Prepping for the Read
As mentioned in Lesson 1, you’re going to need some supplies. For this lesson, I want you to grab:
- Your printed manuscript (or reading app)
- It helps if your manuscript is double spaced and the pages are numbered.
- Enough index cards to have one card per scene in your book
- If you don’t know how many scenes you have, just get a big stack.
- The worksheets, printed out
- You can also just use a notebook or some blank paper, if that’s easier for you
- Or if you’re using a note-taking app, then a way to keep each type of issue separated
- Pens in four different colors
- I like blue, purple, green, and orange
- This isn’t necessary if you’re listening!
Also, make sure you have time to read (or listen). While I don’t expect you to consume your entire book in one sitting (though you certainly can!), I do want you to try to work in chunks of time that are not interrupted by huge gaps.
Basically, the point of reading the entire book is to get a fresh, clear picture of the story as it currently stands.The more time away from the read, the fuzzier our memory and understanding will be. So if you’re forced to wait days—or worse, weeks—between readings, then it will be harder to keep track of everything you’ve written and what isn’t working.
That said, you will also be taking notes and using those index cards. So if you do need lots of time between reading sessions, don’t fret. If you take good notes, then it won’t be a problem!