《Sabriel (The Abhorsen Trilogy)》第89章

nished　version　on　my　website。
which　brings　me　to　revising。
revising　as　i　said；　when　i　type　the　handwritten　words；　i　am　also　carrying　out　my　first　major　stage　of　revision。
however；　i　usually　have　to　go　through　at　least　two　revision　stages　after　that。　the　first　of　these　is　when　i　first　print　out　the　typed　chapter。　i　go　through　it　and　make　changes　in　pen；　which　i　will　incorporate　later。　the　second　stage　（and　sometimes　a　third　time　as　well）　occurs　when　the　entire　manuscript　is　finished　for　the　first　time。　i　leave　that　big；　beautiful　pile　of　printout　on　the　shelf　for　a　few　weeks；　then　sit　down　and　read　the　whole　thing；　making　corrections　as　i　go。
finally；　i　bundle　the　ms。　off　to　my　australian　and　u。s。　publishers　and　wait　for　their　reaction（s）；　which　generally　will　include　some　suggestions　for　revision　and　occasionally　a　request　for　rewriting。　sometimes these　will　be　good；　worthwhile　changes　and　i　work　them　in。　sometimes　they　are　not；　and　i　argue　about　them　and　—　unless　i　can　be　convinced　otherwise　—　refuse　to　alter　the　text。　basically；　i　try　and　keep　an　open　mind；　since　there　is　nearly　always　room　for　improvement。
staying　motivated　i’m　often　asked　by　aspiring　writers　how　i　can　invest　a　year　or　more　in　writing　a　full…length　novel。
my　stock　answer　is　that　i　never　sit　down　and　think　“i　have　to　write　a　novel　today。”　i　sit　down　and　think　“i　have　to　write　a　chapter；”　or　“revise　a　chapter；”
or　“finish　the　chapter。”　that　way；　it’s　only　ever　；…；　words　that　are　the　immediate　goal。
as　a　further　motivational　gimmick；　i　always　use　the　word　count　utility　when　i’ve　finished　typing　a　chapter；　and　write　that　down；　with　a　running　total　of　words　and　the　date　in　the　front　of　my　first　notebook　for　the　current　work　（each　novel　takes　between　five　and　six　of　those　red　and　black　numbers）。
i　also　write　down　the　music　i’ve　been　listening　to　as　i　write　and　anything　else　that　might　be　interesting　to　look　back　upon。　like　the　fact　that　i　uploaded　my　first　home　page　on april　！　the　word　count　is　a　relatively　small　thing；　but　it　has　an　amazing　psychological　effect；　particularly　as more　and　more　chapters　appear　and　the　word　total　grows。　i　find　it　very　encouraging；　particularly　in　the　first　third　of　the　book；　which　always　seems　to　take　the　majority　of　the　time。
summary　here　are　several　one…liners　that　sum　up　my　writing　philosophy。　some　i’ve　made　up　and　some　are　probably　paraphrases　of　other　people’s　sayings；　only　i　can’t　remember　who　said　what。　（though　i　think　the　“read；　write；　revise”　one　is　from　robert　heinlein。）　“you　can’t　write　if　you　don’t　read。”
“just　write　one　chapter　at　a　time　and　one　day　you’ll　be　surprised　by　your　own　finished　novel。”
“writing　anything　is　better　than　not　writing　something　perfect。”
“read；　write；　revise；　submit；　repeat。”
“expect　rejection；　but　don’t　let　it　stop　you　submitting　again。”
“submit　the　very　best　work　you　can；　not　the　first　draft。　always　read　it　again　before　you　send　it。”
about　the　author　garth　nix　was　born　in and　grew　up　in　canberra；　australia。　after　taking　his　degree　in　professional　writing　from　the　university　of　canberra；　he　slowly　sank　into　the　morass　of　the　publishing　industry；　steadily　devolving　from　sales　rep　through　publicist；　until　in he　became　a　senior　editor　with　a　major　multinational　publisher。　after　a　period　traveling　in　eastern　europe；　the　middle　east；　and　asia　in　；　he　left　publishing　to　work　as　a　marketing　munications　consultant。　in　；　he　was　lured　back　to　the　publishing　world　to　bee　a　part…time　literary　agent。　he　now　lives　in　sydney；　a　five…minute　walk　from　coogee　beach；　with　his　wife；　anna；　and　lots　of　books。
garth　is　the　author　of；　among　other　books；　sabriel；　lirael；　and　shade’s　chldren。
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