A Complete Guide to Revising Your Novel: Part One
by Lynette M. Burrows
So you’ve written a first (or 100th) draft of your novel. Your emotions range from “Look how good I write” to “It’s rough, but I can fix it,” to “It’s broken beyond repair.” Maybe you’ve done this revision thing dozens of times before, but this novel is turning into a nightmare. Join me in a deep dive into revision tips, tricks, and techniques.
This isn’t a journey for the faint of heart nor for the authors who believe their books are “good enough.” This is for those who want to create the best book they can. Writing out the process in detail makes it large and ungainly. How quickly you can get through this process depends on the condition of your first draft, the level of your skills, your ability to analyze your own work, and the time you have available to work these steps. With repetition it gets faster and smoother.
Full disclosure. I’ve spent a lot of years learning from some of the best in the business. You’ll see bits of learning from Margie Lawson, Donald Maass, Holly Lisle, and Dwight V. Swain, plus a lot more. These things have worked for me in the past or are working for me now. YMMV. Cultivate what you think might work and test it. There will be bits that work for you and there will be parts that absolutely do not work for you. That’s okay. A guide is a tool to use how, when, and where you need it.
I will give you a lot of detailed steps over the next few posts I write. While I strongly recommend you do every step the first time you deconstruct one of your own stories, as your skill grows, what and how you edit will evolve. Those of you who have experience doing this sort of thing may wish to try a few of these steps. Explore any that appeal to you.
Preparation
This is a systematic way to check for those times when you (the author) made assumptions, forgot details, or lost track of plot threads. You know the story you meant to write. Unfortunately, what you wrote and what your reader sees aren’t necessarily the same thing. Even those of you who use detailed outlines can miss a few things in the first draft.
Let It Cool
One of the human foibles most of us have is that when we re-read our own work, we often see what we thought we wrote. This is especially true if you recently finished writing the story. That’s why it’s recommended that you let a draft sit in a drawer (digital or real) for a while. “A while” is a different time frame for each author. Waiting allows you to “forget” some of your words and your intentions so you can see the words on the page with fresher eyes.
Get a Fresh Perspective
Alpha readers read the complete manuscript can be helpful in giving you the headspace to see your manuscript through fresh eyes. I strongly recommend that you find two or three trusted author-friends read the completed story. Consider making a list of questions to give each reader. Questions to ask can include: Which character did you want to read more about? Where did the story go too slow or too fast? Where did you get lost or not understand what was going on? Could you see what was happening in your mind’s eye?
Don’t make the list too long or you will overwhelm your reader. Invite your readers to give additional feedback.
Consider offering these first readers a free copy of the book when it’s published. If you have the means, offer an autographed physical book. These are not rewards, but thanks for the time and work that your first readers put in on your project.
Prepare the Manuscript
There are many ways to trick your brain into seeing your manuscript with fresh eyes. Many research studies have shown that people skim electronic text, so I prefer to use a physical print out of my story.
Some people change the font or the font style. Others change the color or size of the print. Try everything. Different things might work better for you at different times or on different manuscripts.
Space and Time
I don’t know about you, but my desk is never clean when I finish the last chapter. To prepare for editing, I clear off all the old reference notes, research books, and printouts. A clean work surface signals your brain that this is a new project.
Changing your location for the read through is another way to trick your brain out of the writing-editing modes and into a reader’s mindset. Consider reading your manuscript in your favorite reading spot. Or take it to the library or coffee shop.
You’ll need to schedule time—large blocks of time to do your revision. The first time, you’ll need far longer than you think you will, so be generous with your estimate. Plan for thinking time and writing time, and perhaps some time for research as well.
Supplies
I recommend hand-written notes because they slow your thoughts down, but you do you. You’ll need physical or digital index cards, tons of self-adhesive notes of various sizes, and multi-colored pens or pencils or highlighters. Plus, if you haven’t started your story bible, you’ll need a notebook or folder designated to become your story bible.
Have a dictionary and at least one thesaurus available. These can be digital or paper according to your preference.
Stock your work area with plenty of water to drink and snacks if you’re the kind to go looking for something to eat and get distracted.
