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Fiction Writing Made Easy
Fiction Writing Made Easy
#173. 5 Mindset Tips For Revising Your First Draft
Is the thought of revising your first draft making you nauseous? I got you. These mindset tips will ease revision anxiety for good.
It's one thing to pour your heart into writing a first draft. However, facing revisions and sharing your story with others can feel raw, uncomfortable, and downright scary.
Not to worry. Every writer struggles with this novel writing phase, and that's why I've brought together four brilliant book coaches and editors to share their mindset wisdom to make the first draft revision process less scary and more exciting.
Here's what we talk about:
[02:48] Why you should absolutely love your "hot mess" first draft—it's exactly what it needs to be right now.
[08:01] The right (and wrong) people to ask for first draft feedback and how to prepare yourself emotionally for their response.
[12:40] A practical approach to handling hard-to-hear feedback so that it feels less personal and more purposeful.
[19:05] A unique 3-step revision process that transforms how you think about your first draft to turn it into a ‘must-read’ success.
[22:59] Why comparing your revision journey to other writers only holds you back—and what to focus on instead.
Tune into this episode to discover how to shift your mindset from revision fear to revision readiness. You'll walk away with practical strategies that make revisions less overwhelming, feedback less personal, and the entire process more purposeful.
And this is precisely what you need to turn your first draft into a story readers love.
🔗 Links mentioned in this episode:
- Stacy Frazer’s website and Instagram
- Michelle Regenold’s website and Instagram
- Leslie Horn’s website
- Caryn DeVincenti’s website and Instagram
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👉 Looking for a transcript? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, scroll down below the episode player until you see the transcript.
First drafts are supposed to look like a hot mess on a bad hair day. They are supposed to be missing things and filled with inconsistencies and plot holes, absence setting and really bad dialogue. If your first draft looks like that, then you did it right and you're going to make it better through editing in phases. Now, revision is a big ask and it will likely take you longer than you think maybe even longer than it took you to write the first draft, and you need to know that that's normal.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Fiction Writing Made Easy podcast. My name is Savannah Gilbo and I'm here to help you write a story that works. I want to prove to you that writing a novel doesn't have to be overwhelming, so each week, I'll bring you a brand new episode with simple, actionable and step-by-step strategies that you can implement in your writing right away. So, whether you're brand new to writing or more of a seasoned author looking to improve your craft, this podcast is for you. So pick up a pen and let's get started.
Speaker 2:In today's episode, we're going to talk about what it means to get your mindset right for revision, and I thought this would be a good topic to tackle today, because at the time this episode airs, it's almost the end of December and many writers participated in NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, last month, or a variation of NaNoWriMo Plus.
Speaker 2:I know that many writers who finished their first draft in the last 12 months will be working on revisions come the new year. So I felt like this was the perfect time to talk about revisions and, specifically, I wanted to share some mindset hacks or some tips to help you prepare for and navigate your own revisions, because, let's be honest, revisions are not always easy right and mindset plays a huge role in your ability to work through revisions. So that's what we're going to talk about today, and I thought it would be fun for you to hear from some other editors and coaches, not just me. So, without further ado, let's dive into the first tip from Stacey Fraser, and she's going to share some tips for how to approach the revision process.
Speaker 1:Hello, fiction Writing Made Easy listeners. My name is Stacey Fraser and I'm an author accelerator, certified fiction book coach and the host of the Write it Scared podcast. My work is to empower commercial fiction writers to work through their self-doubt and learn the craft so that they can write books that they are proud of, through my small group book coaching cohorts and private book coaching. Today, I'm here with a mindset tip to help you find more acceptance and joy in the messy process of revising your first draft, because staring at a pile of words that you now need to organize into a reader-ready novel can feel daunting. Like where do you start? You might even feel like you'll never figure this out, but you will. The first part of my tip is just to remind you to be grateful for all those cringy first draft words and the effort that you put forth to make them. They had to come first, so please see the gain here and not just the gap. Remember to focus on how far you've come. No one writes a perfect first draft, and so you may be looking at yours and maybe you've read through it and at this point you're thinking, oh my gosh, what have I done? Don't worry, first drafts are supposed to look like a hot mess on a bad hair day. They are supposed to be missing things and filled with inconsistencies and plot holes, absence setting and really bad dialogue. If your first draft looks like that, then you did it right and you're going to make it better through editing in phases. Now, revision is a big ask and it will likely take you longer than you think, maybe even longer than it took you to write the first draft, and you need to know that. That's normal. And though it feels like a big, daunting task and it might be hard to know where to begin, it helps to remember that revision is just a process, a process with steps which you can break down into manageable bites.
