First draft officially finished!: Revisiting "The Editing Process"

As of last night, I've officially finished the first draft of Aundes Aura.

I still have some things to do before I start the real revisions; I have to rewrite the first chapter with my new vision for the beginning.

Time to copy my file and save it as "draft one", rename this one "draft two" and get to work.
______________________________

Disclaimer: The following process was suggested by Marie over at Critique Circle.

Once your novel's first draft is complete, it is essential that you revise it if you want to [give readers a good impression and improve your chances of selling].


1.
Edit for storyline. This is the round where you go through and make sure the plot makes sense and follows through the story. That the subplots wrap up. That you haven't forgotten, lost or dropped anything while working your way through the book. Make as many passes as needed to fix any and all plot issues and oopsies.

2.
Edit for character. Everything from behaviour to appearance. Make sure names are spelled consistently throughout the book. Also, make sure that characters don't mysteriously vanish without concluding their plotline or even more mysteriously reappear after death.

[Yes, I have a vanishing character. I either have to take her out or include her more.]

3.
Edit for description. By now things should be getting better, but make sure that you are describing things effectively, using all five senses. Also, this is a good time to make sure physical items don't unexpectedly change colour, shape or location.

4.
Edit for genre elements. For fantasy you might double check on world building. Since you've already done three passes through the novel, things really should be fairly solid but this gives you one more chance to spot a problem.

[I think I'll be cleaning up all the intricacies of what's really going on between the Gods, the Naeveri and the characters, and how all the complicated events are linked.]

5.
Edit for grammar, punctuation and spelling. By now you should be able to run through and focus just on the clean up details. If you spot other problems, back up and give the earlier steps another pass. Don't rush things. You're not ready for the polishing up unless you've already fixed the plot. Take your time.

Repeat as needed.

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4 comments:

mooderino said...

Congrats. Always a good feeling to get to the end of a draft.

mood

Ryan Sullivan said...

Thanks! I feel especially good today because this is the first full-length book I've completed . . . ever.

Unknown said...

Congratulations on finishing your draft. I'm on chapter 4 (again), so I admire your stamina!

Ryan Sullivan said...

Thanks, Diane! :)

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Welcome to The Dark Corner of the Mind. My name is Ryan Sullivan and my aim with this blog is to help others with their own writing, as well as to make note of some of my own writing endeavours.

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