I wonder if Stephen King has this problem.
Neck deep in what feels like the hundredth revision of the novel, it has become acutely obvious that an up-to-date outline would make things simpler.
I started with an outline, first on a white board and then on paper. Soon the writing took on a life of its own and I was too caught up in getting the story down to document the story I was getting down.
I should have realized sooner. Someone gave me feedback that inspired me to change something (early readers suggested I went too heavy on the inner workings of the insurance business. “Not that interesting,” they said*), so I changed some things. When I did, I had to figure out the downstream impacts of the changes. Most were easy to find because I was living in the book. I knew it backward and forward. The words were rushing out of my head faster than I could type and I got ahead of myself.
I never updated the outline.
Dumb move.
This is a significant revision, though the guts of the book are the same. But as I tamp down the backstory, inevitably some plot points are changing. There are downstream implications to be addressed. I have no map to find the nooks and crannies I’ll need to sweep.
Step 1: a good outline. Correction. A good CURRENT outline.
This time, I’m mapping the chapters using Trello. It’s a nice way to see what work needs to be done.
#amrevising
*I find the insurance business fascinating. But I understand that not everyone does.
manuscriptmanship 