Speaker 1:And that's the second part of my tip is just to narrow the focus and home in on fixing one thing at a time, because if you try to fix everything all at once in one pass, you will get overwhelmed and you will freeze, because you'll be toggling back and forth between the structure and the seams and the logic and the lines, and you won't end up fixing things that matter, that make the story stronger. So instead, fix the big issues first. Start with the story structure and the logic and the character arcs and the conflict. And if you don't know how to do that, then it would be a great time to reach out for help from a book coach who focuses on revision. So fix one thing and then move on, and don't forget to recognize your effort and your progress. And when you come across something super cringy, like a terrible patch of dialogue or a scene with zero setting, but you're not focused on correcting that specific issue right now, then just make yourself a note and reassure yourself that you will come back to it in a later pass.
Speaker 1:Approaching your revision in a stepwise fashion fixing the major issues first, leaving the less critical issues for later will result in far less headaches and it will ensure that you are fixing things that make the story stronger as you go forward, and it's going to help you learn a repeatable editing process that you will become more efficient with over time. You just have to learn to eat the revision elephant one nibble at a time until it's gone, and set yourself up to be successful by managing your expectations and often lowering them. Remember, this is a long process. You don't have to fix everything all at once. You are not in a race. Focus on training your brain to ignore the smaller issues in the manuscript until the larger ones are fixed, and remember to acknowledge your progress. And here's my parting thought. Revision can be a tiring process, so make sure that you are well-rested and have the stamina to start, and that you rest in between each of those steps, congratulate yourself on your progress and always remember to look at your gain and not just your gap.
Speaker 2:I love all of this so much and I particularly latched onto what Stacey said about the revision process taking longer than you'd probably expect. I do think that's true and I've seen it with many of the writers I work with. So I think, if I were to piggyback on what Stacey shared, it's also about managing your expectations around revisions. So, yes, go through the revision process in phases and also expect that it's probably going to take you longer to fix those big picture issues, like anything with your plot and your characters, things like that. It's going to take you longer to do that than it will to go through and correct smaller things like updating a name or correcting any spelling or grammar issues.
Speaker 2:Now, I know that might sound obvious, but this funny thing happens when we're in the weeds of revisions. We don't really think about stuff like this, right, we just kind of dive in and then we get overwhelmed. So I always like to remind you of the things I see other writers do that both work and don't work, so that your revisions can go smoothly. So thank you so much for this tip, stacey. I totally agree with everything you said. And next up we have a tip from Michelle Regenold and she's going to talk to us about preparing your heart and your mind to ask for feedback.
Speaker 3:Hi, I'm Michelle Regenold. I coach writers of middle grade and young adult novels. Asking for feedback on your novel can be hard. You want your reader to love the story as much as you do, so the first thing to do when you're considering asking for feedback on your novel is to assess your own readiness to receive feedback. Have you put your novel away for at least a week? After your novel's been out of sight and out of mind for a while, can you look at it again with a touch of objectivity? Can you see things you'd like to improve? If you can answer yes to each of those questions, then you're open to receiving feedback. If you answered no to one or more of them, you're not as open to feedback. Yet. Put your novel away for a bit longer. Then assess your readiness again.
Speaker 3:Once you've determined you are ready to get feedback on your novel. Who should you ask? Consider people you already know. Do any of them read the kind of fiction that you write? Are any of them writers themselves?
Speaker 3:Family and friends may say they want to read your novel, but unless they are steeped in knowledge of the genre you write and are willing to give you honest feedback, they tend not to be very helpful. If you're in a writing group or a critique group, fellow members may be open to swapping manuscripts for feedback. But again, be aware of their knowledge of the genre you're writing in and the age group you're writing for. For example, if you're writing sweet historical romance for adults, someone who writes middle grade horror may not be the best fit. If you find someone you know to read your manuscript, it will help them, help you if you give them a few questions to consider as they read. For example, you could ask your reader to stop after chapter one and briefly explain what they think is going to happen next. Would they keep reading? Why or why not? Also, what do they think your book is about? If there's something you're particularly interested in, you can ask for your reader's thoughts on that too. You can also ask them to jot down what they're thinking at a few different spots in the book, like the halfway point and the climax. This kind of reader can tell you about their experience with your novel, where they stopped reading, where they found the characters or action unbelievable, things like that. That is all useful information.
