15 Ways to See Your Manuscript Differently

Try using a different font

Read your manuscript aloud.

Make a synopsis of your manuscript.

Make physical cards of each scene. Try reshuffling them in a different order.

Read your manuscript backwards, last scene first.

Open a new document and try rewriting the first chapter without looking at your previous draft.

Tell your story to someone who has never heard you talk about it before.

Sketch your story out in scenes like a movie. What is working? What isn't?

Print out your document like a book and have it bound. Then look through it again.

Pretend to send it into an editor or agent. Suddenly you will see all the flaws.

Write a list of 10 different ways to start the novel, or to end it.

Change all the character names.

Write what happens after the novel is over.

Write about your character's childhood nightmares. Or anything that isn't related to the story itself as you have framed it.

Write an editorial letter to yourself.