Revising in the Broad Sense
The next thing to make sure you have is dialogue. Dialogue is something many people avoid writing. Not every story has to have it, but most do. Dialogue can be the hardest and the easiest thing to write. I will be writing an article about writing dialogue in the coming weeks. Dialogue is a way for your character to develop thoughts, attitude, and action. Your dialogue can be a huge help in developing plot.
Does your story flow well? Have you used the right type of narration? The way to answer these questions is to try reading aloud. If you stumble or find that things don't make sense you have something to work out. You can also try changing narration from, say, thrid person to first. Notice how it changes the story. You may be surprised. Another thing to do, is to tell the story from another character's perspective. There may be things this character can add to the story that the one you started with cannot.
Another rule to good writing is -- show don't tell. Look for places in your work where you may have described a character or setting. For instance... Charlie was a womanizer. How does your reader know this? How is he a womanizer? The sentence could then be changed to something like... Charlie slept with Lu on Tuesday, dumped her that Friday, and was with Kate the following Monday. Now the reader can see Charlie in action and make their own deductions. Remember you are your readers eyes and ears. Do what you can to involve all the senses in description. By showing, you are slowing things down for the reader. They have more time in your setting and with your characters.
Lastly, look at your ending. Does the ending wrap up all the conflicts? Does it leave the reader wondering, and, if so, is it effective? Endings like beginnings engage the reader. make sure your ending doesn't leave them wanting more.
This is a broad overview of the first steps in revising a short story. There is a checklist on the following site that will help you make sure that you have completed all the steps in this article: www.courier-journal.com/education/cjya/checklist.html Also, look at the other links that I have under the Revision heading. There are great sites there with tips and directions at revising for the best possible finished product. In the next article on revision, I will be
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