Getting to Grips with a Big Revision of Your Novel
I'm working on a major revision of a novel I wrote some years ago and put away in a drawer. I loved and still love the story, but I think it needs a more compelling central question. Right now, I'd call it a "family saga," and while there's nothing inherently wrong with that, I'd like to create a through-line in the story that makes it more compelling. I want readers to be thinking, Oh my god, what happens next?
For anyone working on a major revision of a story they already love, it can be hard to figure out what stays and what must go. I'd picked up a book many years ago called "Revising Your Novel" by Janice Hardy and I dipped into it again to find some inspiration. She breaks down the process into various categories, which is surprisingly helpful when you're not that sure what the core "problem" might be. Using her guidance and my instinct about what my story needed, I came up with eight points to consider, which might be applicable to your work-in-progress, too.
1. What is the central question of the narrative? What are the moral stakes?
2. In one sentence, what is the "lesson" the protagonist learns, or the insight s/he gets, after living through the experinces recounted in the book?
3. How does each important character change (preferably in interesting ways that relate to the novel's underlying themes)?
4. What are the core conflicts in the book (list them)? What does the main character want?
5. Can I name five critical events (arbitrary number alert) that must happen in order to resolve the core conflict? These can be thought of as turning points. Is there a reversal and where does it happen?
6. For each scene, answer these three questions 1) What is the character trying to do and why? 2) What is the barrier to and the cost of this effort? 3) What goes wrong or right?
7. Is there enough CAUSALITY in the events? Are characters making choices that have consequences? (Make a list).
8. Which are the scenes in which readers learn who the characters really are? In any of these scenes, do we see characters who are forced to act in opposition to their beliefs?
Good luck with your work and happy revision!
* Picture credit: New Yorker cartoon by J.C. Duffy