Speaker 3:For more thorough feedback with suggestions about how to improve your manuscript, you may need to turn to a professional. Professionals who read and give feedback on whole novels have different titles. They can include book coaches and developmental editors. Some literary agents and book editors provide freelance editing services too, and so do some published authors. If you decide to pay for feedback on your whole novel, you definitely want to find someone who specializes in the kind of fiction you're writing. Their expertise in your genre will pay off in the more specific suggestions they'll provide.
Speaker 3:Now, as tough as it is to ask for feedback on your novel, it can be even tougher to receive it. One way to dip your toe into the feedback waters is to start with a critique at a writing conference. Conferences often offer critiques from agents, editors and published writers of the first 10 pages of your novel for an extra fee, and conferences are a way to meet other writers who might be interested in swapping feedback with you. After you receive feedback on your novel, keep in mind that you can ignore anything that doesn't resonate with you. Feedback is one person's opinion and you are the boss of your own story. Good luck with your writing.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for this tip, michelle. I love what you said about asking the right people for feedback. I cannot express how often I meet a writer who is ready to give up on their writing, not because of their skill level or their creativity or anything like that, but because of feedback they receive from the wrong type of person. So what do I mean by this? Well, imagine someone like your best friend's brother who reads books, but they read sci-fi and you're writing a thriller. So you get feedback from somebody who doesn't even read in your genre, who may or may not even want to do you this favor. Right? Maybe they're just doing it for their sister or for the family connection or whatever.
Speaker 2:I see stuff like this happen all of the time, and even with the best intentions, unless the person giving feedback is an avid reader and knows your genre and all the things that Michelle said, it usually doesn't turn out well. So just something to keep in mind if you are planning to reach out for feedback. Luckily, there are many writers out there who you can do a story swap with. There are beta readers and professional coaches, and there are professional coaches and editors to help you with feedback as well. All right next up, we have a tip from Leslie Horn, and Leslie's going to talk to us about what to do once you get feedback back from your coach or your editor or your beta readers or whoever you've shared your story with. So let's go ahead and dive right into Leslie's tip.
Speaker 4:Hello writers. My name is Leslie or, as you may have seen me around the internet, xp Lovecat my name, which is a little homage to 1920s cosmic horror writer HP Lovecraft. I am a developmental editor and book coach for fantasy, sci-fi and horror, and I love helping writers through the revision process of their novels and short stories. Today we're diving into how to deal with negative feedback. Whether you're a new writer or have been at it for years, the reality is that negative feedback can sting. You might feel great about your story, confident in your characters, your plot, your style, and then someone comes along with a whole lot of notes and suddenly you're put on the defensive. But my story is great. How could they give this type of feedback? Certainly they can't be right right, but feedback can be an opportunity to refine your work and ultimately get it closer to your vision. So I have three tips for dealing with negative feedback to share ultimately get it closer to your vision. So I have three tips for dealing with negative feedback to share. The first tip is to pause before reacting to any feedback. When we receive negative criticism, especially on something so personal as our writing, it's normal to feel defensive or hurt, but if you respond right away, you're likely reacting emotionally, which could potentially close us off to valuable insights. Now, I feel like most of us fundamentally know this, but we forget to implement it. So anytime you send your writing out for feedback critique partner, beta reader, editor make yourself a post-it note or write in your calendar to take a break after reading feedback. Then, when you receive said feedback, take a literal break from your manuscript after reading it, go for a walk, let the notes sit for a few days. This gives you time to let the feedback sink in so when you come back to it, you'll have more clarity. When you make a habit of pausing and reflecting, you're less prone to burnout or discouragement. You can then approach feedback with a balanced mindset, helping you make decisions that genuinely benefit your story rather than reacting based on a temporary emotion. Genuinely benefit your story rather than reacting based on a temporary emotion.
