Day 16: Three Quick Ways to Make A Good Book Better When Revising

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

After you write a book, you usually revise it.

Grammarly defines that ”the stage of the writing process after the first draft where you improve what you wrote with additions, removals, corrections, and rephrasing. Typically, it is the final stage before completion and the writer’s last chance to fix any mistakes.”

There are a ton of revision tips that I don’t have time to get into this month because we’re already on day 16. Gasp! And, honestly, I could spend an entire month on just revision type. Still, I wanted to share three quick ones. Hopefully, I’ll get some time later on to talk about some more.

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HOW TO MAKE A GOOD BOOK BETTER (WHILE BEING DIFFERENT)

Here are some things I (should) think about when I'm revising. Hopefully, they'll help you out, too. I've taken them from James Plath's article "Twenty-One Tweaks to a Better Tale," but adapted them to fit me. Why? Because I'm different like that.

FIRST QUESTION: Does your book’s beginning need to be an ending or just somewhere else entirely?

Photo by Frank Albrecht on Unsplash

Sometimes our beginnings stink.

Beginnings need to be:

• powerful

• witty

• stunning

How do you do that? You could use a powerful piece of dialogue, a witty description, or a stunning scene.

Sometimes we writers have to amp up, sort of rev our engines before we start the race of the story.

When you are revising, it's okay to cross entire paragraphs or even an entire chapter out. It's okay to do what it takes to make your beginning awesome.