Congratulations! Pop the champagne.
You have finally finished your first novel draft.
Even though you think the worst is over, it is actually not.
Now comes the even more serious part: revising.
Naturally, you will have to go through the usual editing steps: running it through a writing correction software, revising for clarity and all that.
Apart from those, however, there are several things to consider that you may not be familiar with, especially if your previous area of focus has been more fact-based types of writing.
Here is a useful checklist: 1.
Has your main character been properly introduced? Sure, characters show up in fiction all the time.
The protagonist, however, will need to be sufficiently eased in.
Make sure your reader knows what the main character looks like, apart from giving them some amount of identifiable traits.
2.
Do you have a conflict? Without a conflict, there is no plot.
Conflict is the source of drama, the element that drives growth and change.
What is the central question your work is trying to answer? 3.
Check your dialogue.
Exchanges between characters should sound natural, the way real people will talk in real-life situations.
Additionally, avoid going several paragraphs without dialogue - exposition is good, but dialogue provides balance.
4.
Make sure you stick to one point of view.
It is a common mistake for writers to suddenly switch POVs in their first drafts.
This is a particularly tricky thing to find, as these accidental shifts often happen in small bits of the writing (such as a couple of sentences).
5.
Has your main character changed? Conflict not only drives plot, it pushes the protagonist to experience change.
If your main character remains the same throughout from start to end, the whole work can feel like an exercise in futility.
Try incorporating subtle amounts of growth, at the least.
You have finally finished your first novel draft.
Even though you think the worst is over, it is actually not.
Now comes the even more serious part: revising.
Naturally, you will have to go through the usual editing steps: running it through a writing correction software, revising for clarity and all that.
Apart from those, however, there are several things to consider that you may not be familiar with, especially if your previous area of focus has been more fact-based types of writing.
Here is a useful checklist: 1.
Has your main character been properly introduced? Sure, characters show up in fiction all the time.
The protagonist, however, will need to be sufficiently eased in.
Make sure your reader knows what the main character looks like, apart from giving them some amount of identifiable traits.
2.
Do you have a conflict? Without a conflict, there is no plot.
Conflict is the source of drama, the element that drives growth and change.
What is the central question your work is trying to answer? 3.
Check your dialogue.
Exchanges between characters should sound natural, the way real people will talk in real-life situations.
Additionally, avoid going several paragraphs without dialogue - exposition is good, but dialogue provides balance.
4.
Make sure you stick to one point of view.
It is a common mistake for writers to suddenly switch POVs in their first drafts.
This is a particularly tricky thing to find, as these accidental shifts often happen in small bits of the writing (such as a couple of sentences).
5.
Has your main character changed? Conflict not only drives plot, it pushes the protagonist to experience change.
If your main character remains the same throughout from start to end, the whole work can feel like an exercise in futility.
Try incorporating subtle amounts of growth, at the least.
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