Novel Reminders: The Three-Step Method for Revising and Editing Your Excerpts

Thanks to all students for your flexibility in switching gears for a few days as we take the Common Core State Standards pilot assessment. Our goal is to finish essays in class tomorrow for most classes. You can help yourself by re-reading the articles and using the planning organizers. 

We are going to start peer writing workshops on Friday, with final edits and polishing over the weekend on those three sections of the novel we are "publishing." Please use the rubric Ms. W gave you and the "three-step Revision Strategy" to do your best revising before you get feedback on Friday.

Here is a reprint of the...

Three-Step Method for Revising and Editing your Novel (or just an excerpt!)

• For Excerpt: Choose a section of your novel that you want to share with others. It could be first page/last page, or some scene within your novel. 

1. Read your novel—and don’t worry, reading a first draft is painful! Make notes on things you’d like to change along the way.
2. Add:
   * Sensory details that help the scene come alive (sight, smell, sound, taste, touch, feeling—NOT all, just the ones that help move your scene)
   * Power Verbs (make dead verbs come alive: ex. run=sprint; look=glance; felt scared=shivered) and make sure your verb tense is consistent (are you in present or past tense? Pay attention to when you are in flashback or current action and make sure you give time indicators: “Three weeks earlier I…” )
   * Character: show character through dialogue, thoughts, gestures, description, background info that makes them seem real
3. Correct: grammar/spelling/punctuation/capitalization errors and make paragraphs (including for dialogue: a new paragraph is required each time you change speakers)

***Super Tip for catching errors~ READ YOUR NOVEL OUT LOUD!! The ear can catch what the eye ignores!***

Find Rubric here: (you want to be approaching the upper row, a "Developing" Novelist)
http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/files/ywp/nano_ywp_10_suggested_rubric.pdf

Final Excerpts should be ready by Monday, however...

**Please save your work when you type it, and be prepared to edit and reprint if you further feedback on Monday. You may bring in your work on a flash drive and print/edit in class. **

On Friday or Monday Ms. Witham will have construction paper for book jacket creation. You will be working on a "back of the book summary" and an "About the Author" bio for the jacket. 

Your cover should be hand-created. You may use a drawing, a collage, a photograph you have taken. The lettering may be printed from a computer, but the visuals should be your own creation, not clip art.