3 Surefire Ways to Revise Your Novel

The number one challenge writers face is learning the craft. The number two challenge is how to revise and edit your novel, but revising doesn’t have to be hard. If you’ve written the first draft, spend an entire week celebrating. That’s a huge accomplishment! You just overcame the third biggest writing challenge: finishing your first draft. 

But don’t start submitting your work just yet, you need to revise your story so it shines and editors will want to publish it. Let’s talk about three ways you can revise your novel.

Start Revisions by Looking at Plot
Whenever I’m helping other writers revise their novels, we always start with plot. Whether you’re writing your first draft, or you’re starting the revision process, knowing your five main plot points will help you create a stronger plot and a better story. Revision can - in a sense - happen before you ever write your first word. Which is why creating a plot outline before you write helps cut down on your revision timeline.

If your plot points aren’t identified correctly, your pacing will be off. Being able to know which plot points are most important and where to properly place them will help you avoid a slow start and a saggy middle. 

For example, the most important scene for the middle of your novel should show up in the middle. But if the scene you have that shows up in the middle is your two characters leaving the ranch, when it really needs to be when they finally reach the canyon, then you’ll have to revise –  or rearrange – your plot points so that your character motivations, pacing, and storyline flows better and makes more sense. So start all your revisions by looking at your novel’s plot points first. And revise accordingly.

Revise Your Novel at a Week-Long Getaway 
When you think about the top challenges writers face: craft, revision, finishing your book, not having enough time to write, and not having a critique group, attending a writing retreat is one of the best ways to help you.

Taking some time for yourself is a great way to gain momentum with your revision. Take a week off and plan to attend a world-class writing retreat in western North Carolina, where you’ll overcome the top 5 challenges writers face and:

1. Learn more about the craft of writing
2. Have plenty of dedicated writing time to work on your book
3. Be able to work toward finishing your rough draft
4. Get valuable feedback from fellow writers and faculty members 
5. Gain insights on what and how to revise your novel

10-Point Revision Checklist
Using a checklist is a great way to start revising your novel. Once you revise the plot and have a good development of character and conflict, your story will begin to take shape. When you get all the big pieces in place, you can start revising further and you’ll be editing to polish the story rather than revising the plot. Start with plot and revise that first. Then move on to the checklist.

Here are 10 things to keep in mind and start looking for. Start at the top and work your way to the bottom. Your manuscript will be much tighter when you finish the checklist and apply it to your whole novel. 

The first five can be applied on a scene by scene basis or a chapter by chapter basis. The last five can be applied to the whole novel all at once. For example, revise chapter 1 by going through #1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Then do all five with chapter 2. When you get to the last five items on the checklist, do #6 for the whole novel. Then #7 for the whole novel, etc.

1. Plot coincidences.
   On the heels of revising your plot, do this next. Did your character do something that seemed to be convenient, just so something else would happen? Try to make the things that happen in your story happen for a reason so that they don’t seem like simple coincidences.  
2. Lack of character motivation.
   Get used to the question, “Why?” Ask yourself why each character does what they do. Does it make sense? If they don't have a good reason for acting the way they do, then you need to have a conversation with them and ask them why. Every character needs to have motivation for what they do. It’s your job to unearth it and show it to your reader.
3. Action.
   Every scene you write needs to have action. People doing things. And no, sitting around talking doesn’t really count as action. People can still sit around and have conversations, but it needs to advance the plot and lead to the next scene. And people still need to be doing things, like taking a sip of water or putting an arm around someone.
4. Setting.
   You want to make each scene as visual as possible. Use all five senses. Also look for overall setting inconsistencies such as locations and distances of certain places. Is the library always mentioned as being north of Main Street? Verify your timelines too. Make sure that something that happened with one character doesn’t interfere with something else that’s happening with another character.
5. Character inconsistencies.
   Look at each character’s behaviors, language, and physical description. Make sure every chapter is consistent with all previous chapters.
6. Wordiness.
   Be concise. There is a use for both short and long sentences in your writing. Use them both. The sheer existence of a long sentence does not make it wordy. But if you go on and on about the same thing after the point has basically been made, cut. Cut as much as you can wherever you can. Be concise while still getting the meaning across.
7. Excessive description.
   Passages of long description that seem to go on forever are definitely a thing of the past. Look for paragraphs that can be condensed. Focus on fewer details to get the essence of the scene across instead of long and excessive descriptions.
8. Repetition and cliches.
   When you use a word in one line and then seven lines later you’re using the same word again, that’s one form of repetition that can easily be fixed. Another way repetition may show up is with actions or saying something more than once even if it’s said using different words. Remember, cut, cut, cut.
9. Sneaky sloth words.
   These are words that slow down your story, and not in a good way. Boring, lazy words that tend to show up as filler or fluff words. Words like: just, suddenly, very, really, was, that, of course, perhaps, right, actually, supposedly, etc. You’ll notice that most of them are adverbs, which is why some writers say, “Never use adverbs.” 
10. Overused words.
    These are your personal favorites. Usually verbs or adjectives. How often do you use “whether” (that’s one of mine), or crinkly, or problematic? Yours might be: trembled, gazed, regarded, nodded, winced, or caressed. It could be anything. With multiple readings, they’ll jump out at you. You might even overuse some of the sneaky sloth words. Choose other words. 

When you’re ready to revise your novel, or your short story, now you have three excellent ways to tackle your revisions: look at plot first, attend the Writers Who Run Retreat every July, and use the 10-Point Revision Checklist. Happy revising!

Keep writing, keep running.
XO, 
Christie 😀

P.S.
Which do you like better? Writing the first draft? Or revising it? Let us know on the Writers Who Run Facebook page.