Even the best laid plans often go awry. It’s true. No matter how much planning or plotting you might do for your work in progress (WIP), the characters soon develop minds of their own and take you to places you never thought you’d go. So you let them go wherever they want and say whatever they want to say, and your book is better for it, but the moment you let them go off-book, you are opening yourself up to a host of plot holes. This is where your first revision comes in.
Last week, I typed “The End” on my latest WIP, Phoenix Station. But it wasn’t the end. Last week only marked the beginning of my first editing pass: Revision.
I’m an editor, and I’m really good at finding inconsistencies in my clients’ plots. Now is the time to put away my author’s cap and don my developmental editor’s one for my own book. In keeping with that spirit, today’s post is all about revision.
Milanote for Outlining
I’m usually more of a pantser than a plotter, but at some point, I always wind up plotting the rest of the book out. Given its plot, I started writing Phoenix Station as a planner. I started out with handmade notes and ramblings, refined that into a word processed chapter summary, and broke that down even further when I stumbled upon Milanote.
In the months since discovering Milanote, it’s become one of my staple tools for developmental editing. Milanote is similar to an endless bulletin board on which you can stick “columns” and add “notes” to layout your book. I like that everything is on the desktop in front of me. It becomes a living document of the progress of my writing.
Finding Plot holes
My first pass is to tie up all loose ends I might have created along the way, aka plot holes. As I revise, I catalogue each chapter in a separate “column.” I list plot events in a bulletted list and reserve a “notes” section for questions that need to be answered on my next pass through the document. I highlight terms, character names, and the names of places so I will be sure to use the same terminology throughout. Text messages are important in my story, so I also highlight each of the strategically placed cryptic messages my character received. This makes it easier to locate later, though Milanote’s search function helps.
Revise for Consistency
When revising your document, I recommend making several passes. The first pass should be devoted to consistency. This applies to descriptions of characters and places as well as the internal structure of the world you have built (especially important for sci-fi and fantasy). I also edit for grammar and word choice as I go. Each pass through polishes my work even more. Creating a separate document that functions as a “story bible” for your work will help. I’m using Milanote, but you could use Word if you prefer.
Next Steps
What happens next depends on what I find in my first pass. I might need another revision dedicated to plugging the holes in my first (and second) draft. I might need to look at diction, imagery, symbolism, foreshadowing or something else. The important thing to note is that I won’t know where to go next until I complete this draft.
Stay tuned to follow my journey as I take Phoenix Station from first draft through to published (fingers crossed) bestseller!
Elise Abram 