Free Ebook to Help you Revise

AFTER THE FIRST DRAFT: 30 Fast, Easy Writing Tips for the Second Draft

IMPROVE Your FIRST DRAFT

Congratulations! You've finished the first draft of a novel.

Writing teacher Darcy Pattison says, "After a heroic outpouring of words in a first draft, weary writers stop and say, ‘I have a first draft, now what?' The answer, of course, is to revise."

Revision is not the advice writers want: novel revision is a daunting, scary task if you've never done it before. You might as well toss the 50,000 words into a blender and see what comes out. Writers know the story plot or story characters need work, but have no idea where to start.

I've Taken the Guess Work out of Revision

"In 1999, I developed the Novel Revision Retreat, which I now teach nationwide," says Pattison. "I've taken the guess work out of revision." Her goal is to provide simple writing techniques for issues such as story plot, characterization, and language. Instead of genius, she firmly believes you only need tools such as the shrunken manuscript technique or the spreadsheet plotting technique. The Shrunken Manuscript takes advantage of word-processor's ability to change font sizes, thus shrinking a novel into less than 30 pages, so it can be visually manipulated and evaluated. Spreadsheet Plotting uses the columns of spreadsheet software to note key characteristics of each chapter so they can be easily tracked.

Write the Second Draft in One Month

Using these and similar hands-on writing techniques, Darcy Pattison's advice is to write the second draft in a single month, too. Her complimentary e-book, "After the First Draft: 30 Fast, Easy Writing Tips for the Second Draft" is formatted to encourage writers to tackle a single issue each day. By the end of the month, writers will have addressed thirty issues and strengthened their story.

Most publishable novels need four or five major revisions, some many more. By knocking out a first draft in one month and a second draft in another month, the writer has accomplished much of the hard work. The next several revisions will likely be slower, but with this solid foundation, the story has a better chance of success.

AFTER THE FIRST DRAFT

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Table of Contents for AFTER THE FIRST DRAFT
Written to meet YOUR Fiction Writing needs!

Introduction

Titles

Subtitles

Chapter Divisions

Character Names

Stronger Settings

Stronger Setting Details

Details that Make Boring Settings Emotional

Create a Character that Counts

Take your Character's Pulse

Connecting the Emotional and Narrative Arcs

Unique Character Dialogue

Character Description

Begin at the Beginning

Transitions

Take a Break

Power Abs for Novels

Angel Moments

Plan an Epiphany that Works

Power Endings

Tie Up Loose Ends

Find Your Theme

Theme Affects Setting

Theme Affects Characters and Actions

Choosing Subplots

How to Plot a Subplot

Knitting Subplots Together

Feedback

Stay the Course

Revise Again

The End

The New Beginning

Second Draft to Third Draft and Beyond

WRITING TEACHER, DARCY PATTISON

In 1999, writer and writing teacher Darcy Pattison created the Novel Revision Retreat to meet the needs of struggling novelists. Since then, her passionate teaching has touched writers nationwide as she encouraged them, "I believe in your story." Her teaching has taken her around the nation: Hawaii, California, Washington, Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, and Louisiana. Her blog, Fiction Notes, which gives writing tips and discusses writing techniques, receives over 120,000 visitors per year.

AFTER THE FIRST DRAFT

To receive your free copy of AFTER THE FIRST DRAFT,
subscribe to the Fiction Notes Newsletter.
After clicking, you will receive a confirmation email.
Please respond to it and you'll receive the download link for the ebook.