Hello, and welcome back. Hope you’re full of energy and enthusiasm, because today we look at Phase 3: Implementation of Macro Changes which is probably the hardest bit. Today we enter the real meat of rewrites. You know, the actual “rewriting” bit.
Okay, so get ready. Get yourself psyched, remind yourself that you know what you’re doing (yes, do it anyway, even if you don’t feel like it), and get your materials in order. You will need your chapter by chapter outline with the initial notes you made on the manuscript. Your “new order” outline / summary. And lots and lots of energy. 🙂
These steps can vary a bit in the order you address them (for example, you may want to create new scenes before messing around with the order of the old, etc.) The point here, though, is to try and work non-linearly so you put off re-reading the entirety of the manuscript as long as possible, thereby trying to avoid the “I hate this stupid thing in a horrible bad way” feeling.
So, off we go on the 5 steps of Phase 3: Implementation of Macro Changes:
- Start by re-saving you manuscript under a new draft. This is a personal thing, since I like to keep track of the changes. Skip if you don’t care about old versions.
- Go through and add your titles to each of the actual chapters / scenes. This will help you identify them after you start moving things around.
- Move the chapters in the manuscript to reflect your “new order” outline. Add space for new chapters (if applicable). At this point you may also want to write the scene cards for each scene, ensuring you have an idea what your purpose for the scene is, what the protagonist goal is for the scene, if they achieve it or not, and how this leads to greater conflict and furthers the story goal.
- Start working through the chapters and changes with “biggest changes” down to the “smallest.” For example, perhaps start with the creation of fresh, new scenes if you’re adding any. Then amalgamation of chapters. Then partial scene re-writes and weaving / peppering objects / details.
- Check off / address your initial notes from your read-through so hopefully you’ve caught those problems. Then yay! You’ve made it through this phase. Another treat is in order. 🙂
You did it! Yay you! You have made it through the hardest part thus far, and hopefully, it will be smooth sailing from here.
Next week, the final phase: Phase 4: Micro Assessment and Changes.
But before we go: what do you find hardest about rewrites? How do you keep your enthusiasm for a piece? What methods have you found worked to get through the rewrites – especially the really extensive ones?
Thanks for reading, and hope your week is merry! Oh, and hey, liked the post? Why not sign up for the blog?