Celebrate Nonfiction

Exploring the Joy of Nonfiction Reading and Writing

Behind the Books: Colorful Revision

Back in November, Dana Murphy (@DanaMurphy68) wrote this post, called “A Close Look,” on the Two Writing Teachers blog. In it, she discussed a tweet I
contributed to a Twitterchat a few days earlier.

 

This
is something I do a lot. In fact, it might be the number one way I use mentor
texts. Seeing text in manuscript form really helps me understand how the writer
went about crafting it.

In
her post, Dana used colors to highlight aspects of the writing she especially
liked. I use that technique too. I use it when I’m examining another writer’s
language, and I use it during my own revision process. It helps me focus on
specific elements of a manuscript.

For example, I might highlight all my verbs in blue. Then I
look them over and ask: Are they varied enough? Can any of them be stronger?

I
might color comparisons green, and ask myself: Can I come up with examples that are
even more relevant to my readers’ lives?

I
might make all the examples of alliteration purple. Am I
overusing it? I admit. I sometimes do.

Here
are a couple of examples:

 

 

By
using colors to focus my attention on specific parts of a text, patterns—both good
and bad—become clearer, and I can revise to make the manuscript as strong as it
can possibly be.

4 Responses

  4. Love your color coding, Melissa! This just makes it so "clear" about which words/phrases MUST stay and which ones need to be reviewed!

    THANKS!

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