Reread the hard copy of your manuscript.
Unlike earlier when I had you read your story all the way through in one sitting as a reader or as a member of the audience, this time, I want you to reread your story as many times as you need to until you have answered all the questions raised in each step throughout this re-vision process.
Don't get bogged down by your writing. Read all the way through just like you wrote it all the way through, one layer at a time.
Concentrate first on the foundation. Address any plot and structure issue that cropped up in any of the prior steps in the next draft you write. Take notes right on your manuscript.
Mark what works. Insert PostIt notes about what needs rewriting. Make your notes detailed enough so when you reach them in your rewrite you remember what you were thinking.
Mark out with a big black X any and all words, paragraphs, and chapters you plan to delete in the next rewrite. Write ideas you wish to add or create in the next go round. Keep your Plot Planner in front of you as you work your way through your manuscript.
Not until the plot and structure are in completely in place do you turn your focus to dialogue, description, tone, authentic details in scene, character motivation, word choices.
In every draft you write, insert what you can about theme. By the last draft, the theme should have revealed itself and appears throughout your story.
You're itching to get back to writing, aren't you?
All you wordsmiths out there, patience. This analytical work is counter-intuitive for most creative types. But trust me. The more you stick with it now, the better your next draft. Plus, I want you eager for the word and sentence and paragraph level. That way, the odds of you sticking to the writing schedule in '10 you create for yourself at the end of this month improve.
Besides today is Winter Solstice. This is the time to release old beliefs and objects that do not fit you anymore. This includes scenes and chapters your story doesn't need either. Any scene -- energy -- that does not line up with the story's deeper meaning, release it to the universe and it will go to a better place (perhaps your next story).
The 1st draft often produces quality of a lower vibrational level than subsequent drafts. The more you purge now, the more space your story has to receive that which serves the work best.
As we release the unneeded words and phrases and sentences and paragraphs, our stories embrace a new identity. With that comes a new higher and more vibrant and dynamic meaning.
The more you line your story up with the correct material, the faster the story will create.
Think of what we're doing now as the anticipation stage. The main event is writing the next draft.
Remember, in an earlier post, when I talked about the three ways to create more emotion in your story:
- Anticipation
- The main event
- Reaction
Character anticipation creates reader anticipation and often represents the strongest emotional stage. I want you prepared and excited when the time comes for you to embark on your next draft.
The Middle (1/2)
I love the Middle of stories. By the Middle, I've committed to the story. I know nothing too terribly awful will happen for awhile -- at least not as awful as I know will come later -- and I can sink into the story world itself, hang out with the characters, and get to know them better.
Of course, all along and deep down, I know the story is building to a Crisis. I can taste it, sense it, feel it coming. I try to pretend the Crisis will not come. After a while, there is no denying the inevitable. Doom is about to hit, has to hit. There is no other way for the story to go.
What is the unusual, exotic world of the Middle in your story?
What character flaw continually sabotages the protagonist?
What antagonists get in her way? (Remember, the Middle is the territory of the antagonists.) (Use as many as you need to create tension, conflict and suspense...)
The Middle 1/2 often has a plot of its own -- with a Beginning (as the character enters the story world itself, she feels like a fish out of water), a Middle that rises in intensity (a major turning point often happens in the middle of the Middle = the protagonist commits to the journey), and an End that culminates at the Crisis. (Do NOT confuse this with the Climax -- the Climax comes at the End of the overall story itself and shows the character
He finishes the first draft with a vengeance. His vision of a complex story crystalizes. The characters reveal themselves. The story world captivates. Action builds to a dramatic climax. Character grow and transform. Thematic threads run deep throughout the manuscript.
Celebration over his accomplishment is short-lived and little acknowledged in his eagerness to keep going.
He rounds up his notes and begins crafting and writing draft #2 and immediately comes to a screeching halt.
The quality of his writing in draft #1 dismays him. Doubt sets in. Energy lags. Procrastination takes over.
Yet, another example of what I've addressed the last two entries.
Any success stories about starting out on the next draft of your project?
Above and Below
For twenty-four days, you have analyzed your story through plot and structure, searched for meaning, arranged scenes, and considered the energetic flow throughout. In the process, you have likely seen your story in a completely new way, and even perhaps, yourself, too.
7 days left -- time for finesse and nuance. Let the countdown begin.
Transfer the scenes onto Post-It notes (helpful if you use different colored Post-It notes for the different plot lines -- blue for character emotional development, red for dramatic action, yellow for thematic significance, orange for political elements, etc.).
Arrange the Post-It notes on banner paper -- sorry, I wish there was a smaller version possible, but if an average novel is 60 scenes, you can imagine how long the Plot Planner for the entire project will be.
Trick this time? Arrange notes either above or below the Plot Planner line determined by who holds the power in the scene. When the character is in control, the scene goes below the line. When the character is out of control and an antagonist in control, the scene belongs above the line.
Above the line - scenes with conflict, tension, suspense.
Below the line - scenes where the protagonist is in control.
(While you're at it, clear a place on the wall to hang the Plot Planner when the month is over and you're ready to begin the official next draft rewrite with an entirely new vision of your story.)
The Middle (cont.)
Consider the "middle" of the Middle of your story.
The scenes in the middle of the Middle of a story often line up looking like below. So long as the unusual and/or exotic world is intriguing and mysterious and fascinating enough, you're in good shape. By the time the reader is at the middle of the Middle she has surrendered to the dream you've created. The story and the characters have actually replaced parts of the reader's world and become real for her.
The early Middle and middle of the Middle are the honeymoon stage. The reader likes the character as revealed so far. The reader wants to hang out with the story and the characters. The middle of the Middle the protagonist is still on her best behavior -- relative to her and her alone.
Eventually, later, closer to the 3/4 mark and when the Crisis hits, the character opens up more and more to the reader as the stakes rise higher and higher. Under pressure, the protagonist reveals who she really is, flaws and all.
But, that's for later. For now, here, in the middle of the Middle, the character has settled a bit into the new world and no longer feels so much like a fish out of water. She begins to catch on to the rules of the new world.
In other words, the story can slow down a bit here (keep in mind, however, a sort of major shift or "hit" usually occurs at the exact 1/2 of the entire page count mark.)
Homework:
- Continue to plot out your scenes on the Middle of your Plot Planner
- Research the unusual world for authentic details. Take notes for your next draft.
- Consider how the Middle and the End work together. What in the Middle is contributing to the overall character transformation of your protagonist at the End?
- How many of the following antagonists** are you using to create conflict, tension, and suspense. The antagonists must arise out of the story itself and contribute to the overall meaning or thematic significance of your story overall. (If you do not know the thematic significance statement for your story, continue the exercises on: Day Four and Day Seven.)
**Antagonist List
Other people: friends, family, lover, co-workers, boss, children
Nature: flooding, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, freezing temperatures, drought
Machine: anything mechanical or electronic
Society: rules, laws, customs, traditions, expectations, religious institutions, dogma
God: spiritual beliefs
Self: flaw, hatred, prejudice, fears, past mistakes
Reread the hard copy of your manuscript. 
I have found your advice about comparing the beginning and end of the stories and finding connections between them, invaluable. So many new insights have been revealed. My novel is opening up like a flower, slowly revealing itself. Many thanks