I've Written a Novel ... Now What?

I've finished the SFD of my first novel - my shitty first draft. I had to leave off writing for the blog so that I could finish - but now what?

It's edit time. And I'm smack bang in the middle of the edit. How do you go about editing though? thought at first that editing was about checking for typos, missing words, sentences or paragraphs that didn't work.

How wrong could I be. Reading through my novel it became clear that editing is actually rewriting. The kind of edit I had in my mind was simply proofreading - still an important task, but not as crucial as the rewrite. I'm moving chapters around, changing how my main character gets her story across (I've gone from notebooks to letters), and changing how the granddaughter (the main character of present time) comes across the story.

At first I was really worried that I would spoil my novel by changing it so fundamentally, but the more I chisel away at the bones of the SFD, the more I can it's coming together as something that works. It's not yet a piece of art, it's not yet for sharing, but it's getting stronger by the edit.

These are my 5 tips for editing that I've pulled together, and I'm applying these to the edit for my book.

Ask yourself "If the words don't move the narrative along, do I need the words at all?"
Have I left backstory in the novel that I needed for me to understand what was going on, but the reader really doesn't need? If so, delete it.
Is the action/dialogue/event/character believable and consistent? If not, what will help it become believable and consistent?
Does the plot hang together?
Are the characters strong enough? If not, is that ok because it's a less important character? Or do I need to strengthen the character?

I'm starting a self-editing course in September and although I'm carrying on with my edit and rewrite, I'm looking forward to how that will help me strengthen my writing.

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