The Last Draft: A Novelist's Guide to Revision

by Sandra Scofield

The definitive handbook for the novelist who is ready to revise
 
This wise and friendly guide shows writers how to turn first-draft manuscripts into the novels of their dreams. A critic, longtime teacher, and award-winning novelist, Sandra Scofield illustrates how to reread a work of fiction with a view of its subject and vision, and how to take it apart and put it back together again, stronger and deeper. Scofield builds her explanations around helpful concepts like narrative structure, character agency, and core scenes, using models from classic and contemporary writers. The detailed, step-by-step plan laid out in The Last Draft offers invaluable advice to both novice and experienced writers alike. In Scofield, they will find a seasoned, encouraging mentor to steer them through this emotional and intellectual journey.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Crafts

272 pages, Paperback

Published December 5, 2017

Reviews

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up when entering revisions for the final draft of my current book, because it's called The Last Draft, thinking it would be about...the last draft! It was not! It was about revisions from the beginning, and it was very much for pantsers. I'm a plotter so most of the advice given in this book is stuff I did/would do in the outlining phase before I get to the first draft. So there was very little in here that was helpful. I was looking for a book that was about really specific revisions you need to get to in the final draft.

That said, if you are a pantser and your first draft is a "discovery draft," this book may be very helpful for you as you begin to tackle revisions! I just had wrong expectations going into this.

[Mohammad Sadegh Rasooli · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://delsharm.blog.ir/1397/06/25/la...
این کتاب تا حدی خلاصهٔ درس‌گفتارهای نویسنده از کلاس‌های نویسندگی است که در آن‌ها معلمی می‌کند. یک سؤال مهم بعد از پایان این کتاب به ذهنم رسید: این کتاب چه حرف تازه‌ای داشت که انبوه کتاب‌های این موضوع نداشتند؟ به جواب خاصی نرسیدم. چون در این موضوع چند کتاب قبلاً خوانده‌ام، به نظرم آمد دوباره خواندن آن قبلی‌ها می‌توانست مفیدتر از خواندن این کتاب باشد.

[Geetanjali Mukherjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

* I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

This is the kind of book you don't just read from beginning to end. Last Draft is a personalized novel-revising workshop - you are meant to do exercises as you go through the book. The book gives you exercises to help you develop your skills by deconstructing and learning from successful novels. It also helps you create a structure and a plan to revise your own novel, by first diagnosing its major issues and then making it stronger in stages.
 
At first I was confused by the structure of the book, but it made sense in the end. I did find that some of the detailed revising advice at the end was slightly confusing, but that might be because I wasn't working through the book with a specific novel draft in hand. One of the most important things I learned from the book was a specific language of revision, a way to characterize the different aspects of the book. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone revising a novel, especially their first one.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not often that I dislike a writing book, but this was one of the dullest ones I've ever read. First, the book is supposed to be about revision but the first 2/3 are easily just about writing and all the exercises are about reading someone else's book. The last third does have some useful information, but it's over written and refuses to get to the point. What can I say, I don't read literary fiction because this is exactly what I expect of it: takes too long to say too little without much excitement in between. I'm really disappointed, as I thought a book on revision was a brilliant idea and something I both needed and hadn't seen before. This book was just not it.

[Mana · Rating 5 out of 5]

damn. this book forreal is a step-by-step guide on how to rewrite a novel. this is for serious writers.

super informative. a lot of easy explanations, examples, and formulas. I applied these steps to revising my short stories n I had to tweak some steps, but this is so versatile.

this is for every writer: pantser or planner. you always think you know what your story is until you put it on paper and it becomes its own thing.

One of my favorite craft books. Every young writer needs to use this book after finishing a big project. it taught me so much. Thank you Sandra Scofield 🤎

[Al Kratz · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my top 5 favorite craft books. Took so long to finish reading because I was doing the exercises for my own novel revision. Jam packed with so much depth and understanding of all the components of a novel. Pretty sure this would be good even for non writers in terms of reading and appreciating the art of the novel.

[Wendy MacKnight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boy did I need this. Do yourself a favour - do every exercise. I did and wished I'd done it before draft three. A must for every writer!

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most written work needs to be revised or re-written before the finished copy is produced. The author addresses when and how to make revisions while giving tips and advice. If you write, you should give this book a read.

[Len Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Award-winning novelist, Sandra Scofield (her novel, Beyond Deserving was a finalist for the National Book Award) has been working with aspiring novelists for over two decades.

