CREATIVE

NONFICTION
REVISING A DRAFT OF A SHORT PIECE USING
LITERARY CONVENTIONS

“I’ve found the best way to revise your own work is to pretend that somebody
else wrote it and then to rip the living shit out of it.”
- Don Roff

Fig. 1: Revising

The secret of doing well in writing creative nonfiction is to know which conventions to incorporate
in your output. Each creative nonfiction genre has its unique features and elements.

In your Module 5, you have learned how to evaluate other’s draft based on different criteria. In
this module, you will learn more about the different literary conventions of genres such as fiction,
drama and poetry and how to revise one’s draft using these conventions.
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to;

 Discuss the processes and techniques involved in revising;

 Demonstrate prior knowledge on revising.

 Revise the draft of creative nonfiction piece to produce a finished work.

 Revising is indeed a complex and complicated process of writing. A skill guides a writer to
be very conscious on how to ensure quality and noteworthy writing products.
 You revise your creative work after you have selected an idea to write about, completed
necessary research, organized your information, decided on what to write about, and then
written a first draft.
 The purpose of the first draft is not to write something perfect--but to get your ideas on
paper. Whether you write poetry, fiction, or personal essays, you should revise your work.
 Revision can transform an ordinary piece of poetry, short fiction, personal essay or any
form of writing into something memorable. It allows you to improve on an initial attempt.
It gives you the opportunity to write the best possible poem, fiction, personal essay and
so forth.
 In addition, revision is often the most creative aspect of writing. Your first draft is just a
blueprint. A first draft is never your best work. Your goal of revising your work is not to
make your writing perfect, because you can always revise your work. Your goal then is to
create something that is your best work. If you write little prose, you might have to add
content. If you over write, you have to delete the excess. Both the sparse writer and
verbose writer will have to trim, alter and rearrange their content.

WHY REVISE?

1. Revision allows you the opportunity to improve.

 This means that by revising your work after writing the initial draft, you can
improve your writing. Revising your work also gives you the opportunity to
improve the structure, plot, characterization, point of view, conflict, climax,
resolution, and theme of your story.
 Revising your work allows you to add, delete, rearrange, and expand the
details of your poem, story, articles or essay.
 2. Revising enables you to see your writing from a new perspective.
 If you take a break from writing gives you the chance to add simile, metaphor, fresh
language, new details, to tap into your imagination.
3. Revision is closely tied to critical reading.
 To revise a piece conceptually, you must be able to reflect on whether your
message matches your writing goal.

HOW TO REVISE?

Many writers revise as they write. They will write a sentence, paragraph, or section, then
reread it then revise. The following points will surely help you refine your draft.
1. A better way to revise is to write the entire draft.
2. Read it aloud and make notes of things you don’t like.
3. Revise your creative writing several times before submitting.
4. Work on getting your poem, story or essay or article right making it the best you
can.

WHAT TO REVISE?

After writing the complete draft, take a break for a day or more. The break from writing will
enable you to see your work from new perspective. When you revise consider the following. All
types of creative nonfiction writing require the following considerations, whether you write a short
story, novel, personal essay, literary journalistic article, or poetry. There are two ways on how to
revise creative nonfictions.
A. MACRO REVISION
 For a macro revision of a personal narrative essay or fictional story; these includes
the following;
a. Setting and Time
b. Character/Characterization
c. Plot/Plot Structure
d. Dialogue
e. Style
f. Voice
g. Theme
 If you are writing a poem, your macro revision will consider the following:
a. Form
b. Line break
c. Stanza
d. Diction
e. Figurative and poetic language
f. Concrete and significant details
g. Description
 h. Grammar
i. Right Voice and Style
j. Sound
k. Rhythm and meter
l. Point-of-view
m. Theme
B. MICRO REVISION
 After completing the macro revision, you will complete a micro revision. Whether
you write poetry, fiction or narrative piece, you must complete a micro revision. It is
a line-by-line edit of the following: grammar, spelling, punctuation, and writing style.
a. Ensure that you are using correct grammar such as correct usage (e.g.
subject-verb agreement).
b. Ensure that you are using correct spelling.
c. Ensure that you are using correct punctuation-period, comma, dash,
exclamation point, question mark, quotations.
d. Scenes. Ensure that you have shown and told your readers. You must write in
scenes for all important events. Do you show readers what happened? For
things that are less important, do you tell your readers?
e. Diction/word choice. Ensure that you have chosen the best language. What
is the connotation and denotation of each word?
f. Ensure that you have used sentence variety such as long and short sentence,
fragments and climactic sentences, simple, compound, and complex
sentences.
g. Ensure that your prose have melody. Have you used alliteration? Assonance?
Rhyme? Repetition?
h. Ensure that your prose have rhythm. It refers to the parallel structure of your
prose.
i. Lyricism. Ensure that your prose is lyrical. Have you used imagery? Metaphor?
Simile?
j. Usage. Ensure that you have used the active voice, concrete nouns, and action
verbs. Ensure that you have adjectives and adverbs sparingly.
The answers in this activity are base from our previous lessons.

