Revision
Revision covers what to do once you have a full draft: how to diagnose what’s working, what can be better and approach things in the right order—structure first. These posts walk through the Scenario Method, a three-tiered system for seeing a novel’s structure clearly and building a concrete revision plan, along with practical tools and guidance on cutting, focus, and knowing when a draft is actually done. Built from fifteen-plus years of coaching novelists through revision, this is where to start once you have pages and don’t yet know what to do with them.
How to Revise a Novel: Start With Structure, Not Sentences
You finished your draft. Maybe it was last week. Maybe it was last year. Maybe it’s been sitting in a folder for longer than you’d like to admit.
Either way, you’re in the same place a lot of writers find themselves: you have pages, and you don’t quite know what to do[…]
The Iceberg Principle: What You Know vs. What Your Reader Needs
I was coaching a writer recently who’d done extensive research for his historical thriller. He knew the Ethiopian Jewish community’s ancient practices, the Knights Templar’s connection to religious artifacts, the details of World War II Italian fascism, and dozens of other historical elements that informed his story.
His problem? All of that research was ending up[…]
The Reader-Writer Curve: What’s Actually on the Page vs. What’s in Your Head
Why writers struggle with the assumption gap—and how to bridge it.
[Ideas in this post come from Frank Conroy’s essay “The Writers’ Workshop”—Featured in Dogs Bark, but the Caravan Rolls On.]
“I definitely write with assumptions,” a writer told me recently. “I assume my reader knows what I’m talking about.”
He’d just discovered something that trips up most[…]
The Revision Hierarchy: From Low-Hanging Fruit to Killing Your Darlings
Why great revision means progressively cutting better and better material.
“I wouldn’t cut any of this now because I think it’s all good,” I told a writer after reading his latest chapter. “But if you need to take your whole novel to excellent, or it’s already excellent and you need to take it to outstanding, then[…]
Stop Varying Your Sentence Starts
There’s a sentence structure I see in many developing writers’ work, and when I point it out, they’re always surprised — not because they didn’t know they were doing it, but because they thought they were doing something good.
The structure looks like this:
Gripping the railing, she made her way down the stairs.
Scanning the crowd for[…]
How to Focus Your Story: Why Cutting Content Makes Your Writing Stronger
I was working with a novelist who’d written 87,000 words of a historical thriller. He’d done extensive research, created multiple compelling characters, and woven together fascinating historical elements including Ethiopian Jewish traditions, Knights Templar mysteries, and World War II espionage.
His problem wasn’t lack of material—it was too much material.
“There’s so much I want to include,”[…]
What “Trust the Reader” Actually Looks Like on the Page
The phrase “trust the reader” gets repeated in writing workshops constantly, but it’s rarely defined in practical terms.
I was reading a client’s chapter recently — a scene where two men sit down to negotiate a backroom deal in 1950s Havana. There’s no shouting. No guns on the table. One of them lights a[…]
A New Course on the #1 Thing Writers Struggle With: Revision
Announcing: Revision: From Draft to Structure
I just launched a new course, and I’m really excited about it.
It’s called Revision: From Draft to Structure, and it teaches you the Scenario Method—a proven 3-step system to see your novel’s structure clearly and create a concrete revision plan
But before I tell you about[…]
From Skeleton to Flesh: Why Your First Draft Is Just the Beginning
How revision transforms structural bones into living, breathing scenes
Many fiction writers misunderstand the difference between drafting and revising a novel—expecting the first draft to feel finished when it’s only meant to provide structure.
“I think of it as putting meat on the bones,” I told a writer recently as we worked through the final chapters of[…]
The Power of a Living Outline: Using Scrivener’s Scenario Feature
As writers, we often struggle with keeping track of our story’s structure, especially when we’re deep in the creative process. One of the most powerful techniques I’ve discovered through my years of coaching authors is creating what’s called a “living outline” or a “scenario” that evolves as your manuscript grows.
This concept[…]
Finding the Balance: Managing Wordiness in Your First Draft
When starting a new novel, many writers struggle with wordiness – the tendency to use more words than necessary to convey an idea. As a writing coach, I’ve seen this challenge repeatedly with authors working through their novel’s early chapters.
“I get wordy” is a common confession I hear from writers, particularly[…]
The Scenario Method Part 4: The Jazz Approach to Revision
This is the fourth part of our exploration of the Scenario Method for novel revision. In part one, we explored creating the three-tiered scenario approach. In part two, we examined what problems each scenario level reveals. In part three
The Scenario Method Part 2: Implementation and Results
In Part 1, we explored the framework of the Scenario Method and worked through the 3,000-word and 1,500-word scenarios. Now let’s dive into the most revealing level—the 500-word scenario—and learn how to apply your insights effectively.
Level Three: The 500-Word Scenario
The final step is the most challenging—and the most revealing. You[…]
The Scenario Method: Understanding the Framework
You’ve done it. You’ve completed the rough draft of your novel—thousands of words poured onto the page through countless writing sessions. Congratulations! This is a monumental achievement. Now comes the crucial next step: revision.
Many writers dive straight into line editing, polishing sentences and paragraphs as they work through their manuscript page[…]
Why “Pantsing” Can Work: The Success of Discovery Writing
“How did I do that?” my client asked, genuine bewilderment in her voice.
We were reviewing her nearly-completed mystery novel—a tightly constructed narrative with satisfying character arcs, clever misdirection, and a surprising-yet-inevitable resolution. The manuscript had that rare quality of feeling both meticulously crafted and organically developed.
Here’s what made her[…]
Elevating Tension in Your Novel
Last time, we explored the tension timeline technique—a powerful visualization tool that helps you map the emotional highs and lows of your manuscript. Today, I want to dive deeper by showing you exactly how to diagnose and address tension problems once you’ve created your timeline.
In a recent coaching session with[…]
Tightening Narrative Drive: How to Evaluate and Boost Tension in Your Novel
As a fiction writing coach, one of the most common challenges I see writers face is maintaining consistent narrative tension. You might have compelling characters, an intriguing premise, and well-crafted prose, but if your story’s tension fluctuates too dramatically or sags in critical places, readers will disengage.
Recently, I worked with a[…]
What is Revision?
One common mistake I made early on in my writing journey was to finish a draft and then jump straight into reading it, fiddling with sentences, and tweaking small details. It’s easy to fall into this trap, but as any seasoned writing coach will tell you, there’s a better way.
If you’re at this stage, stop[…]
Fear is Not a Good Editor
Often when I first start working with a client they come to me with prose that’s rushed, barely dramatized, so many things happening on a given page that I can’t see the action. I can’t see the scenes because there are so many actions happening in different places, different times, multiple settings.
A Useful Tool for Revision
A Great Tool for Revision – from John Dos Passos
Here’s a great way to change the way you look at a draft and improve it through revision.
Sometimes improving your writing all comes down to a matter of perspective. This one comes from John Dos Passos, author of The USA Trilogy. Perhaps he’s a bit forgotten[…]
