Kate Bassett is coming of the gate with a beautiful debut novel that’s truly heartbreaking and exquisitely crafted. It’s walked away with critical acclaim already, along with a coveted starred School Library Journal review. Want to know how she did it? Read on!
Revision. For some people, it’s the most exciting part of writing. For others, it’s almost as much of a swear word as “synopsis.” For me, it’s defined by a manuscript that’s been collecting dust for at least a month, a compiled list of notes from trusted readers, and most important of all: a new pack of Papermate Flair Pens, Post-It Notes and sticky flags…plus a pretty folder or extra-wide highlighter or some other item I’ll never use but had to have in the moment.
Kidding. Kind of.
My friend Sara Zarr calls it the “office supply” phase of revision. I actually subscribe to this method as Step One when digging deep into a draft that still needs a whole lot of work. Something about a fresh pack of pens puts me in hardcore, deep emotional well digging mode. Weird? Yes. True? Totally. While I don’t believe for a second all writers need to go spend 30-bucks (err…or more…) on “tools” to start revising, I do believe in ritual. Whether it’s lighting a candle, listening to an entire playlist, or eating an oven-baked s’more (with Nutella), having some significant moment before diving into a major revision can make a difference. Because it isn’t about the thing you do– it’s about creating the head/heart space. It’s about acknowledging the habit, work, dedication it requires to take a story from a blob of ideas and characters to a cohesive, meaningful book.
The first reading is reserved for general notes– everything from axing obviously-able-to-go sentences/sections to questions about plot holes and new ideas I didn’t explore– I try to keep these scribbles in one color.
The second reading is pacing-specific. I’m a “quiet” contemporary writer, which means I can think I’m writing a thrillerish book, but it has 50 pages of dialogue between two characters, in a bus station, about Polaroid photos. In an effort to avoid 10 unnecessary drafts, I take the time to go through every scene (sometimes breaking it down page by page) to ask myself this question: does this move the story forward? What’s the significance in the big picture? If I can’t answer those questions, I take out my red pen. And I draw big ol’ X’s through entire paragraphs/pages.
By reading number three I tend to feel frustrated. Impatient. Ready to send the manuscript to my agent. This is usually the time when I pause and dig up a quote or two from writers or other creatives I respect about the importance of process. I’m still pretty new at this whole author gig– my debut releases September 8– so I’m happy to borrow ideas from those much further down the path.
I’m a big fan of re-reading these words by David Foster Wallace before tackling my own work again.
It speaks directly to the work I still need to do. With sticky flags on one side and another colored pen on the other, I read my book a third time. This reading, though, usually looks for three things at once: I flag all the threads in the book (different color sticky flags for each thread); this way, it’s easy to physically see if I drop one for, say, 80 pages. I also repeat that mantra “the reader cannot read your mind”– and look for any plot points or character traits I see in my head but can’t find on the page. Finally, I look at the physical structure of sentences on the page. If I have 10 sentences that follow the same flow, or have some funky/out of place looking paragraphs, I make notes to rearrange and reconstruct.
Step three involves wine and chocolate. But that’s a whole different post.
Step four is the big moment when I open a new document, my scribbled and flagged and Post-It noted manuscript at my side, and start again. For me, this is the scariest moment. The one where I have to breathe air through my heart bars.
I take a deep brave breath. And then I take what I’ve written to places that scare me a little. I put it all there on the page for the world to see and let it go….
- Feelings of Not Fitting In.
- Wishing I could reinvent myself
- Wishing for Impossible things
- I let go of how I’m just a big cheesy crybaby in love with love.
- I let go of the weird quirky humor that I never think anyone else will ever get.
- I let go of how I’m probably Too Much and so everything I write will probably be Too Much, but that’s just the way it is.
- I let it all go and it’s out there now.
It isn’t easy to face all those shadows. It requires bravery and copious amounts of water (seriously, hydrate). It’s in this place that the manuscript begins to shift into form though, and the feeling of Yes. This is the right track. will start flowing from fingers to keyboard to screen.
Step five is the gut check. The next solid draft is finished. Nourishment has been consumed and sleep/laundry/life has happened. I take a week or so to just think before I do my final run throughs. Walk in the woods, sit in the coffee shop, read books I didn’t write, hang with my family. During free moments, I think about the book I am still writing. I think about every character and their story arc. And I gut check again and again. Does it feel right? Am I missing something? Have I gone down the road of melodrama again? I carry a little notebook with me during this time to jot any last questions or ideas or worries. Sometimes, I’ll look back over the notes when I’m ready for a final read/edit and go “huh? What does Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds have to do with bubblegum under a car?” And I might never remember, but that’s okay. Other times, those notes help me snap into place the last bits of a puzzle I hadn’t quite completed.
Step six feels a like a repeat. I reprint and spiral bind my manuscript (again) in order to read the newest version.
Step seven is the spit, polish, shine. It’s the last touches before attaching the document and sending it off to be read by my brilliant agent, Sarah Davies, who always has incredible insights and questions and thoughts…that put me right back in the check out line at Office Max, excited for another round.
Which is okay. Because:
About the Book
Words and Their Meanings
by Kate Bassett
Anna O’Mally doesn’t believe in the five stages of grief. Her way of dealing with death equates to daily bouts of coffin yoga and fake-tattooing Patti Smith quotes onto her arms. Once a talented writer, Anna no longer believes words matter, until shocking discoveries– in the form of origami cranes– force her to redefine family and love.
As Anna goes in search of the truth, she discovers that while every story, every human being, has a last line, it might still be possible to find the words for a new beginning.
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About The Author
Kate Bassett has a degree in English with a Creative Writing emphasis and a minor in Psychology. She intended to go into teaching but wasn’t very good at “classroom control”. She moved on to become the editor of her local Michigan newspaper and has been there since. Even though she absolutely loves to travel, there is no where else she would rather be than in her hometown of Harbor Springs. Words and Their Meanings is her debut book.
