Think big as you revise your manuscript with these nine steps
You say you’re revising your draft, but are you really? In the past, I’ve thought I was revising a manuscript when in fact I was really just editing it.
A revision is just that: a “re-visioning” of the story – looking at it in a whole new way. It’s easy to think you’re revising when what you’re really doing is making small edits, reworking sentences, and tightening up scenes and dialogue. Those things are important but don’t go far enough to truly create a publishable manuscript.
Instead, when you’re ready to dive into revisions, think big. Open your mind and pen to rethink every aspect of your manuscript.
To move into re-vision mode, consider these questions:
- Use a logline to maintain focus. A logline is one sentence (at most two) that conveys the dramatic story of your novel or screenplay boiled down in the most succinct way possible. It presents the major throughline of the narrative without details about subplots or characters. As you begin to revise, go back to your logline or create one if you haven’t already. Read more
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