How to Revise Without Losing the Magic
5 tips for getting out of your story's way and letting it become what it wants to be
If you’re deep in revisions right now — moving scenes around, second-guessing everything, and wondering whether you’ve lost the thread entirely — kindly remove your head from the brick wall upon which you’ve been banging it, pull up a chair, and heat up that mug of lukewarm coffee.
It’s time to chat about revisions.
After a month of tinkering, rearranging, improving, and (worsening) my middle-grade novel, I’ve learned an important lesson about this work:
The fastest way to flatten a story is to start forcing it to behave.
Many writers find revision to be frustrating for exactly this reason.
A first draft is constructed with passion, the second with practicality — and marrying these ingredients is rarely easy. At some point in the revision process, many writers complain that they’ve lost the emotional thread. They worry that the story they poured their hearts into no longer has a heart itself.
Learning how to fine-tune the architecture of a story while preserving the magic of the first draft is a little like renovating a historic home. No one wants a slanted floor or termites in the attic, but they sure as heck don’t want to part with the crown molding or the ornate mantel. Let’s not throw away the baby with the bathwater, shall we?
A strong writer finds a way to deliver both the magic and the flow.
1. Distinguish quick fixes from structural changes.
Some revisions are quick and easy; others require careful deliberation and structural adjustment. Playing up a character’s love of old stamps might be resolved as easily as adding a line of dialogue. But giving that character a sinister new backstory that alters their motivations is a different beast, as are changes to timelines and events. Bucketing your revisions can help you prioritize them. I usually try to tackle the big stuff first. If a line of dialogue I was planning to revise ends up getting cut later on, I’ll be glad I didn’t waste time perfecting it.
2. Anticipate the domino effect.
Who knew that one small change to a manuscript could tear a hole in the fabric of the universe? Of course, I’m kidding, but as I revise this mystery, I’ve been surprised by the chain reaction of adjusting one element in the story. On many occasions, I’ve set out to make a simple change and discovered I had to revise a hundred other things to make it work. This wouldn’t be such a big deal if I had incorporated the following tip first:
3. Resist superimposing the new on the old.
Writers tend to be fiercely protective (we’ll talk about our precious darlings in a moment), but our loyalty to the first draft can be cryptonite in the revision process. In this proect, I’ve found myself stuck anytime I catch myself superimposing the new story over the old one. In practice, that’s looks like retaining the sequence of events and just making the characters say and do different things in each of those scenes.
It doesn’t work because that’s not the story I’m telling anymore. And trying to box new characters into the same moments as their predecessors is akin to wearing my husband’s nightguard — it simply doesn’t fit (and ew, gross).
Revision isn’t just tinkering with what you’ve already got on the page — it’s about letting your story boldly venture in a new (and improved) direction.
4. Protect your “darlings".
OK, OK. This advice must seem hypocritical, but it’s really not! Protecting our darlings is not about preserving every scene and small moment — it’s about preserving the magic I mentioned earlier. The crown molding! The foot-wide floorboards! Your darlings might be the quirks of a particular character (can you imagine Eleanor Oliphant without the social awkwardness?) or the spooky atmosphere (Rebecca without Manderlay??), but whatever it is, it’s the reason you sat down to write in the first place. And it’s why your readers will find you. Define those darlings and hold them dear.
5. Trust your gut.
If something doesn’t feel right in a new draft, it’s usually because it’s not. Structure eluded me during the memoir writing process, and I remember turning in one draft to my editor that definitely didn’t work. I knew it as I was forcing that draft onto the page, and I felt it again when I pressed “send.” So I was not at all surprised when my editor agreed. Revisions take time. Better to try and try again than blow your one shot with the publishing gods on a draft you know isn’t it.
Revision is hard — there’s no way around it. I’ve delivered this bad news to more third graders than I can count, and still, no one is more disappointed by it than me.
But revision is the fertile territory in which great writers are made. And lucky for us, more than a few others have paved the path with useful advice.
My personal favorite? Refuse to be Done by Matt Bell. Matt takes the overwhelming process of revision and breaks it down into three drafts—each with a specific purpose. If clear and defined tasks are your meat and potatoes, don’t sleep on this book. It will remind you that you can do it, and it will show you exactly how.
For the “pantsers” like me: Story Genius by Lisa Kron. If your first draft was conceived in a fit of artistic passion or a perimenopausal sleepless night, perhaps revisions have taught you that a little reverse engineering is necessary in shaping your brilliance into something that better resembles an actual story. If so, Lisa Kron is here to help you understand the finer points of effective storytelling.
If you’re in the midst of revisions and would love the support of a community, join the #WriteWithMe chat for daily updates & inspiration.
This is such good stuff, particularly #4! As a developmental editor, I am quick to cut what I don't understand and where the through line isn't obvious, so push back if that metaphorical red pen slashes one of your "darlings." I may just be too dense to get it and need a little more explanation to suggest where and how it fits instead of stand on my soapbox about less being more. Thanks for such a delightful and useful read today!
Oh my gosh! How did you know I was sipping coffee and contemplating how to handle the backstory/legend in my current (fifth) revision? I LOVED this! It was exactly what I needed to hear this morning:). Blessings!