Planning Always Helps (even after the 1st draft)

It aids your editing process. I usually start with a timeline, where my characters start and where they want to go, adding in the important details as you progress. This helps highlight any plot holes and strange timelapse. Trust me, we all do it! It’s nothing to be worried about, that’s why editing is so important.

It also helps plot out character development, even though you have written it, you might not notice where your characters have changed from start to finish. Sometimes just running over this and planning out there peaks and troughs of mood help understand your characters more than before. Also, if you plan a little bit of their character profile, such as background information, what their childhood was like. It might even be covered in your book, but it’s important for you to know when they act as they do at that moment. This will allow more belief in your character filter through the novel. If you know your characters inside out, the reader will believe them.

This is the same with plot development too. Sometimes when you reread the first draft it becomes clear you weren’t absolutely sure where the ending was. Now you have finished, it will make the plotline sleek. You can add little tricks to the writing, this is the time to add any plot twists in. it’s easier to add the twists I when you know where the ending is.

Also, don’t be too concerned if you get to a chapter or a section you dislike, it's just another reason why editing is so important. It gives you the change to change bits and understand more about where you want the plot to go. Even Phaser was re-written several times before I was happy with it. Before I got to the point where I was editing, not rewriting.

Planning is all about taking your time and figuring out what you want from the novel.

#Editing #Plan #tips #detail