Chapter 8:  Revision (time to shift gears) : Evaluating Draft One/ Checking the structure

Congratulations! You've completed your first draft. That puts you ahead of about 95% of people who want to write a novel. Take a moment to appreciate what you've accomplished.

Now, put your manuscript in a drawer and don't look at it for a few days. I’ll often let it sit a week. Some say you need a few weeks or even a month. I don’t have the time for that. Or the patience. You do need to try and create distance between your writing of your first draft and revision though

I do agree that if you just go back to the beginning and start revising your manuscript, you won’t have the distance to flip that switch you need to flip to analyze/edit for revision. You’ll often get stuck just changing words here and there or details. You need a broader look at the manuscript to have an effective revision.

Go back and look at your notes and work through any messages you had for yourself. Also if you have places where you used the placeholder summary, now go ahead and try to write those scenes. It will be easier now that you have a full manuscript with a beginning, middle and end. If you know of a chapter that is weak, go work on that. What you’re doing here is shoring up the first draft a little. This might take you a few days or maybe a week.

When you come back, approach your manuscript as a reader, not its writer. Print it out if possible, or transfer it to an e-reader—anything to make it look different from how you saw it while writing. Read it straight through without making corrections, just taking occasional notes

This first read-through isn't about fixing anything once you’ve done your touching up of draft one and let the manuscript sit for a couple of days or week. It's about seeing what you actually wrote. Not what you thought you were writing. The two are rarely the same, especially for discovery writers. 

As you read, you'll notice problems. Lots of them. This is normal and good. Finding problems means you're developing the critical eye needed for effective revision. Here's what to look for:

Structural Issues

The big picture stuff. Does your story have a clear beginning, middle, and end? Does it build logically from one event to the next? Are there sections that drag or feel rushed? Is there a satisfying arc of tension and release?

Many discovery writers find their true beginning several chapters into the draft. Often, those first few chapters were you, the writer, figuring out the story. Readers don't need to watch you warm up.

Similarly, you might find your ending comes too abruptly or drags on too long. Mark these sections but don't fix them yet—just identify where the structure needs work.

Character Inconsistencies

Discovery writers often find their understanding of characters evolves during drafting. The Sarah in chapter twenty might be quite different from the Sarah in chapter two.

Note these inconsistencies without judgment. They're not failures; they're discoveries about who your character truly is. Later, you'll decide which version to keep and revise accordingly.

Pay special attention to motivation. Do your characters' actions make sense given what we know about them? If not, you'll need to either change the actions or deepen the characterization to make them believable.

Plot Holes and Logic Problems

How did your character know information you never showed them learning? Why didn't they use the magical ability in chapter five that would have solved the problem in chapter twelve? How did winter turn to summer in what was supposed to be a week of story time?

These continuity errors are the discovery writer's special curse. List them all. Some will be easy fixes; others might require major restructuring.

The "But Why?" Test

For key plot points, ask "But why?" If you can't answer clearly, you've found a weakness. Why did the villain kidnap the hero's sister? Why did the protagonist quit her job? If your answer is "because I needed it for the plot," you likely have a problem.

The Missing Scenes

Discovery writers often find they've skipped crucial scenes—moments that need to be shown but were bypassed. Maybe you jumped from the argument directly to the reconciliation without showing how the characters got there. Note where these gaps exist.

The Unnecessary Scenes

Conversely, discovery writing produces scenes that may not earn their keep. Often these happen because you the writer are trying to understand some aspect of the story or develop character. These can likely be cut for the reader.

Theme and Meaning

What is your novel actually about beneath the plot? What patterns, images, or ideas keep recurring? Discovery writers often find their themes emerge organically during drafting. Identifying these themes will help you focus on using them in the best ways to improve your manuscript.

How do you organize all these observations without getting overwhelmed? Break them down into categories.

Major Reconstruction: Fundamental problems requiring significant rewriting. "The middle section has no tension." "The protagonist's motivation makes no sense." "The ending contradicts what we know about the character." 

Notable Issues: Specific problems that need addressing but don't require rebuilding entire sections. "The best friend disappears for 100 pages." "The subplot about the neighbor never connects to the main story." These usually require additions.

Minor Fixes: Small continuity errors, inconsistent details, etc. "Eye color changes from blue to brown." "Character mentions a sister who never appears."

Focus first on understanding the major reconstruction needed. The minor stuff is easy to fix once the foundation is solid.

One warning: this evaluation phase can be emotionally brutal. You'll wonder how you didn't notice these problems while writing. You'll question your ability. You'll contemplate burning the manuscript and becoming a pig farmer or dog trainer or….

This is normal. Every novelist goes through it. Even the really good writers don’t get everything right on the first try.

Finding problems is not a sign of failure either. Ah contraire, it’s a sign of growth. Your ability to see these issues means you're developing the critical skills necessary to become a better writer.

Also as a discovery writer your first draft is going to wander and it’s going to be messy and disorganized in places. Expect this. Embrace it. Now you have the chance to revise and rework it and make it the best novel you can.

ALSO:

I'm publishing a short book on these 12 steps to Building A Novel, including some bonus material. It's on Amazon on preorder, pub date Oct. 9. I've revised some of what you've read but not extensively. I will continue to post the steps here until I've posted them all. 

The amazon book will be available in ebook and paperback, so if you want a copy to keep, you can get it here:

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FSHQ9QF1?ref_=pe_93986420_775043100

Here's the beginning—

About Me: 

I have an MFA in Writing, and I taught creative writing at the college level for a decade, but these aren’t why I think my book on writing can help you become a better writer. It’s because I’ve written well over a million words and plan to write many, many more. I love to write. I’m a writer. That’s why.

I’ve had five novels trad published and won a few awards and sold a few copies. I’ve written another twenty plus novels as an independent writer. My Strangely Scary Funny series has sold copies into the six figures. I know how to write novels. I'll do my best to give you some tools that will help you build your own novel. This is a short book crammed full of advice that will take you from ideas to begin your novel to those last two words at the end which are, oddly enough, THE END.

  Besides the 12 steps to writing a novel, I’ve included bonus sections on what not to do, character creation and development, and a little encouragement section. Writing a novel is tough. No use pretending otherwise. But it is fun, engaging, and you may find that it’s a positive addiction you can enjoy over a lifetime. With a bit of luck, you might even earn some cash or win awards or accomplish whatever your specific goals are.

I wish you a bit of luck. You’re a writer if you write. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

INTRODUCTION

12 Steps To Building A Novel: Especially For Discovery (Pantsers, same thing) Writers  

You don’t need an outline but you do need the right tools.

Here's the truth: you don't need an outline to write a novel. What you need is courage and determination. The process you use to find your way isn’t all that important. Outline, don’t outline. Find what works for you and do that.

However, I’m here for the discovery writers because that’s my process. I’m going to try to tell you how to build a novel. Hope it helps.

My dad was a builder of homes. He had a regular job working for the post-office but his passion was building houses. While working full-time at the post-office, he’d build two or three houses a year. 

I can remember him taking me to lots he’d bought and telling me what kind of house was going to be built there. Empty lot one day. Foundation poured the next. Then weeks and months passed and the frame, the walls, the roof. Then the inside of the house: plumbing, appliances, electricity, paint and so on.  Eventually, a house was built to be lived in.

“If you build it they will come” is an oft-used quote from the movie Field of Dreams. Sadly, that’s not always the case, but if you build it you have a chance that they will come. If you don’t, you just have an empty lot.