ACROSS DOWN
1. The character who is opposed to (against) 2. It is the section of the plot leading to the
or competes with another. climax, in which the tension stemming from
5. People in the story. the story’s central conflict grows through
8. The plan or main story of a play or novel. successive plot development.
10. The beginning of a story that exposes or 3. The central idea or message explored in
introduces the background. the story
11. Details before the resolution, loose ends 4. It is the section of the plot leading to the
are tied up, usually very brief. resolution of the story.
12. The point at which the intensity of the 6. It where and when the story takes place.
action rises to a high point. 7. The main character, usually the one the
reader identifies with.
9. Literary elements that involves a struggle
between two opposing forces.
No writer could do away from the significant task of revising. It is a vital task every writer needs
to undertake to improve his/her draft. You might think that since you strictly followed the rules and
accurately applied the concepts discussed in the previous module, only minor revisions are
needed to be made in your draft. However, even proficient writers need to improve their draft.
Now that you have completed the process of writing your draft, you are now ready to REVISE and
turn your writing to the best it can possibly be.

II. Correct the errors in convention such as spelling, capitalization, punctuation, subject-verb
agreement, and language use in the famous movie lines that follow.
CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG!
1. “it is not our abilities that show what we truely
are…it is our choices?.” ─Dumbledore, Harry Potter
and the Chamber of Secrets
2. “i keep telling Everybody they should move on
and grow. Some do. But not us.” ─Steve Rogers,
Avengers: Endgame
3. “hope. It is the only thing stronger than fair. A little
hope is effective. A lot of hope is dangerous. A spark
are fine, as long as it’s contained.” ─President
Snow, The Hunger Games
4. “Do, or do not. their is no “try”. ─Yoda, Star Wars
5. “Just keep swimming. just keep swimming. Just
keep swimming, Swimming, swimming. What do we
do: We swim, swim.” ─Dory, Finding Nemo

Revising a draft, which is usually rough and incomplete, requires thorough evaluation. As
a writer, you have to examine your writing carefully and work diligently towards its improvement.
To help you get through the process of revising, Lee Odell, Richard Vacca and Renee Hobbs
(2001) suggest the following steps for potential writers to follow in order to make their draft as
good as it can be.
1. EVALUATE YOUR DRAFT.
 Assess your draft by paying attention to its strengths and weaknesses. Read your
work at least three times, focusing first on content, then on organization, and finally
on style. You can ask a peer to read your draft and to extend an honest feedback.
2. REVISE THE DRAFT TO IMPROVE ITS CONTENT AND ORGANIZATION.
 After identifying your writing’s strengths and weaknesses, fixing problems follows.
It would be more beneficial to do this with a peer for he/she might mention points of
improvement or offer suggestions for changes. You can use the following strategies
to improve your draft’s content and organization
a. ADD. Adding sensory details, interesting facts, examples, and illustrations
will surely give life to your writing. Add connecting words and phrases such
as moreover, as a result, however, furthermore, also, yet, for example, and
therefore to indicate relationships of ideas.
b. DELETE. Be tolerant of eliminating repetition and wordiness in your
sentences. Omit any words, phrases, or sentences that do not contribute to
the main idea of a given paragraph for these can only contribute to the
vagueness of the message or idea.
c. REPLACE. Replace clichés and vague verbs and nouns with clearer and
more precise language. Make sure to keep a dictionary and a thesaurus
beside you while revising for these are invaluable tools to help you.
d. REARRANGE. To ensure that sentences in each paragraph flow logically
and clearly from one to another, move any idea that seems out of place to
a more appropriate paragraph.
e. ELABORATE. Your main ideas need an adequate support. Thus, you may
need to elaborate your idea with additional details, facts, examples,
illustrations, sensory images, quotations, or anecdotes
3. REVISE THE DRAFT TO IMPROVE ITS STYLE.
 Revise for style by considering some of the following strategies:
a. Get rid of slang, clichés, and worn-out verbs.
b. Use the active voice more often.
c. Ensure that sentence length and sentence beginnings are varied.
d. Combine sentences to add variety or complexity.
4. PROOFREAD, OR EDIT YOUR FINAL DRAFT.
 After completing steps one to three, re-reading your final version is worthwhile. This
is done so as to catch and correct each error. Proofreading is a thorough and tiring
work. As a writer, you have to exhaust your utmost concentration as you read and
re-read your draft. Proofread your draft three times the second time aloud.
Sometimes your ears catch inconsistencies that your eyes miss. Use a dictionary
to double-check spellings of words of which you are uncertain. Make sure your final
draft follows the conventions of written language.
 Revising and Proofreading Symbols

To some people, editing is simply making corrections, while to others, it includes both
revising and proofreading. When you are revising or proofreading your own or a peer’s work, you
can use the following symbols to indicate any changes that should be made.

I. Create a creative non-fiction about your Mother or Father. Highlight their life and their sacrifices
to support your family. Describe the immeasurable love they give to your family and how he/she
build the person you are today.
a) Provide your own title.
b) It must consist of 10 sentences each paragraph – complete 3 paragraphs.
c) Observe the proper writing etiquettes, like punctuation, spelling, capitalization, indention,
etc.

II. Once done, share your writing with a classmate whom you trust to give you honest feedback.
Have him/her read your writing. If possible, exchange writings with him/her and complete the Peer
Review Form of each other’s draft in progress. Accomplish the activity in a separate sheet of
paper. In revising, use the proofreading marks and submit a screenshot of the before and after
corrections.
 Peer Review Form

Writer’s name: ______________________________________________________

Partner’s name: _____________________________________________________
Title: ______________________________________________________________
1. What I really like this about your writing is…

2. Your beginning paragraph…

3. Your beginning paragraph…

4. Your ending paragraph…

5. Your writing can be improved by:

PRINTED MATERIALS:
Lee, O., Vacca, R. and Hobbs, R., 2001. Elements of Language: Fourth Course.
Holt, Rinehart and Winston
WEBSITE:
Free Proofreading Marks Handouts. Retrieved July 23, 2020 from
https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/713257659705883614