Speaker 4:The next tip is a big one and is something I still struggle with sometimes, and that is to separate your worth from your work. As writers, our stories feel like a part of us, but it's crucial to remember that feedback is about the work, not you as a person. Your talent and your story's current draft are two separate things. This mindset of attaching worth to your draft can lead to giving up, procrastinating or never even sharing your work. Try reframing your mindset around feedback. Think of yourself as a storyteller in progress, and every draft is a stepping stone toward improvement. One helpful exercise is to be hyper aware of the language you use when reacting to feedback. So, instead of saying something like I need to be better, instead think of it as my story has room to improve. It's a small mental shift, but it reminds you that every draft, no matter where it's at, can improve, and that's not a judgment of you. Once you separate your identity from your draft, you can approach feedback with a lighter heart. You're no longer questioning your worth and instead just looking at ways to make the story stronger.
Speaker 4:The third and final tip that I have around feedback is for you to evaluate against your story goals. When you receive feedback, it's important to consider whether it supports the direction you want to take your story. I always recommend starting with an open mindset. Every beat of feedback has the potential to help your story resonate with readers more and bring you even closer to the vision you had for your story. However, writers who don't evaluate feedback in relation to their story goals can easily lose track of their vision. Without a clear sense of what the story is fundamentally about its themes, tone, character arcs and key conflicts it's easy to fall into the trap of trying to please everyone. So instead, take time to write out your main story goals to serve as your North Star. Then, once you receive feedback, take each suggestion and ask yourself does this change, support or enhance my story's goals?
Speaker 4:Once you start evaluating feedback against your story goals, the revision process becomes less overwhelming. You'll feel more in control of your story's direction, while also staying open and optimistic about the possibility that this piece of feedback could help your story shine brighter. Embracing feedback doesn't mean you have to change everything about your story or bend to every critique. Instead, it's about approaching each piece of feedback with curiosity, open-mindedness and the confidence to know what will or won't serve your vision. So next time you receive feedback, take a deep breath and remind yourself that it's an opportunity to refine and strengthen your work. You're still in control. You decide what changes to embrace and what to let go of, and with each piece of feedback, you're not only growing your story, you're growing as a writer. Trust the process, stay true to your voice and let feedback be one of the tools that helps you create a story you are proud of.
Speaker 2:These are such great tips and thank you to Leslie for sharing those tips with us. I particularly liked what she said. These are such great tips and thank you to Leslie for sharing those tips with us. I particularly liked what she said about taking a break to let the feedback marinate.
Speaker 2:This is so, so important, and I know how tempting it is to fire off an email right after you receive your feedback, especially if that feedback didn't feel very good to receive. But this kind of goes back to what Michelle talked about. If you trust that the person you ask for feedback has good intentions, then that means they probably are trying to be helpful. Now, this is not to say that everyone who gives feedback does it in a constructive way. Some people just don't know how to do that.
Speaker 2:But let's say that you did get constructive feedback and it just stings a bit because often feedback does no matter what the intentions of the person giving you feedback are. So that time and space away from the feedback and your manuscript is so crucial because it allows you to take a breath and come back to everything with fresh eyes and an open mind, and that's a much better place to make progress from than a place of being defensive or hurt and, like Michelle said, you don't have to agree with all of the feedback. Just be open to it, because that could make all the difference. So, Michelle, thank you for sharing these tips with us. I think you're spot on with everything you said, and next up we're going to hear from Corinne DeVincenti. She's got a really fun way of looking at the writing and editing process. I don't want to spoil any of it for you, so let's just dive right into Corinne's tip.
Speaker 5:Hello fans of the Fiction Writers Made Easy podcast. I'm Corinne DiVincenti, the write coach, a graduate gemologist turned writer, teacher and author accelerator, certified book coach, and thank you, savannah Gilbo, for having me on your show. With experience in both the jewelry industry and writing, I've discovered a surprising connection between these crafts. Revising a first draft is a lot like unearthing and polishing a gemstone. So today I'm sharing actionable tips to help you turn your first draft from a rough, uncut stone into a story that sparkles. Tip number one unearth the raw material. A gemstone straight from the earth looks rough and unappealing. Before cutting a lapidary, someone who facets and polishes gems examines it for potential. Your first draft is like that raw gem. It won't look perfect at first, but it's brimming with possibility. Natural diamonds take millions of years to form. After mining, there's still neat cutting and polishing. Writing is similar. It requires time and patience. Rushing through edits can leave your story flawed. Approach revisions in focus passes Maybe one for structure, one for character development, one for style and grammar. Breaking it into smaller steps prevents premature submissions. Remember a gemstone and a story can't be rushed to brilliance. Tip number two trim what doesn't serve the core. A lapidary cuts away excess material to reveal a gem's beauty when revising, think like a gem. Cutter, trim scenes, dialogue or even characters that don't serve your story. Ask yourself does this scene advance the plot or reveal something new about the character? Cut whatever doesn't add value. Your readers want the polished story, not the excess material. Tip number three put it on display.
