{"id":16727,"date":"2026-04-24T15:15:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T15:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/?p=16727"},"modified":"2026-04-24T15:15:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T15:15:21","slug":"revisions-in-red-abby-laverys-novel-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/2026\/04\/24\/revisions-in-red-abby-laverys-novel-project\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cRevisions in Red:\u201d Abby Lavery\u2019s novel project"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By Aleina Smith \u201927, staff writer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The LVC English and creative writing department hosted \u201cThe New Work Series\u201d featuring Abby Lavery on revising her novel on Tuesday, April 14. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lavery, a senior English, history and creative writing triple major, is working on revising her novel project, “Fatefall.<\/em>” This young adult fantasy novel has been in the works since 2022, and Lavery is currently working on her third draft of book one. While revision has been her least favorite part of the project, it\u2019s a special and essential part of the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think my favorite part of the revision process might just be the learning aspect,\u201d Lavery said. \u201cIn a way, I\u2019m exploring the possibilities of a new stage of the writing process, and it has been really interesting to learn different revision strategies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The revision process as a whole is extremely repetitive\u2014especially on such a big project\u2014and it can be hard to find the motivation to sit down and want to write when it feels like a chore. “Fatefall\u2019s” first draft was over 140,000 words, and after almost eight re-reads, Lavery is struggling with the will to write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA few years ago, I listened to a lecture by Brandon Sanderson where he said that he requires his advanced creative writing classes to write 35,000 words a semester,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted to try it for myself and ended up setting a goal in the 2024 spring semester to write 500 words a day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since making this goal, plus the addition of filling out a spreadsheet, Lavery has been able to keep up with her goal and keep progressing on the project. She also mentioned that having something consistently \u201cnew\u201d added to the project keeps things fresh; from a new Pinterest board or playlist to a new idea or fresh eyes on the piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll of my workshop classes have been the most beneficial by far,\u201d Lavery said. \u201cAny time you\u2019re getting someone else\u2019s eyes on your work, it highlights all the problems you didn\u2019t notice in your work before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lavery has also had the assistance of the LVC English and creative writing department to boost her project. Something very helpful for her is Dr. Holly M. Wendt\u2019s reverse outline template provided in their fiction workshop class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the process, Lavery has also learned new aspects about herself that have changed her as a person outside of writing, too. Revision has taught her to be patient and give herself grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been a perfectionist, and in the past, I\u2019ve had a bad habit of taking criticism personally even when it\u2019s not,\u201d Lavery said. \u201cNow that I\u2019m deep in my revisions, I think I\u2019ve started to understand that critique of my work is not a critique of me as a person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lavery also knows the ins and outs of rereading and advised on how to stay engaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWrite the kind of story you want to read,\u201d she said. \u201cYou are going to be rereading and rewriting in what feels like a never-ending cycle, and it\u2019s important that your story remains exciting to you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the reviews editor for LVC\u2019s “Green Blotter,” <\/em>Lavery also knows the importance of practice to improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo words are wasted words,\u201d Lavery said. \u201cWords aren\u2019t wasted if they\u2019re helping you to practice and improve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Truthfully, practicing and improving as well as revising and rereading, are all part of what it takes to outline the best revisions in red.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Aleina Smith \u201927, staff writer The LVC English and creative writing department hosted \u201cThe New Work Series\u201d featuring Abby Lavery on revising her novel on Tuesday, April 14. Lavery, a senior English, history and […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":16725,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16727","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-campus-news","8":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16727"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16729,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16727\/revisions\/16729"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}