– But not always.
– Stop repeating yourself. Stop repeating yourself. Stop–yeah.
– You don’t need to save all of your protagonist’s growth and change for the end of the book.
– That thing that sort of kind of bothered you, but that you thought you could get away with? You can’t.
– No, not that one, either.
– Sometimes, the story isn’t about what you think it’s about.
– Sometimes, both your strengths and your weaknesses lie in different places than you thought they did.