The late Holly Lisle recommended choosing a set of songs you can play on endless repeat. You’ll only play this music while you are working on your revision. It’s another way to cue your editor-brain that it's time to work.
The First Step
In the first step of this process, you need to take your “editor cap” off and put your “reader cap” on. You are going to sit down and read your manuscript in as close to one sitting as possible without changing one thing. You heard me. Not one tiny edit. Don’t even change a comma.
I don’t know about you, but I find this darn near impossible to do. The way I trick my brain into not editing at all is by using those little self-adhesive flags, dozens of them. Every time I see something that I want to edit, I stick a flag on that line. That tricks my editor-brain to let go of that because the flag means I’ll get back to it later.
When you finish reading, write a review of the book. Yup. Remember, you’re acting as a reader. Write out what you liked and didn’t like and how the book makes you feel now that you’ve re-read it. Give the book stars, even if it’s only a one star at this point. It’s okay because you’re going to learn how to fix all those things you see as problems right now.
Next Steps
Next month, I’ll give you guidelines on how to take your story apart. Later we’ll analyze the parts, and in the following months we’ll learn to fix the broken pieces and make the most of the good parts, and finally we’ll put them back together so your novel shines like a multi-faceted diamond.
What do you find to be the hardest part about preparing to edit your manuscript?
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About Lynette
Lynette M. Burrows is an author, blogger, creativity advocate, and Yorkie wrangler. She survived moving seventeen times between kindergarten and her high school graduation. This alone makes her uniquely qualified to write an adventure or two.
Her Fellowship series is a “chillingly realistic” dystopian alternate history where even the elite can be judged an unbeliever and hunted by the Angels of Death. Books one and two, My Soul to Keep, and If I Should Die, are available everywhere books are sold online. Book three, And When I Wake, is scheduled to be published in 2025.
Lynette lives in the land of OZ. She is a certifiable chocoholic and coffee lover. When she’s not blogging or writing or researching her next book, she avoids housework and plays with her two Yorkshire terriers. You can find Lynette online on Facebook or on her website.
Top image by Lynette M. Burrows
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28 comments on “A Complete Guide to Revising Your Novel: Part One”
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Great practical guidelines! Thanks for writing this!
I'm glad you found it helpful.
Thank you for this helpful post. Just what I need at this moment as I've just finished book 4 of a series.
I'm looking forward to the rest of these posts.
The thing I find most difficult is starting. Actually sitting down and getting my head right. Once I begin, I find I can carry on easily. It's just that initial beginning.
It's great that once you begin you can carry on. When getting started is difficult you might want to let the manuscript rest a little longer or it may be that your editor brain needs to be invited to play. Try a ritual, a playlist, or one of the other "brain trick" I mention above.
Lynette, thank you for the sage advice. It's all quite practical and useful. My biggest struggle editing (and writing, and reading) is being confined to a limited space in a small home where I care for my disabled sons, one of whom has more frequent needs. But we're making it work, though the process is slowed, which is probably a good thing. I think your 'tricks' to train the brain are a wonderful idea to not only train my own brain, but maybe the brains of my sons so they can key into what I am doing, i.e., 'important stuff.' Thanks for the helping hand, and I look forward to your next installment... I need to go ready my playlist!
Jennifer, being a caregiver is so difficult. It's a wonderful thing you're doing--caring for your disabled sons. It does slow things down but try to see that as an opportunity. Slowing your brain and creative (and editing) process can help you fine-tune your craft. (And I hear you about training your sons to key in that you're working!) Best of luck. I look forward to hearing from you throughout this series of posts.
I am currently in my first round of edits. I print the manuscript in a different font, in 2 columns, single spaced. The line scan is totally different, and things jump out simply because of the way they're now lined up on the page.
Later, after my editor is finished and I've gone through it again, I'll have Word read it aloud to me because it never reads what "should" be there; only what IS there. And I always catch more glitches.
What a great idea, Terry! Two columns. I'm going to try that one.
I'm so glad you mentioned having the computer read the work aloud to you. I forgot to include that above. I find the more robotic I make the computer voice the more I am helped to hear the nuances that I've missed before. Thanks for commenting!
