The true work of writing is rewriting, or self-editing. Once you’ve completed what Anne Lamott famously coined your “shitty first draft,” the work really begins.
Today’s Powerful Story Newsletter is one in a series designed to offer tips about self-editing.
Self-editing includes turning a critical eye on your own work, looking at everything from structure and style to punctuation and grammar. Participants in my Powerful Story Writers’ Group (the next one starts in January) work on completing a rough draft of their book, but they also learn self-editing. We use a self-editing checklist tool developed by the talented editor and writer Sarah Barnum, which has 37 questions you should ask about your book when you self-edit. You can get a copy in her online store here.
I want to zoom in on one aspect of self-editing today: structure. Does the story begin with a strong hook and keep the reader engaged throughout? In practical terms, this edit means you might be rearranging things in your book, essay or blog post.
Many writers try to jump to rewriting too soon. They give themselves writers block by stopping and starting too much in the early stages of writing. When you begin a writing project, start by simply getting ideas down. Don’t critique, don’t revise. Not yet. Give yourself enough material to work with before moving on to the rewrite stage.
But then, once you’ve got a first draft, let it sit for a day or so. Then, like a decorator strolling through the living room, start rearranging the furniture. Is everything in the optimal place, or should it be moved to somewhere else in the story?
This review of structure does not mean starting from scratch, but rather, scratching a few things out. Adding a few things. Rearranging sentences. Moving full paragraphs, or even chapters.
No one writes a brilliant blog post or article or book all in one easy take. Revision allows you to sift through the rubble and find the gold, to refine and polish. But before you consider commas, look at the structure.
I’m currently working on two books. One I’m still adding content, the other is in a much later stage of editing. But in both, I’m finding I sometimes need to rearrange whole sections, moving things around as if I were redecorating. Or even rebuilding.
In one, what had been a flash-forward first chapter is now being dissected, the resulting pieces added to two different chapters later in the book.
Every story (and book, and blog post) needs a beginning, middle, and end—that’s probably not news to you. But that beginning, middle, and end create structure, a framework for your book, a flow that keeps the reader reading, which is your goal. Does whatever you’re writing flow logically? Does it engage the reader and continue to do so through the beginning, middle, and end? Does your piece, whether it’s an essay or a novel, have a narrative arc? Does that arc keep the reader turning pages, eager for more? Sometimes rearranging paragraphs or chapters to create a more solid structure will accomplish that.
Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, memoir or essays, each piece you write must grab the reader’s attention and hold it, without feeling too overwhelming or frenetic. If you get structure right, it will be easier to adjust the pacing.
Often, that arc reveals itself more fully as you write. You discover key details that come to you as you write. One incident reminds you of another and you uncover ideas, memories, insights that you’ll want to explore.
I always recommend that writers start with an outline—even though the book will be revised later. An outline gives you a series of short assignments, and the order in which to write them. But then, you need to be willing to rearrange. Your writing will be stronger. And your readers will thank you.