How to revise

In order to really revise, you must immerse yourself deeply in the work, allow it to affect you as you hope it will affect your reader, release your preconceptions, and prepare to make significant changes.

Real revision is not tinkering. It’s as intuitive, exploratory, and risky as first draft writing.
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Revision is also analytical. In revision you can immerse yourself in the feeling of the story, then zoom out to examine the big picture—the story’s narrative arc, momentum, and meaning.

Toggling between these two states will allow you to make revision decisions that are both intuitive and logical, to create a work that will engage your reader emotionally and intellectually.
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Next time: How to talk to an editor