The author’s revision process can be a slog
by Becca Puglisi
Is there a better feeling in the world than finishing a manuscript? Typing The End, gazing lovingly at the overall word count, and recognizing you’ve accomplished something that not many people can do…you’re floating on cloud nine, and all is right with the world.
And then come the revisions.
Hear that sound? That’s you, crashing to the ground.
A Different Way to Look at the Revision Process
Revision isn’t typically super fun because it requires you to look at your story—your perfect, incredible, one-of-a-kind story—realistically. You’re going to find problems—BIG problems—that need fixing. You’ll have to take a scalpel, machete, or jackhammer to your baby and carve out some of those words you were so proud of coming up with. It’s hard. Writers aren’t typically excited about this part of the journey.
But I would encourage you to look at it differently. Revision is how your story goes from good (or garbage) to great. Characters become more authentic and well-rounded, plotlines are streamlined, settings become multi-dimensional, pace-killing fluff and filler are eradicated, and your voice begins to shine.
When you’re able to look at the revision process through this lens, it becomes a positive experience that results in something amazing, something that couldn’t have come about without it. So changing your mindset about revisions is a huge part of getting the most out of them.
But it’s not just our attitude about revision that limits us. Sometimes, it’s the process itself. There are so many story elements to examine and fix; it’s daunting to do all of this, especially for a full-length novel. This is why Angela Ackerman and I created the Revision Roadmap at One Stop for Writers. It takes authors through the revision stage for their story one step at a time, breaking the process into manageable rounds. There are a million ways to revise, but here’s how we suggest chunking the process to make it doable.
A Roadmap for the Revision Process
1) Run a First Draft Health Assessment for the Revision Process.
After you’ve let your manuscript sit for a while to give you some much-needed objectivity, it’s time to read it again — but don’t make any changes. Not yet. At this point, just make notes of all the things you notice that need work. It can also help to use a checklist to make overall impressions about the major elements of the story, such as characters, plot, pacing, etc. Create your own resource or use our list of Final Draft Challenge Questions, which can be downloaded via the Revision Roadmap.
2) Revision Round 1: Rough in the Big Changes.
Using the notes from your read-through, go back to your story and start working on the big-picture fixes: primary characters, character arc, plot, setting, theme, and pacing. Don’t try and make everything perfect; just get the changes framed in to shore up the weak spots.
3) Round 2: Smooth out the Round 1 Changes.
Go back through your manuscript and tighten all the places you touched in the first round. Expand on them, tweak the wording, choose the right details, etc. As you go, start working on the next level of story elements: point-of-view, conflict, stakes, voice, etc. These don’t always take as much time as the big-picture items, so you can address them as you’re moving through this round.
4) Round 3: Incorporate feedback from critique partners.
Getting feedback from other authors is pivotal for improving your story. This can happen at any point in the process, but we like it after the second round. This ensures that you’ve already fixed the problems you’ve been able to identify and will be giving readers a pretty solid version of your story. While you’re making changes based on their feedback, keep an eye out for other issues, like places where you’ve told instead of shown, spots where the pace is flagging, and descriptions that can be updated to do double-duty.
5) Polishing Round.
Now you’re ready to get granular. Look for sentence structures that are repeated or read awkwardly, seek and destroy your favorite crutch words, rewrite passages where the flow doesn’t quite work, strengthen the dialogue, and correct typos.
You’re Done!
And that’s it. By this time, you’ll have addressed your story’s major and minor issues. This is just one way of breaking up the work. Some writers like to split it up even more, which creates more rounds with fewer elements to work on in each. Others choose to take a scene-by-scene approach—essentially, dealing with everything at once but in smaller sections at a time.
As with every part of writing a story, there’s no right or wrong way to revise. If you’ve already got a process that works for you, that’s awesome. Stick with it. But if revision tends to freak you out, our method can make this stage of the journey a little less scary. If you’d like more information on this process and its individual rounds, the One Stop for Writers Revision Roadmap has a ton of information and resources to keep things simple.
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by Becca Puglisi (@beccapuglisi) July 24, 2022
What about you, scriveners? Do you do your revisions in layers like this? Are you going to try this process? I am! I’m working on revising my WIP, and this is going to be a huge help for me. I usually attack the ms. all at once, looking for typos at the same time I’m trying to decide if I should eliminate the Aunt Edna story arc, add a new subplot, or maybe change the ending. A recipe for stress. This “roadmap” should make the revision process easier.
About Becca
Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and other resources for writers. Her books have sold over 900,000 copies and are available in multiple languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world.
She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online resource for authors that’s home to the Character Builder and Storyteller’s Roadmap tools.
If you don’t have a copy of the Emotion Thesaurus, you probably need one.
(and there are 7 other writers’ guides in the series!)
You can learn all these things at One Stop for Writers.
