PoB - The new masterplan
On Nov.18th I got home from work, had to clean the bathroom, had to bring out ALL the trash (paper, plastic, glass + tins), had to go food shopping (I had Michael Ende’s Nothing plus a luckdragon in the fridge and was not sure they were edible), had to fix dinner, had to wash dishes.
Such is the life at the DasteHome (at least when DasteSO works until late).
BUT I looked over several of Holly Lisle’s workshops and courses, looked over my notes, looked over what I learnt the last time I tried to revise the first book (the only one ever finished) for project Infinity, and everything I learnt from that moment on - and laid out my own, brand new revision plan.
Then it was 11:30 PM and I went to bed. But I reached my goal nevertheless!
Here’s the plan.
Phase 1: Plot assessment
- Read the first draft and build a scene-by-scene outline. If *anything* doesn’t work story-wise (idiot balls, logic glitches, worldbuilding holes, useless scenes, runaway plots…), note that down too.
Phase 2: Troubleshooting
- Replotting: hammer the draft outline until it bleeds and force it to make some sense.
- Rebuilding: fill worldbuilding holes as needed.
- Recasting: make sure all characters are earning their pay.
Phase 3: Editing
- Based on the troubleshooting results, build the outline for the final version.
- Go scene by scene through the first draft, editing the scenes that survived or writing the new ones, if there are, according to the final outline. This is no more first draft, so edit not only for plot, but for style, pacing, structure, description, involvement and so on.
Ready to rock? I’m quite ready.