As an aspiring writer myself, I know that completing a first draft, while not easy, is not all that difficult if you have some discipline. But the really daunting challenge is what to do next. How do we make this rough manuscript into a real novel, something we can be proud of? Something that others might want to read?

There is no magical formula, but Scofield’s guide provides a map for how we can proceed. She writes clearly and humbly and doesn’t try to overpromise. Most writers know that the odds against being published are huge.

I’ve used Scofield’s guide and it has helped me to write a much better novel. And just as important as the guidance she provides for the revision process, is the honest perspective she shares on the writing life.

Here is what Scofield had to say about her own career:

“I’ve never had a book with large sales. All my books, however received warm critical praise including a nomination for the National Book Award…I’m proud of my books. I’ve known writers who, to me, are famous, but who feel they didn’t get the acclaim they deserved. Some died still lamenting their careers. I can only say: Get over it. Write what you love; love writing it; hope for a readership; appreciate every reader. So a million people don’t buy your book? Would it be such a terrible thing to say that only ten thousand, or four thousand, or hell, four hundred people read your book? Think about that. Every reader’s time is precious. I love all my readers.”

I highly recommend this guide for anyone who has a first draft or is just considering writing a novel. It is an incredible resource.

[Beatrice Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is great it you write literary. Scofield talks in this "head in the clouds" kind of way that some writing instructors do - I prefer my writing advice down to earth and a bit solid, not vague and general like "your setting is important."

I've read a lot of books about writing, and this one just felt too vague and aimed at the literary side of writing. And by that I mean it was overly concerned with commenting on society and the human condition and whatever else.

[H. L · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part this book was awesome. I learned a bit and will be using some of these tips. My only issue is that at times it was long winded or dry. Ultimately I would recommend to a friend, just make sure to have some coffee handy.

[Anna Shiverdecker · Rating 3 out of 5]

In summary: write a summary. About everything.

[Hannah Laudermilch · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's awfully repetitive and could have been much more straightforward, but there's a lot of helpful stuff in here (as evidenced by my comprehensive notes to myself).

[Jessamin McSwain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sandra Scofield is a scholar, a mentor, and meticulous reviser. It’s apparent in this book that she dedicates a ton of time to revision and rewriting. The exercises held within this book are meant for writers who have a complete 1st or 2nd draft actively wanting to pull apart their work sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, and chapter by chapter. Scofield provides excellent advice on how to do so, but her advice isn’t for every writer. I was able to implement some of her suggestions, but the tedious, pedantic work of pulling apart my work word by word doesn’t fit well with my process. I read this book with the expectation that I’d have some thoughts to take away, and I did! If you’re remotely interested in a step by step guide to deepening your first novel, “The Last Draft” is extremely helpful. If you’re a more experienced writer or one with a good process already put in place, maybe not as helpful. It entirely comes down to who you are as a writer and where you’re at in your writing journey.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Last Draft by Sandra Scofield is the best book I’ve read on revision. As I read through it on vacation, I saw the story I’m writing in new ways. I highly recommend this to any working fiction writers. Scofield is really big on the physicality of the writing process: printing out drafts and marking them up, three-by-five cards with breakdowns of scenes and chapters, marking up scenes with different colored inks. Scofield’s other big emphasis is on writing “statements” throughout to define the purpose of individual scenes and what made you fall in love with the story to begin with. She also really recommends breaking down your own by favorite novels by chapters and scenes to carry that knowledge into your own writing. The goal is one any writer should have, seeing the story in a new way. You really need to read this book, so I’m only going to hit a few major points here that struck me while reading. I'll include these points on my writing blog.

[Maggie Maize · Rating 5 out of 5]

My second draft has been in the drawer for months, and a professor recommended reading this before diving into edits. I’m so glad I did. Despite its title, the book focuses more on early-stage revision—big picture stuff like your novel’s “aboutness” and if the scenes you have support it. Wrestling with this book (mostly the exercises) set me in the right direction for analyzing/editing/revising, so much so that I wish I read this book years ago, right after I finished my first draft. I’ve taken a lot of writing classes that stress the importance of rewriting, but none have focused on how to do it, so this is a new (and CHALLENGING) endeavor for me.

Scofield sneaks in a few condescending lines in the book, such as, “The trick is to not take a dramatic moment and beat it to death, a fairly common ploy in sloppy popular fiction.” But overall, this is one of the most practical craft books I’ve read. I bookmarked many sections in here.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was brilliant for where I am right now in writing. It breaks down the editing process into manageable steps and the exercises I've done so far have been amazing for cleaning up my muddled draft. Scofield's approach was easy to follow and I found her advice applicable to all genres.

