Free Ebook to Help you Revise

AFTER THE FIRST DRAFT: 30 Fast, Easy Writing Tips for the Second Draft

IMPROVE Your FIRST DRAFT

Congratulations! You've finished the first draft of a novel.

According to the National Novel Writing Month organization,1.6 billion words of fiction were written in the single month of November, 2008, and 21,683 writers completed at least 50,000 words. Writing teacher Darcy Pattison says, "After a heroic outpouring of words in a first draft, weary writers stop and say, ‘I have a first draft, now what?' The answer, of course, is to revise."

Revision is not the advice writers want: novel revision is a daunting, scary task if you've never done it before. You might as well toss the 50,000 words into a blender and see what comes out. Writers know the story plot or story characters need work, but have no idea where to start.

"In 1999, I developed the Novel Revision Retreat, which I now teach nationwide," says Darcy Pattison. "I've taken the guess work out of revision." Her goal is to provide simple writing techniques for issues such as story plot, characterization, and language. Instead of genius, she firmly believes you only need tools such as the shrunken manuscript technique or the spreadsheet plotting technique. The Shrunken Manuscript takes advantage of word-processor's ability to change font sizes, thus shrinking a novel into less than 30 pages, so it can be visually manipulated and evaluated. Spreadsheet Plotting uses the columns of spreadsheet software to note key characteristics of each chapter so they can be easily tracked.

Write the Second Draft in One Month

Using these and similar hands-on writing techniques, Darcy Pattison's advice is to write the second draft in a single month, too. Her complimentary e-book, "After the First Draft: 30 Fast, Easy Writing Tips for the Second Draft" is formatted to encourage writers to tackle a single issue each day. By the end of the month, writers will have addressed thirty issues and strengthened their story.

Most publishable novels need four or five major revisions, some many more. By knocking out a first draft in one month and a second draft in another month, the writer has accomplished much of the hard work. The next several revisions will likely be slower, but with this solid foundation, the story has a better chance of success.

WRITING TEACHER, DARCY PATTISON

In 1999, writer and writing teacher Darcy Pattison created the Novel Revision Retreat to meet the needs of struggling novelists. Since then, her passionate teaching has touched writers nationwide as she encouraged them, "I believe in your story." Her teaching has taken her around the nation: Hawaii, California, Washington, Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, and Louisiana. Her blog, Revision Notes, which gives writing tips and discusses writing techniques, receives over 60,000 visitors per year.

AFTER THE FIRST DRAFT

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• Introduction
• Titles
• Subtitles
• Chapter Divisions
• Character Names
• Stronger Settings
• Stronger Setting Details
• Details that Make Boring Settings Emotional
• Create a Character that Counts
• Take your Character's Pulse
• Connecting the Emotional and Narrative Arcs
• Unique Character Dialogue
• Character Description
• Begin at the Beginning
• Transitions
• Take a Break
• Power Abs for Novels
• Angel Moments
• Plan an Epiphany that Works
• Power Endings
• Tie Up Loose Ends
• Find Your Theme
• Theme Affects Setting
• Theme Affects Characters and Actions
• Choosing Subplots
• How to Plot a Subplot
• Knitting Subplots Together
• Feedback
• Stay the Course
• Revise Again
• The End
• The New Beginning
• Second Draft to Third Draft and Beyond