Revising your novel? Make a book map first.

This is how you make those big picture edits feel not so big.

If writing a first draft feels like getting to the top of Mount Everest, getting that first edit letter is when all the clouds clear and you suddenly realize you’re not at the top. You’re not even halfway to the peak.

Because that first edit is rarely the kind you can do page by page. No, it’s usually things like “the protagonist’s arc feels flat” or “here’s a glaring plot hole” or “this magic system has a fatal flaw.” Big picture stuff that gets you tugging at loose threads and suddenly the whole sweater is unraveling. You have this 80,000 word document and you have NO idea where to start.

Close that document. Seriously.

Next, make a book map.

I’m pretty sure the first time I read about this concept was in The Magic Words by Cheryl Klein. I don’t have my copy handy, but I remember the basics of her book map format. If you’re working on your laptop, create a new document. If you like to do your edits offline, you can write this on a sheet of paper, or even use index cards (one for each step).

1. Page number, chapter number, scene number.

If you have a chapter title, go ahead and include that too.

2. Setting, date(s).

You don’t have to write an actual date. In fact, I recommend you think of it more like “where this scene sits on the timeline,” however that makes the most sense to you. For example, “the day after Jody’s sister vanishes.” That said, if precise dates and times are crucial to your plot, by all means include them!

3. Characters in this scene.

And here’s the rub - jot down what each of them WANTS when the scene starts. Sometimes we get so focused on our protagonist that we forget other characters have their own motivations and goals too. This is a simple step that might help you figure out why a scene didn’t work in that first draft.

4. Action in this scene.

Describe it in the most simple, basic terms possible. This is for your eyes only so don’t try to make it tantalizing or withhold any secrets. “Colin leaves the police station. He wasn’t arrested but he knows he’s a suspect in Kim’s murder. He stops at the grocery but the normally friendly owner looks at him like she’s afraid of him. He drives home but doesn’t get out of the car. He calls the reporter who’s been harassing him and agrees to an interview.”

5. New information in this scene.

Think of this from the reader’s perspective. What did they learn? What has changed in the story by the end of this scene? This will likely include those things that might seem mundane or unimportant but which you, the author, know will come to be vital by the end of the story. “Molly learns her husband has a secret burner phone. Her trust in him is shaken.”

6. The point of this scene.

Why did you include this scene? Again, this is for your eyes only, so be blunt. How does this scene move the story forward?

7. This scene’s biggest strength.

What do you love most about this scene? Go on, brag! Is it the witty dialogue? The tension? The juicy emotional conflict?

8. This scene’s weaknesses.

What needs to change in this scene?

That’s it! Now you’ve got a considerably shorter document (or stack of index cards) to work with. It’s a nice bird’s eye view of your novel. This is where you start your edits. It’s a lot easier to make big decisions and changes this way because you aren’t actually looking at all those words you wrote (and those darlings you don’t want to kill). The book map offers just enough detachment for you to make those decisions that would otherwise feel too difficult, like cutting scenes, getting rid of a subplot, giving that side character a motivation makeover so that his actions actually make sense, etc.

Make those changes and write down, in the simplest possible terms, how you’re going to implement them into each scene. Then, armed with your book map, go ahead and open that first draft document and let the map show you the way to the end.

The posts I publish here will remain free. But I have a new series called Ask the Editor, which publishes every Friday. The short pitch: Dear Abby for writers.

The longer pitch: paid subscribers ($5/month or $50/year, cancel anytime) will receive a link to a form where they can submit pretty much anything within a two page limit. Things like…

• Queries

• Synopses

• Pages from their novel

• Questions about writing or traditional publishing

• A current problem or situation in their writing journey (ie: trying to decide if an agent is a schmagent, disagreeing with beta feedback, etc)

• A rant about this whole “trying to get published” endeavor to a sympathetic ear

Every Friday, I’ll respond to/critique as many submissions as I can and publish them together in one post. Because they’ll be behind a paywall, there’s some privacy—your query, pages, or rant about that one really horrible rejection won’t be online for editors to discover when they Google you.

Hope to see you there!

Michelle