Your Next Draft
Your Next Draft is the fiction writer's guide to developmental editing. What do you do after your first draft? How do you flesh out flat characters, fill in plot holes, and hook your readers from the first page to the last? What does editing a novel even mean? Developmental editor and book coach Alice Sudlow answers all these questions and more. Each week, she shares the editing strategies she's using with her one-on-one clients so you can put them to use in your own novel. Tune in for tips, tools, and step-by-step guides for the novel editing process.
Your Next Draft
3 Simple Steps to Edit Absolutely Anything in Your Novel
Most writers miss this simple editing principle. But when you understand it, when you truly master it, you have the power to craft your best story.
Here it is:
When you’re doing a developmental edit on a story, you can change absolutely anything.
It sounds obvious, yet it’s so hard to do. In this episode, I’ll show you why—and share a simple three-step process that will give you editing superpowers.
You’ll learn:
- How to go beyond line edits and start editing story events
- 3 steps to make developmental editing almost easy
- How to figure out what your story is really about
- What to do when something’s not working in your story
- How to uncover infinite possibilities for your story
- How to choose the BEST plot points for every moment of your story
- Why this kind of editing is so FUN
- And more!
Plus, I’ll show you exactly how this editing process works with a real example.
I’ve chosen the best highlights from my editing session with Kim Kessler. Listen to us apply this process step-by-step to edit Kim’s scene.
Want to hear the full editing session? Listen to Kim’s edit here!
By the end of this episode, you’ll have a clear process to use to edit your own scenes—or even your entire novel. This is one you’ll want to save to revisit again and again!
Links mentioned in the episode:
- Read the transcript of this episode
- Read the scene Kim and I edited
- Listen to Kim’s full editing session
- Meet Kim Kessler
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