Video of a Novel: Day 82

I love revising!

The second draft of a novel is my absolute favorite part of writing. The story is in place; now it’s time to make some final decisions about my characters, POV, and plot, and then dive into revising.

I’ve shared this George Saunders quote before, but now seems an appropriate time to share it again:

“I’ve worked with so many wildly talented young writers over the years that I feel qualified to say that there are two things that separate writers who go on to publish from those who don’t. First, a willingness to revise…”

Today in the video I'm talking about the gap in time between wrapping up the rough first draft and officially beginning the revision or writing of the second draft. There are a few important things about this small gap of time in the novel-writing process, so I walk through those and explain where my focus will be during this liminal space.