Revising and Selling

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,

The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,

I know of no reason

Why the Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent

To blow up the King and Parli'ment.

Three-score barrels of powder below

To prove old England's overthrow;

By God's providence he was catch'd

With a dark lantern and burning match.

Holla boys, Holla boys, let the bells ring.

Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!

And what should we do with him? Burn him!

 

So, we put our house up for sale last week and, being me, I've noticed a log of similarities between selling a house and revising a novel.

1. Both take work. I knew that when I started. However, in both cases I misjudged just how much work they would take.

2. You have to fix the big problems before fixing the little ones. It doesn't matter how sparkly clean the floorboards are if you can't actually see the floor. Similarly, it doesn't matter how amazing a scene is if the character's motivation to get them to that scene doesn't make any sense.

3. Sometimes you are too close to things to see them clearly. That's why writing groups and realtors are important. When our realtor did a walk through of our house, he told me to stop worrying about the closets and the state of the garage--no one notices them anyway. Instead, he recommended shampooing the carpet. I hadn't even noticed the carpet unless it had toys piled on top of it. It's the same with my manuscript. People point out things that I never noticed because I'm too close to them.

4. The more you work at it, the more you feel like you need to do.

5. Both projects are easier when broken down into small, manageable parts.

6. Both involve stress and sleepless nights and sometimes the strange suspicion that you are crazy for doing it at all.

Anyway, do you have any exciting plans for Guy Fawkes Night tonight? We've celebrated for the last few years, but it snuck up on us this year (probably because we were distracted by the fumes from all the cleansers or something). Alas. Perhaps next year.