When The 30-Day Break Is Over
Why I Appreciate My Novel Draft First, Before Making Any Changes
In April, I finished the first draft of my new novel. Once the draft was complete, I took a full thirty days off from it.
I set it aside, I didn’t look at it again, and I went about living my life.
It’s so easy to want to immediately jump right back in, convincing yourself that you have to start revising right away. But my rule is this: I’m not allowed to review my draft for a full 30 days after finishing it.
Taking at least 30 days off gives me fresh eyes to go back and revise later. But—and this is the crucial thing—when the 30 days have passed, I don’t just start revising.
The very first step in my revision process is reading.
I set aside a few hours, and I read through my draft, from page one to page done.
I don’t make notes. I don’t make changes. I don’t figure out what needs to be fixed, improved, or made better.
I just read.
During my first read-through, I’m not allowed to have anything near me except my iPad (it’s what I read the draft on). Even if I’m itching to make changes or think I should grab a notebook and pen, in case I want to jot down anything I think of as I’m reading.
Nope.
I just read the whole draft. Straight through. In one sitting.
That’s what I did this past weekend with my novel draft from April.
And honestly, this is my all-time fave part of the revision process. Getting to read the draft and see what I have to work with.
Most of the time, I’m surprised by how good the draft already is, even if it still needs a lot of work (and this one definitely does).
I find myself loving my dialogue, laughing at things I’ve written, getting reacquainted with my characters, and feeling so proud of how hard I’ve worked over the last two decades to master the craft of storytelling.
And that motivates me to want to revise it and make the novel even better.
I think what makes the difference for me is that my revision process starts with appreciation versus criticism. I read the draft first as a reader, to appreciate the story just as it is right now.
If I started by being critical, making notes and changes right away, I wouldn’t feel as excited to complete the revision. I would be feeling bummed about how much has to be fixed and how much work the story still needs.
And even though, of course, there’s a lot of stuff that needs to be changed, fixed, and revised in this novel—including an entire scene where I accidentally used the wrong character name the whole time—I’m not intimidated by it. I’m feeling good about what I’m starting with, and I trust my skills to improve on it and turn it into a novel that I’m so damn proud to publish.
Next time you finish the draft of something, whether it be a novel, a nonfiction book, or even just a Substack post, before you dive in and start revising, I encourage you to first read with appreciative eyes. It really can make the difference between something you finish, and something you end up setting aside and letting collect dust.
In Thursday’s post, I’m walking you through my specific novel revision process, including my go-to checklists that will only be available to paid subscribers.
Career Author Reflection
Journal prompts: How can I add appreciation to my writing revision process?
Micro-action: For this week, whenever you write something, before you revise it or make changes, just appreciate it for what it is. You may surprise yourself.
What’s your revision process like? Share with us in the comments.
~jennifer