Year of the Thriller with Some Detours

Yesterday I mentioned I might have to make time for The Metamorphosis in my year despite my pledge to go all thriller all the time. There's one other genre that I'm sneaking in every few books. A couple of years ago one of my resolutions was to read a book on writing for every few books I read that were for fun. Yep, that's what I'm back into.

So, along those lines, and based on where I am with my most recent novel, I'm reading Rock Your Revisions by Cathy Yardley. So far I'm quite happy with it. It's had the desired effect both on me and on my draft. The book starts out strong with:


Let’s say revising a novel is like building a house.  The rough draft you’ve currently got?  That would be the building materials.  Some parts of it are more “raw” than others.  But instead of just moving things around willy-nilly, you’re going to have a systematic approach.  You don’t put in carpet before you put up walls.  You don’t put up dry wall before you put in plumbing.  And you don’t put on a roof before pouring the foundation. 

It’s all about sequence and strategy. 

In this first pass, you’re going to do a quick “inventory” and see what you’ve got, and what you need.  Then, you’re going to make sure that you do, indeed, have the right plans and you’re really building what you want.  You’ll check the foundation.  Then, you’ll build the frame.

So far so good. Rock Your Revisions might not be as mind blowing as some of the books on writing I've read in the past, but it sure has given me the kick in the pants that I needed.