Darcy Pattison - Novel Metamorphosis: Uncommon Ways to Revise, 2nd edition

I found many books useful , but I found your Novel Metamorphosis absolutely the best for a workshop. For the first time in 18 years of doing The Manuscript Workshop in Vermont, I offered one this year for novels for those who had a first draft or more that needed revision. The most interesting session was the one where we dealt with the Shrunken Manuscript, and we were all really impressed about how much we learned from this hands on activity.

Barbara Seuling, Director

The Manuscript Workshop in Vermont

www.barbaraseuling.com

D arcy Pattisons shrunken manuscript technique for analyzing the overall flow and pacing of my novel was the single most helpful tip I have ever picked up at a workshop. Highly recommended!

Carole Estby Dagg

www.caroleestbydagg.com

The Year We Were Famous, Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,

2011. Would you walk over four thousand miles to save your familys home?

M y initial reaction after finishing a first draft is to ask myself Now What? That question is answered and then some in Darcys novel revision retreats (Ive done two so far). The large group sessions where Darcy discusses things like character, plot, setting and word choice help you wrap your brain around where your novel needs work. The break-out sessions with your critique group help you apply Darcys revision principles to your specific story. In the end, you walk away with a clear picture of how to take your novel apart and put it back together in a way that will make it a much stronger story. Hanging out with Darcy and other writers (at a retreat) who are in your shoes is a big bonus too!

Christina Mandelski

The Sweetest Thing, Egmont USA, 2011

www.christinamandelski.com

www.willwrite4cake.com

D arcy gets you to see through your own words to find the heart and bones of your story, then gives you strategies that help you cut the fat away from that heart and keep it singing while you rearrange the bones and sinew to make the structure strong.

Sue Cowing

You Will Call Me Drog, Carolrhoda, 2011.

I revised a manuscript for an editor at Scholastic before it was accepted. His offer letter said, The ability to have such insight about ones own work is as rare as the talent to generate a fun and meaningful story. Darcy Pattison taught me how to look at my own work with a powerful set of tools for considering voice, structure, action, sensory detail, and more. It always feels magical to make a story better, but its not magic. Its a matter of understanding and using the tools we writers have. Darcy built the toolbox for us with her blog, her workshops, and her book, Novel Metamorphosis. We still have to do the heavy lifting, but were not doing it alone.

Martha Brockenbrough

Devine Inspiration, Arthur Levine/Scholastic, 2012

http://marthabrockenbrough.com

D arcy Pattisons shrunken manuscript technique pushed me to see my book in its entirety what was working and what needed to change. On the micro level, I appreciated Darcys emphasis on imagery and the senses particularly taste, touch, and smell which bring to a story texture and depth.

Caroline Starr Rose

May B., Schwartz and Wade/Random House Childrens Books, 2012

www.carolinestarrrose.com

I ve used the techniques that Darcy lays forth in Novel Metamorphosis, and my guess is you will copy, dogear, highlight, flag, and write all over this book. And while youre marking up this text, your own novel will emerge cleaner, sharper, and more publishable.

Kristin ODonnell Tubb, author of middle-grade historical novel,

Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different (Delacorte 2008), which was accepted by the first editor who read it after Tubb revised it at Darcy Pattisons workshop. Class of 2k8. www.kristintubb.com

W riters know we must revise , but few know how. Pattisons Novel Metamorphosis offers focused questions and inviting worksheets to help you reimagine your novel and develop the heart that will take it out of the slush pile and into print.

Elaine Marie Alphin,

Edgar-winning Counterfeit Son

www.elainemariealphin.com

T here are a lot of books out there on revision, but this is the only one Ive found that takes you by the hand and leads you step-by-step through the process. With Darcy, its actually FUN!

Dori Hillestad Butler, Edgar Award winner

The Truth About Truman School, Do You Know the Monkey Man? and many other novels.

www.kidswriter.com

N ovel Metamorphosis : Uncommon Ways to Revise

by Darcy Pattison

M ims House , 1309 S. Broadway, Little Rock, AR 72202

N ovel Metamorphosis : Uncommon Ways to Revise, revised. c. 2012,

ebook, c. 2016.

by Darcy Pattison. All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

P aperback ISBN 978-0-9852134-0-4

eBook ISBN 978-1-62944-067-5

L ibrary of Congress subject headings :

Fiction-Authorship

Fiction-techniques

Fiction-techniques-Problems, exercises, etc.

w ww.darcypattison.com

For information on hosting a Novel Revision Retreat in your area,

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The Wonderful World of Words, adapted from Marsteller, Bill. The Wonderful World of Words: Memoranda and Speeches of Bill Marsteller 1951-1972. Marsteller, Inc. 1972. Used by permission from Harold Burson, Burson-Marsteller, Inc., New York, NY

ISBN: 978-1-62944-067-5