How to go about revisioning your first book

BY WILEY WEI-CHIUN HO

You are not alone. I feel your pain, knee-deep as I am in the muck of another revision of my first book. I’m not an expert on revision—but is anyone? Even seasoned writers tell me revision is hard work and every project has its own unique problems. I’ve had many twisted sleeps over where to begin and how to keep going. After two full rewrites, I have a few insights—or at least ideas—to share.

Leverage your most productive time. Do your ideas flow most readily in the morning, afternoon, or evening? To set up for success, identify your time of least resistance. Many writers find well-defined spurts to be more productive than an unspecified block of time which, paradoxically, has a way of feeling overwhelming. Setting a time limit for yourself (for example, ninety minutes) can be very helpful. Perhaps this is because a sense of urgency, even self-imposed, is required to make the countless decisions, big and small, for revising work.

Find your why. Why do you need to write this book? This is not a facetious question but a way to get at your motivation for telling this particular story. Why can’t you leave this story alone? Why does it matter? True revisioning requires a clear-eyed look at your entire project, literally a re-vision. When you find your why, it becomes easier to move on to the task of figuring out what’s working and what’s not.

Pinpoint your book’s throughline. This is related to, but different than, topic or theme. It is the spine that pulls your whole book together, gives your central characters motivation, and reveals the book’s overall meaning. You should be able to sum up your book’s throughline in one sentence. For example, in Harry Potter, the throughline is that of a young orphan trying to find a place of belonging for himself in the world.

Structure is everything. This is the scaffolding that connects your beginning, middle and ending. At the revision level, it should inform what you need to cut, add, or reorder. It’s worth mentioning that story structures have evolved past classical standards like the Fichtean Curve and Plot Pyramid to many more diverse forms. The good news is your story no longer needs to conform to expected structures; the bad news is it’s up to you to find the best shape (or container) for your story.

Consider a writing mentor. Having a mentor for your book is like having a steadfast ally for your writing when you encounter doubt (which everyone does!) or have questions about craft. An experienced mentor can help you look at your project more objectively and provide substantive or developmental feedback. Working with a mentor usually involves submission deadlines, which provide the all-important accountability often lacking when working alone.

Beta readers are gold. Like having a good mentor, beta readers who are also writers (preferably in your genre and not a friend) can provide invaluable support and feedback for your book-in-progress. You can find beta readers on social media platforms like Facebook (search for beta readers) or form a local group by reaching out to others who are writing in your genre. In my experience, a small group (three to four) works best, as you will need time to review the works of the others too.

Print out your manuscript and read it all the way through like a book. Most writers write on their laptops and tend to edit as they read onscreen. By printing your manuscript, you have a better chance of reading it like a book. Do a full reading without editing. Take notes. Then, return to it and revise it for one or two elements at a time—for throughline, character, theme, dialogue, pacing, arc, ending.

Read your work out loud. Don’t skip over sections that are familiar. You will begin to hear your own storytelling voice, your particular choice of words, any awkward sentences and repetitions. You might even try recording your readings and playing it back later.

Let your manuscript rest. After each major revision, give your work—and yourself—a rest (about a month is good). Don’t worry, your subconscious will continue to work on it while you go about your regular business.

Reread a book you love and study why you love it. This is not a call to mimic a beloved author, but a way to rejuvenate your own love for words and story.

A few excellent resources: The Art of Revision is a reassuring and insightful craft book written by author and writing teacher Peter Ho Davies. The Situation and the Story by Vivian Gornick is a guide for finding the deeper story in the personal narrative (great for memoir). The Shit No One Tells You About Writing is a podcast hosted by authors and agents who give behind-the-scenes reviews of what makes compelling pitches and reads.

Be kind to yourself. Celebrate each chapter and story you rework. Revision is heavy labour. Sleep helps. A walk in the woods helps. Coffee with friends helps.

Prioritize the process rather than the goal. Of course, we all want a finished book as quickly as possible, but the process of getting there is o arguably the true prize. The process is what makes our writing .better, what gives our work—and ourselves—new dimensions.

Allow me to begin again.

We are not alone. Revision is really just writing, and all good writing is hard work. But once we get going, it can be a delight to revisit our own work to locate the deeper story, get closer to our characters, quicken the pulse in each scene. Each revision brings us closer to the heart of our story, what makes our words sing, what we will be proud to finally release into the world.

Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho identifies as Generation 1.5, inhabiting the haunted space between places, cultures and identities. Her short stories have appeared in anthologies and literary journals. Wiley is revisioning her first book, a memoir about growing up in a Taiwanese-Canadian “astronaut” family.