We all have those old manuscripts tucked into the deepest and darkest corners of our shelves (and memories). Those cringe-worthy stories you thought you’d burn the first chance you’d get…turns out one of them was kinda a cool idea, and you’re considering cleaning it up as your next project.
To state it simply; this can be a rough process.
It can be hard to keep motivation while reading through your old writing. And it’s easy to put that old story away forever, or burn it like you’d first planned.
When you think about your story idea in your head, it always sounds like a good idea. I mean, what’s better than imaging your book in movie form? But when you begin to flip through the pages to assess the situation, motivation levels can plummet. There’s really nothing motivating about reading our cringe-worthy old writing.
But you can use different methods to bump that motivation back up and feel inspired again about that old book you’re going to polish.
Here’s some tips that you can use to get motivated again about your story:
Make a collage
Most writers do this anyway for their WIPs, and this old story of yours shouldn’t be an exception. Collages are great because you can compile visual aspects of your story in an epic-looking collecting of pictures to give you that extra boost of motivation when you need it. Make collages for scenes, characters, places, and whatever else. You can never have too many collages. 😉
Make a song playlist
Music has been SO HELPFUL for me as I write. Listening to awesome-epic-movie-music always gets me in the mood and keeps me going. My favorite source for is music by Audiomachine (especially their Chronicles albumn). Make a list of your favorite songs for your story to go to whenever you hit that keyboard. You can also set aside songs for specifics scenes if you want a certain mood.
Create a new outline
Sure, you’ve already written the story and know what happens and everything, but I suggest writing out the plot again. That way you can look it over easily, add or takeaway, and strengthen the plot and characters to make it a stronger story. Even if you’re a hard-core pantser, it’s a good idea to at least have a rough outline of what’s going to happen, so you always know where you’re going.
Make your own cover!
I mean, REALLY! WHO DOESN’T WANT TO DO THIS?! 😉 I use Canva to make my covers, and it’s awesome (also free to use). But don’t stop at just covers! You can create a wallpaper for your book to use on your computer, or whatever other cool things you find on Canva.
And don’t forget to take breaks. Working long hours on reviving an old story is taxing on your inspiration stores. Take time to replenish your creativity so you’ll come back to your project feeling fresh and ready to go!
I’m sure you have your own special ways to get motivated about your stories, but I hope these few of mine will add to the fun. 🙂
Now to the hard stuff…
Editing.
*shivers*
Editing definitely isn’t as fun as the actual writing. But I understand that there are some of you that actually enjoy editing.
First, you’ll need to assess your story to see if it needs a thorough editing, or a complete rewriting. Personally, I do better with polishing a manuscript (that badly needs it) if I just totally rewrite it. But it might be different for you.
Now, I’m not about to sit here and give you a ton of tips on how to self-edit. Because, well, I’m terrible at it. In my mind, it’s just a necessary evil. I don’t spend near as much time learning how to self-edit as I do learning how to actually write my first draft.
*sighs* Nevertheless, it is important to know the important points of learning how to edit your work well. So I’m going to direct you to a couple links…
How to Edit a Book: Your Ultimate 21-Part Checklist Jerry Jenkins does an in-depth article about self-editing and why it’s so important to know how to do it well.
ProWritingAid Review Another Jenkins article where he reviews the ProWritingAid editing software. I use this myself, and it’s quite awesome (maybe I’ll do a review someday).
Well, I hope these tips will help you as you tackle polishing that old manuscript. 🙂
Write on,
Are you pulling out an old manuscript to polish? What methods do you use to get motivated? I’d love to hear about your book! Do you like my new website header? 😉
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