Guide to Revising Your Novel, Beginners

When you finish scene 1, move onto scene 2…and then 3 and then 4…and you get the point after that.

I personally like to keep track of my “ripples” and add them later cards in the scene deck. So, in other words: if there are areas I know where I might want to reference an earlier change, I will make note of that on the index cards

For example, I remember adding into the second Luminaries book, The Hunting Moon, a metaphor about Pompeii I really liked. So I made a note to add that same metaphor at a later point in the story as well, where I felt it would again be relevant—and also add a nice resonance to Winnie’s story.

Now move to the next scene. And the next scene, and the next…

This step can take a long time. Probably the longest time, since it’s the actual End Goal for revisions in the first place: changing the book to match your vision of perfection.

Be patient with yourself, and take breaks if you have to. You’ve done the hard work of finding the problems and solutions. Now it’s just a matter of applying them.