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Featured image: Caravaggio’s St. Jerome, 1607
Great and practical advice in this piece, Becca. Thanks! I especially like, “Let your manuscript sit for a while to give you some much-needed objectivity.” And a good Sunday morning to Anne & Ruth 🙂
Thanks, Becca, for practical perspective on revision. Revision and editing are my favorite parts of writing a book! As you say, revision is where you take your ms from good (or garbage) to great. Revision is the stage where you can mold your book into what you’d hoped for at the very beginning when the idea first popped into your head. Embrace the opportunity!
It’s my favorite part of the process—way more fun (for me) than drafting. I think you and I may be weird in this regard… 😉
Becca, thank you for a common sense approach to a big task. I’m in the midst of that right now and every piece of advice and encouragement helps. An additional tip–if writing multiple POVs, collect up all the scenes from each individual POV and make sure they make sense both in terms of consistent tone and what that character knows. Beyond that, the Emotion Thesaurus has been a terrific aid. it’s on the shelf as one of my most trusted resources. Thank you!
I love revision! What a way to find ways to incorporate new ideas that serve to build out the story, and make characters and their situations authentic and realistic!
But DEFINITELY let any piece of work sit for a while before going back to it. The longer the piece, the longer the wait time.
And in Round 5, the Polishing Round, I recommend reading your work out loud to yourself. Ideally, have someone else read it out loud to you while you both hold a print copy of the manuscript, so you can take notes of the rough spots. But if you don’t have that partner option, always read it out loud to yourself. You’ll hear things that the eye doesn’t recognize as problem spots, and you’ll be able to polish the rhythm of the work. When you’re asked to read a excerpt, you’ll be able to pick any part, any time, and read it easily without stumbling over a tongue-twister. (Remember, our species developed as a story-telling culture, in which the audience were all listeners, so hearing, even internal hearing as interpreted by the eye in reading, is an important factor.)
I’m a huge fan of reading your manuscript aloud at some point in the process. It forces us to read more slowly and find things we would’ve missed otherwise. 🙂
Thanks Becca & Anne — I used to loathe revision, but after lo these many years I’ve developed a hard-won affinity for revising. It is a peculiar joy to see the rough edges smoothed, the threads connected, the clunky bits de-clunked.
And the process is easier if you have the Thesaurus series by Becca and Angela!
The Thesaurus series is in my home library, but I haven’t had a chance yet to delve into them. I couldn’t resist acquiring the resource, though!
Echoing Ruth and Sally, I too love the revision process. Additionally to Sally’s suggestion to read the manuscript out loud, I also re-write–by hand and computer–problem areas. My revision process is much less structured than yours, Becca. I work on what excites me, what inspires me first and then continue from there until I’ve transformed a good story into an even better one. Happy polishing, everyone.
I’m one of those writers who loves the revision process. Drafting a novel is slow for me, but once the story is in place, revision is like stepping up to the next level. It changes the book from just telling a story to leading the reader through an experience.
I like the roadmap you laid out, Becca. And The Emotion Thesaurus is a great tool!
A helpful post. I’m currently going through this very process. This will be helpful.
We all could use more objectivity 🙂
Yes! This is a great tip for editing multiple viewpoints. I’ve also heard it’s a good idea to isolate dialogue scenes and read them on their own. This can help you see where the character’s voices aren’t distinct enough or aren’t consistent.
Yes! I love comparing early drafts to the final ones so I can see all the improvements.
Thank you, Alex! I do think our books can make the process easier, but I can’t say that… 😉
I love this method. Every writer is different, and their processes will reflect those individualities. I’m so glad you’ve found what works for you!
This is the way it works for me, too, Kay. Drafting is so HARD for me. Once the bare bones are there, it’s much more enjoyable to whip things into shape :).
I’m so glad it was timely for you!
Weird? Moi? Jamais! 😉
Thanks for the advice and the link to the road map.
In effect, Becca, thanks for everything you do to support the writing community.
It’s truly my pleasure, Ingmar. Thanks for reading!
Excellent, detailed post, Becca! The revision process is my favorite part. I do rolling edits while drafting, so my first draft is a cohesive story when it’s finished, but it’s never perfect. Letting it sit a while is crucial. We can’t see our work without some distance.
I also have to edit some while drafting. Can’t help myself. Reading through and tidying up the last scene helps me get into writing the next one 🙂
Yes. I had read this advice many times, but was so eager to delve into my newly completed short story that I didn’t listen and began botching it right away. Then came back a few days later and went “wow, this stuff is actually alright!”
I’m so glad you’re finding it useful, Kaylee. Best of luck with your revisions!
Great to know that at least two accomplished writers do what I do. I’m always revising what was before as I continue with what’s to come. One reason is that I often must go days or weeks between writing sessions, so I have to go back a page or a chapter to regain the flow. When I do that I’ll fix the typos, add here, subtract there, etc. I usually consider my first draft, when finished, is pretty much a second draft.
I love that everybody has their own process that works for them. So glad you’ve found yours!
I love the revision process! My first drafts are mostly garbage and I can’t wait to turn them into gold!
Me, too!