Reading is a basic revision strategy. Here’s what I look for as I re-read.
Revision Strategy for Novels: Re-Read
I’m about 2/3 of the way through the current novel revision and before I get deep into Act 3, I am stopping to re-read the whole mss in one sitting. I think this is important. I’ll be doing a variety of things:
- noticing the flow or pacing
- noticing set-ups that I’ve dropped or not followed through on
- noticing things that need set up
- looking for settings, events, things to bring back into Act 3 in a new way that will make them resonate, or perhaps even develop into symbols
- looking for the narrative arcs of the plot and sub-plots, the twists in the plot
- looking for ideas for a more dramatic transition into Act 3
- trying to anticipate what the reader expects in Act 3–and then twist the ending
Mostly, I plan to just read and read, as I would any novel that I’m enjoying. If something grabs my attention, I’ll just put a check mark in the margin, or perhaps jot a very short note to help me remember what bothered me. My goal is a fast read, with everything geared toward letting me see the overall structure and flow and anticipate Act 3 for a powerful ending. I know that while doing that, though, I’ll notice other things. Fine. But I don’t want those things to get me off track on minor issues.
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[...] Rereading everything. I also find myself re-reading the whole manuscript every day. Geez, I wonder, isn’t there a better way? Well, no, not this time, because I can’t hold the mss in my hand and flip around, I don’t know how else to get back into the flow. In some ways, this constant rereading is good, though, because I’m polishing things every time I do this. [...]