Novelist Ann Hood on the Revision Process for Novels and Memoirs

Novelist and memoirist Ann Hood prefers the phrase "glorious mess" when referring to the first draft of a writing project. Ann recently published "Fly Girl: A Memoir," about her career as a life attendant in the late 1970s and 1980s. She has written 14 novels and four memoirs. In this episode, Ann discusses the revision process, quoting another writer who said that revising your work isn't cleaning up after the party, it is the party. She gives us insight into her revision process, how she prints out her manuscript and reads aloud to catch errors in flow, character development, and plot. She even explains her method for mapping out the narrative arc for her writing projects. Listeners will come away with practical ways to improve how they revise their work.