Your Next Draft
Supporting fiction writers doing the hard work of revising unputdownable novels. The novel editing process is the creative crucible where you discover the story you truly want to tell—and it can present some of the most challenging moments on your writing journey.
Developmental editor and book coach Alice Sudlow will be your companion through the mess and magic of revision. You’ll get inspired by interviews with authors, editors, and coaches sharing their revision processes; gain practical tips from Alice’s editing practice; and hear what real revision truly requires as Alice workshops scenes-in-progress with writers.
It’s all a quest to discover: How do you figure out what your story is truly about? How do you determine what form that story should take? And once you do, how do you shape the hundreds of thousands of words you've written into the story’s most refined and powerful form?
If you’ve written a draft—or three—but are still searching for your story’s untapped potential, this is the podcast for you. Together, let’s dig into the difficult and delightful work of editing your next draft.
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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