Speaker 5:Once a gemstone is polished and mounted, it's ready to be showcased. Similarly, once your story is edited, it's time to share it with readers. Seeking feedback might feel daunting, but it's a crucial step in getting your story publication ready. My advice Share your manuscript with beta readers, critique partners or a trusted expert, like a book coach. Think of their feedback as the final polish. It smooths out the rough edges and helps your story shine before it's presented to the world. Okay, writers, I hope you found these pearls of wisdom helpful. Do you see what I did there? The fact that you're listening to this podcast shows your commitment to honing your craft. Remember, your first draft is like that rough gemstone. It may not look perfect now, but with time, effort and patience, it will become something truly magnificent. Thank you for listening and patience. It will become something truly magnificent. Thank you for listening and a big thanks to Savannah for having me on the show. Take care and keep polishing your prose.
Speaker 2:I love this tip from Corinne, and I especially love thinking of your first draft like that raw uncut gemstone, and I couldn't help but think, as Corinne was sharing that tip, that a raw uncut gemstone is still very beautiful, right? And so I think we should also look at our first drafts that way as well, which kind of goes back to what Stacey said in the tip that she shared earlier. We want to be grateful for our first drafts, even if they're messy, because without that first draft we would have nothing to edit, right. So in that way, I do think first drafts are actually kind of beautiful All right. Now I want to share one final tip with you, and this is a tip from me.
Speaker 2:So, as you revise your draft, I want you to be on the lookout for instances where you compare yourself to other people or your work to other books. This is such a common thing, I see, and it really doesn't serve you at all. So let's say you're in a writing group and you suddenly find yourself comparing your editing process to someone else's. Maybe they're making more progress than you or going through their edits faster. Either way, comparing your process or timeline to theirs is an unfair comparison. In most cases, you don't know what's going on in their life. Maybe they have more time to edit than you do. Maybe they're not doing as deep or as quality of an edit as you're doing. Maybe they have outside help that you don't know about. You know, there are just so many unknowns that it becomes a really unfair comparison, and it's an unfair comparison that doesn't serve you. The same thing is true of published novels, right? I see this happen a lot, so we look at our favorite books and we compare our work in progress to those books, only to feel like we're coming up short. Well, of course, our messy first drafts don't compare to final published books, right? So this is another unfair comparison.
Speaker 2:Now, I know you've probably heard this advice before, but I do think it bears repeating, especially as we're talking about mindset traps and mindset tips to help us through the revision process. So avoid the comparison game while you're revising. Actually, I'd like you to avoid it always if possible, and focus on running your own race, because focusing on your own work in progress and your own revisions, that's what's going to get you to the finish line quicker and in the way that you want to, rather than spending so much time and energy comparing yourself to other people and other books. That's not going to get you to the finish line quick, all right. So I hope at least one of the tips that was shared in today's episode resonated with you, and I hope these tips make your revisions a whole lot easier.
Speaker 2:A big thank you to Stacey, michelle, leslie and Corinne for sharing their expertise and their words of wisdom with us, and if you want to get in touch with Stacey, michelle, leslie or Corinne, I will have all their websites and social media stuff linked up in the show notes. If any one of these tips resonated with you in particular, I'm sure they would just love to hear from you, so maybe send them a little note on social media or reach out to them through their website if you feel so inclined. So that's it for today's episode. As always, thank you so much for tuning in and for showing your support.
Speaker 2:If you want to check out any of the links I mentioned in this episode, you can find them in the show notes listed in the description of each episode inside your podcast player or at savannahgilbocom forward slash podcast. If you're an Apple user, I'd really appreciate it if you took a few seconds to leave a rating and a review. Your ratings and reviews tell Apple that this is a podcast that's worth listening to and, in turn, your reviews will help this podcast get in front of more fiction writers just like you. And while you're there, go ahead and hit that follow button, because there's going to be another brand new episode next week, full of actionable tips, tools and strategies to help you become a better writer. So I'll see you next week and until then, happy writing.
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