Editing the book

So here’s my to-do list for the next three weeks. All going according to plan, I’ll have a draft ready for beta readers by mid-November. Of course, it’s a bit heavy to lug on the train with me.

Prepare

Update the outline as it is

Update the plot spreadsheet as it is

Hand edit

Need: single subject spiral bound notebook, 3 to 4 colours of pen, printed draft, Outline Notebook, maps.

Read.

Write down:

Chapter numbers
POVs
Name of each character as that character is introduced
Plot lines as they begin
Events in each chapter

Mark:

Writing that needs work
Writing that works

Questions:

Does this character have a place in this book?
Has a character changed appearance?
Has a character changed in other ways? If so, do I explain why?
Are all plotlines carried through?
Are all plotlines resolved?
Have all conflicts been resolved
Does this scene matter?
Have I followed the rule of 3? (If it appears twice, it should appear three times)

Talk things out

Discuss my proposed solutions with my PRH and my lovely sister

Plan and plot

Rewrite the outline
Rewrite the plot spreadsheet

Rewrite, reorganise

Now fix all the things I thought were wrong, rewriting and reorganising as needed.

ADDED: Check that every chapter ends in a way that keeps people reading, and that every chapter begins with a hook.

Edit for spelling, grammar, punctuation, word choice

Check capitalisation
Eliminate qualifiers
Evaluate adverbs
Remove superfluous movement
Tune dialogue attribution
Check whether ‘that’ is needed
Remove filter words

To See (See, Sees, Saw, Seeing, Seen)

To Hear (Hear, Hears, Heard, Hearing)

To Feel (Feel, Feels, Felt, Feeling)

To Look (Look, Looks, Looked, Looking)

To Know (Know, Knows, Knew, Knowing)

To Think (Think, Thinks, Thought, Thinking)

To Wonder (Wonder, Wonders, Wondered, Wondering)

To Realize (Realize, Realizes, Realized, Realizing)

To Watch (Watch, Watches, Watched, Watching)

To Notice (Notice, Notices, Noticed, Noticing)

To Seem (Seem, Seems, Seemed, Seeming)

To Decide (Decide, Decides, Decided, Deciding)

To Sound (Sound, Sounds, Sounded, Sounding)

Read out loud, marking anything that doesn’t work
Fix, and let it go to beta readers