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Revising/editing the 1st draft as a plantser
Does anyone have any hot tips on how to start revising/editing when you’re a ‘plantser’ (plotter/panster). I’m currently reading through it and, although it does have planned plot points, it’s all over the place as I don’t write chronologically or sequentially. So I’m a bit overwhelmed on where to start, even having watched masterclasses and read various articles. I know I must just start, oh, but where? How? 😂 what is that first step to take?
(Strangely, the short story draft I wrote when I was having a break from this first draft, I did manage to write chronologically 🤔 )
Who else feels my pain? Anyone?? 🤯
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8 Replies
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Hi Teresa! I feel you -revisions can be a pain (I’m a plotter myself but suffer all the same).
A while ago I wrote a blog post on revising your MS in 3 steps – see if you find the tips useful for your work https://storyallegiance.com/revising-in-3-steps/
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Thanks so much for this, Karmen! I’ve had a read, taken some notes especially around all those questions you pose in the article, really useful. Many thanks!
Good luck in your own writing journey 🙂
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I try to keep a scene list as I go and note for each scene word count, whose POV, where it’s set, main things that happen, when (e.g. Day 1, Day 187), etc. I do this in Excel so I can find easily how many scenes from the same POV (for example).
At the end of the first draft, I let it rest for a bit and then analyse what I have. I do this by starting with the scene list which may no longer be aligned with the manuscript. For me, this gives me a detailed overview of the story so I can decide from there how it needs to be re-structured. For example, timeline issues, too many scenes from the same character’s POV, who has which clue and when and if that works, are all the subplots needed or do I need more – that sort of thing. This means I can fiddle with swapping things around on this summary before I do it in the manuscript.
Caveat: I say this as though I do it all the time but I’m only on Book Two so still refining my process but this has been working for me so far. I’m pretty much in the middle of the plotter/pantser spectrum.
I’ve been told that short stories and novels are different forms so it makes sense that they don’t behave in the same way.
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Hi Rachel many thanks for this!
I guess maybe for my (next!?) first draft, I’ll bear in mind the keeping tabs on scenes as I go. I usually compile a spreadsheet once I’ve come back to my first draft but I’m liking the idea of noting it down as I’m writing. I probably haven’t thought to do that before as I write my first draft by hand.
I think regarding short stories, it’s made me realise that I DO know how to plan a story so perhaps if I work the short story muscle a bit more, it might bleed over into my novel writing. Here’s hoping anyway!
Good luck with your writing journey and thanks again!
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Hi Teresa!
I’m no expert but I’m at a similar stage having finished my first draft at the end of August. I’ve printed a copy and haven’t sat down to reread it yet BUT I have made a start on planning the changes I’ll make.
Before I go into too much detail about my process (because it’s something I’m figuring out as I go and it’s very much shaped by my book’s needs) I thought I’d share some handy advice I’ve come across!
This video made me feel so much better about wanting to run away at the prospect of doing structural edits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w-0pu_qOw0&t=727s The writer also goes onto say some really useful things along the lines of ‘revision isn’t punishment for getting it wrong first-time’ and ‘it’s normal to feel overwhelmed’ that I have kept reminding myself of.
The general rule is to work big to small, so major plot changes and then worry about line-editing later. I can only really speak from my experience here, but I took a break from my manuscript and have found it hugely freeing. Have you taken a break from yours at all? The biggest thing it’s given me is clarity and room for new ideas and solutions to plot problems.
At the moment, I’m taking a break from the manuscript and doing any ‘real’ writing and letting myself tinker with ideas for the plot. The plan is to have a spreadsheet with my tweaked plot organised loosely around the Save the Cat Story Beats (here’s our resource I’ve adapted for my own book https://jerichowriters.com/resource-downloads/save-the-cat-beat-sheet/) and keep tweaking until I’m happy. Due to genre, I have a few reveals and twists so I need to spend some time testing it all works too.
After that, I’m going to reread my manuscript to see what I’ll keep, discard, move, rewrite… etc. I’ll make an organised list of this and probably jot things down on my copy, but I think you have to do what works for you.
Then, it’ll just be time to tackle the edits! I’ll be using scrivener because I find it really useful for organising chapters but Word or even Google Docs is fine too (if you do use either of the latter, changing your chapter titles to ‘headings’ means you can flick through sections much easier).
This is just my plan and what I think will work for me. Remember that it’s a huge amount of information to process so I would recommend taking a break to let your subconscious do what it needs to do, then before you dive in, take the time to organise your thoughts and make a plan.
Wishing you the best of luck with this! It is scary but we’re in it together 🙂
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Hey Katie, thanks so much for insight into your process. And I just watched the video, some really great tips in all of that. The one that stood out for me was identify the problems first/build the process around what my book needs, as I’ve got so much swimming around in my head! And definitely going to nail the pitch and synopsis too. Oh and the first tip ‘just start’ 😆
I did have a break over the summer, at least six weeks. It always surprises me, pleasantly, to come back and read my mostly not-so-awful writing. I ‘just’ have to sort out the whole structure and the characters and the plot and…and… and.. 🙃
It sounds like you’ll be all guns blazing with your edits, nice and organised. I will get to that more organised state soon, but for now, one step at the time. I just have to make sure I don’t procrastinate with gathering more information on ‘how to edit and revise’ 😂🤦🏽♀️
For now, back to the pitch and synopsis…
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That all sounds good! I recently watched Harry’s first Good to Great lesson (all about the pitch) and reworded mine. It’s not a huge world away from what it was but it’s been a massive help for reminding me of the core story. I was able to refine it a tiny more which I hope will help make it easier when it comes to decision-making.
Wishing you all the best of luck with your edits – sounds like we really are at the same stage! You’ll have to keep us updated 🙂
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I can’t advise anything but to say I am experiencing the exact same thing at the moment. I have many chaotically arranged chapters and notes as I build my world and scenes. Only recently I’ve had to figure out how to piece it together chronologically. I ended up having to resort to plotting ways by writing out an outline, which I never did before when I was just pantsing while knowing roughly where things will lead. I am quite overwhelmed to be honest, but just trying to do a little bit of editing each day.
Turns out there might be a lot to edit, but it might be helpful to remember its only the 2nd edit. And books often go through 10+ edits until publication, so even the edit doesn’t have to be perfect! Thank you for asking this question, as I will look to some of the resources shared here from the responses for myself too.