If I had to comment on one thing it would be that towards the end the exercises grew a little repetitive and occasionally there were more examples than necessary. However, it didn't detract from it's usefulness as a whole.

The Last Draft was the best impulse buy I've made in a long time and it's a book I'll keep close while writing for years to come. I strongly recommend it for any writers who are feeling lost, no matter where they are in their manuscript.

[Robert Hudder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had not even finished this when I received my own copy in the mail. There are a lot of questions, exercises and advice to make a writer clarify their thinking. Although there are a lot of prescriptive measures, you can take a way how to break those conventions if you stare hard enough.

There is also a good attempt at describing how novels work. It is a very hands on book with good exercises. I have been struggling a little bit with trying to rewrite something I have been working on. Several questions helped me situate my thinking a bit better. I think this is a very helpful little book. Time will tell.

[Tracy]

Skimmed a lot. Broken into sections, several of which were not pertinent or helpful to me. I gleaned the most from the second section, on actually making revisions. Parts three and four, about finishing and polishing the book, were embarrassingly short. Most helpful for someone who has just completed their first draft (or is midway through their first draft), though some sections are also helpful for people already into their revision process. It would have worked better to format this as a workbook rather than a fully prose work with some bulleted lists.

[Christina Gagliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

She's a bit more militant and into index cards and color coding things than I am; however, she has so much advice and so many writing and editing exercises in this book that you'll find plenty of advice that resonates with your writing and your style of revising. One of my writing group buddies had Sandra Scofield as a professor so hearing her take on what Sandra was getting at was helpful and, obviously, not a resource everyone will have when reading this book!

[Elle T. Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scofield spends many words and pages on expository narratives. In all sincerity, I skimmed over the majority of these.
This book is bursting with references and examples. Many may find this beneficial. The resource section in the back is a gold mine unto itself.
Personally, I found a few nuggets to apply to my own WIP. Chiefly, her instructions on creating a character map (found on pgs 109 - 115).

[Mette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Last Draft is a practical guide to revising your novel manuscript. Scofield takes you step by step through her in depth process of analyzing a draft. From motifs and themes to scene sequences, Scofield offers advice about big and small picture concerns. This is exactly the book I needed right now as I prepare to revise the first draft of my novel

[Kris Dersch · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot of really interesting in depth material here...I just don't know if I and my current project are in the right place for it. The first half with the breaking apart of narrative elements kinda lost me and getting into the sections on the revision process was better...I think I'll come back to those sections of this book at another time.

[Marian Rakestraw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sandra Scofield knows what she’s doing, and she’s mostly successful in sharing her expertise. Sometimes I felt that this guide would be more useful to writers who craft more literary stories than I do. But I never felt that the author was dismissive of genre fiction. There is plenty to think about here, and I’ll be going back to do many of the exercises.

[Lois Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sandra Scofield is the teacher that can help you shift your writing from ordinary to excellent. A great teacher guides you to discover your own potential. This is what Sandra Scofield does in her book The Last Draft, while at the same time adding practical advice. Having the resource of this book is like having your own personal professor with you whenever you need her.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid book on guiding novelists through the process of revision. What I really loved about it was that Scofield encourages and guides writers to deconstruct novels in order to study what they want to emulate or achieve. She also provides numerous exercises to guide writers through the revision process, from big picture concerns to the details. I'll be referring to this one many times.

[Toriah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great tips and overall encouragement. It’s best you read this when you’ve just finished your first draft to get the fullest benefits from it. It’s title is a bit misleading, as it’s lacking in specific details on line editing or other real final draft issues. It’s a beginners guide to really helping yourself make a story with meaning. Which I respect.

[Raine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invaluable writing advice! Sandra Scofield lays out the process of going through a draft and picking out what bothers you, what you like, and what you can reuse in an approachable way. I loved this book so much I bought my own copy :) if you are struggling with a novel you're writing, this book can really help pinpoint what exactly is troubling you.

[Vide · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books i have read on writing, my markers have run dry!
Brilliant exercises and examples, as well as clever ways to layout your plan.
I had a strong grip on my story already, but this book helped me refine it further and in a more coherent structure.
I can highly recommend this book!

[Brigitte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book that's helped me gather around 60 or so pages of notes for the revision of my novel; I just started my rewrite and feel much more confident going in after analyzing my previous draft using Scofield's exercises and methods. Highly recommended.