In a new post on Writers in the Storm, Lynette Burrows continues her series on revising your novel. “Before you can improve your writing, you have to know where your story is strong and where you can strengthen it,” she says. “That means understanding story structure and taking your book apart bit by bit, examining it, strengthening it, and reassembling it.”
How can we do that? Burrows recommends starting with the story sentence. Your story sentence is a single sentence summation of what your story is about: A woman fights to save her family’s plantation during a great war. However, the sentence can also be phrased as a question: Can young love overcome family hatreds that have lasted generations? Burrows suggests writing that sentence in mind before you start drafting, and revising it before you start editing.
“Consider it your train ticket,” she says. “You want to take a trip to a specific location so you buy a ticket to that location. Your ticket tells you that is where you are going, but it isn’t a map. It doesn’t give you the specific routes you’ll take; it identifies where you start and the final destination.”
Next, Burrows says we should examine our scenes: short sections of your novel that present a conflict, alters your character, and propels them forward. “In other words, a scene consists of a viewpoint character attempting to achieve an immediate goal in direct opposition to someone or something, and that effort results in a change,” Burrows writes. With that definition in mind, go through each scene and identify your character, his/her story goal and immediate goal, their opposition and conflict, action, and result.
This process is slow, but it will help you identify the strengths and weaknesses in your manuscript. If your scene is missing too many elements, or if you can’t clearly define them, flag this area for revision. When you finish your list of scenes, Burrows suggests writing lists of characters, settings, themes, symbols, and motifs.
Now that you’ve identified the major parts of your story, it’s time to analyze. Go through your scenes and highlight turning points, then label the scenes were your antagonist or opposing force makes a strong appearance. Is there conflict in every scene, even if it’s minor? Consider the actions in each scene and determine if the stakes and conflict keep rising. Do the consequences of your character’s actions get worse? Does your hero win every conflict or have setbacks? How often does your hero have to make a significant decision as a result of the conflict and resolution? Finally, ask how well your story aligns with your story sentence. Did you write the story you meant to write?
Write down corrections and ways to fix any issues you identify. Most importantly, don’t feel overwhelmed if you find a lot of areas that need revision. “Keep reminding yourself it’s all fixable,” Burrows says. “The words and ideas had to get down on paper before you could get this far.”