Actually, Word's read-aloud voice have come a long way. They're not narrators, but they're not the old robots, either.
Great idea! Thank you!
I don't write a first draft with intention or with theme in mind. I have plot and characters, not some message I want readers to get. So revisions have to pull themes out and highlight them. (They are there organically.) But I have to figure out what they are first and then what I actually need to say about them. (Need, not want.) Once I know, revision is easier.
I think many writers create their first draft without identifying the story's theme. I love how you emphasize what you need to say rather than want. They are different. Getting some clarity on your story is what the first read-through is all about. Thanks for sharing.
Great blog post!
The hardest part is. not making the changes while reading. Thanks for the tip about flagging with a sticky.
Diana
Diana, it is hard to not make changes during the read through. If you're like me, you'll need LOTs of sticky flags. lol Good luck!
Thank you, Lynette. Your guide comes at a perfect time for me. I'm revising my novel for what feels like the 100th time. After getting the opening pages critiqued with fairly positive feedback, I thought I was doing a "final" revision before querying in order to tighten the writing and reduce the word count. Then, after working for literally months on the first 60 pages, I got a disheartening critique indicating that I apparently had done too much weeding. So, back to square one!
I already do most of what you recommended in today's post. Printing out a hard copy definitely helps me to see things I miss when reading the text on the computer and I love taking pages with me to work on over lunch at a restaurant.
One thing I find helpful when revising is to read the text aloud. It helps me discover words I've left out yet didn't notice were missing when I read. This also helps me hear the rhythm of the writing, the naturalness of the dialogue, and any awkward sentences. Also, I've begun using Word's "Read Aloud" feature. The computer voice's halting speech and frequent mispronunciations can be a little distracting, but I've found it gives me an extra layer of distance from my text.
I look forward to the next part of the tool guide. Thank you for sharing your expertise. 🙂
Oh, Christine. I can relate to your discouragement. It can be so disheartening. But you've got this. You're already working on print outs, reading aloud, and listening to your text. That's a lot. Next month I'll show you a few tricks on how to analyze your pages. Good luck and keep your chin up in the meantime!
Lynette, thank you for your compassionate and encouraging response. It helps a lot. 🙂
All the best, Christine
Hi Lynette,
Your post has come at a perfect time for me. I took off the month of December and half of January so I could have a fresh read of the first draft. I started today, but only after reading you helpful tips.
Good luck with your reading and analyzing!
Hello Lynette! Nice suggestions. I don't have alpha or beta readers. I do have good editing software! 😁😂😭
Matthew, editing software can be helpful but I strongly recommend you have at least one other person read your manuscript. That person should be someone who reads that genre and can verbalize where the story works and doesn't work.
Software cannot tell you that this word has different connotation to someone else or that scene gives a different emotional tone than the one you'd intended.
You can try finding a reader in readers groups on any social media platform or join a writers' group -- either local to you or online. Or you could hire a developmental coach or editor.
great tips.
Thank you Denise.
Thank you for this set of guidelines. Your posts always contain nuggets that resonate with me. I’m powering through a second draft revision right now—straining the spine, eliminating darlings. I’ll be able to collect your advice in time for the next pass!
Thank you Chris. Best of luck with your revision!
Besides the overall content edit and rewriting, I have a subscription to Grammarly so I can use its full power at the word, sentence, and paragraph level. No author today should be without such a tool.
Does anyone read these comments? No one has ever replied...
Hi Matthew, I'm sorry you feel your comments are never read and replied to. I don't know about the other authors who blog here, but I check comments the day the post goes live and the day after. Comments made after that I check for comments randomly. My replies, like this one, can come several days later or not at all if my own writing business is particularly busy.
Tools like Grammarly are helpful but as mentioned above, those tools cannot give you a human's understanding of connotations and emotional content of your story.
Hi Matthew! We do comment, but as Lynette said, sometimes it takes a few hours. The comments section is actually the favorite part for most of us who run things behind the scenes, because so many amazing discussions happen down here. 🙂