Layer 1 Revisions: Story Level
Start Here
So you’ve finished a draft of your novel. Congratulations! Before you even think about revising, there are two important steps you must take first.
Celebrate! You did something amazing!
Take a break. Maybe from writing entirely, or maybe just from this project. The reason for this break, aside from the fact that everyone needs to take breaks to avoid burnout, is that you need distance from your manuscript in order to make an honest evaluation of it.
Once you’ve had your break, the next step is to read your manuscript. Take notes, but don’t make change yet!
It’s best to do this read through in a format where you can’t make changes, such as printing the manuscript out, or, to save paper, turning it into a PDF. Microsoft word has an option where you can send documents to your kindle to read. I like sending my PDF to my ReMarkable paper tablet so that I can write notes in the margins.
What should you take notes on?
In this read through, you want to think about big, global, structural issues: plot and character. You might already know some big picture changes you want to make based on what you already knew needed work while you were drafting, but left alone so you could finish writing.
These are the types of questions to ask yourself, or the critique partner assisting you:
How has my main character changed from the beginning to the end? Not just their circumstances, but how have they as a person changed? What evidence do I provide in the first and last scenes that show this change? What other turning points in the manuscript build up to this change?
o If you are struggling to answer these questions, your character arc probably needs work! Check out these posts:
Is there a clear problem the main character has to solve? Is this problem (or a related one) present for nearly the whole manuscript? Do the obstacles escalate? Is there a resolution of the external plot? How does the external plot connect to the arc of change for the main character?
o If you are struggling with these questions, you probably need some help with plot fundamentals. Check out these posts:
Do the characters’ choices make sense for what the character wants? Do character decisions have consequences that drive the story forward? Does something change as a result of every scene? Is it clear how each event in the story leads to future events?
o If you are struggling with these questions you may have issues with pacing, cause-and-effect, or agency. Check out these posts:
If you have already dealt with most of these issues, congratulations! You are probably ready for layer 2 revisions – scene level. I’ll discuss this layer of revision in a future post.