Put It on the Line

You've written a story. Now it's time to steel yourself and put it under the knife. Run it through the evaluation process described above. Read it carefully, marking problems and taking notes. Go through the list of things to look for, and give it your honest evaluation. Be tough on your story, but don't be hard on yourself! If you've written a complete draft of any quality, you're way ahead of many who set out to write.

Now revise. Correct all of the problems you can. You may find that you actually need to sit down and write it again from scratch, using your first draft only as a general guide. But if your structure is sound, you may prefer to rework what you have. When you're finished marking up and/or rewriting, print out a fresh draft.

Now repeat the process: evaluate and revise.

When you feel up to it, show it to a trusted reader (or several) for feedback. You may wish to revise again, based on comments you receive.

When you've reworked your story to the best of your ability, give yourself a healthy pat on the back and take the rest of the day off! (Before starting the next story....)

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