How to Write a Novel Part 5: Rest and Revisions

Rest
Now that you’ve got a first draft done…. Walk away.
This is the part a lot of people hate, but I cannot stress this enough:
PUT THE BOOK DOWN.
Wait a month (or at least a week if you’re really that impatient) before you look at the ms again. The book needs time to rest; your mind needs time to rest. If you jump back into the book now, you’ll end up reading what you think you wrote, not what you did. Give your mind a break from the book. Forget the story, so when you read it again you can come at it with a red pen afresh.
I distract myself at this point by going back to the beginning and starting something new… I guess you could say I write books like you would sing a round.
But seriously…. step away from the book, give it time to settle and then, return to it with a fresh mind ready to slice it to bits.
Self Editing At this point, you’ve got a draft that is ridiculously befitting its title of “sloppy copy.” Personally, I think I’m awful at self-editing. Mostly because myself edit…
Now that you’ve got a first draft done…. Walk away.
This is the part a lot of people hate, but I cannot stress this enough:
PUT THE BOOK DOWN.
Wait a month (or at least a week if you’re really that impatient) before you look at the ms again. The book needs time to rest; your mind needs time to rest. If you jump back into the book now, you’ll end up reading what you think you wrote, not what you did. Give your mind a break from the book. Forget the story, so when you read it again you can come at it with a red pen afresh.
I distract myself at this point by going back to the beginning and starting something new… I guess you could say I write books like you would sing a round.
But seriously…. step away from the book, give it time to settle and then, return to it with a fresh mind ready to slice it to bits.
Self Editing At this point, you’ve got a draft that is ridiculously befitting its title of “sloppy copy.” Personally, I think I’m awful at self-editing. Mostly because myself edit…