MASTERCLASS
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
EDITING AND REWRITING
DAN BROWN
“You’re going to have to create a lot of language, a
lot of plot, and a lot of dialogue that doesn’t
make your final draft. By distilling a lot of
information into tight little gems, you will create a
story that is nothing but the best of what
you have written.”
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DAN BROWN CHAPTER SIXTEEN
EDITING AND REWRITING
subchapters
Know When It’s Not Working
Write a Lot, Edit More
Edit From the Perspective of Your Reader
Create a System for Tracking the Status of Your Edit
Payoffs: Try Doing a 180
Get Feedback at the Right Time, From the Right People
Know When You’re Done
Commit to Your Ideas
Chapter Review trying to imagine what a reader will think of it.
This is challenging because you’ve spent quite
The process of writing a novel can take months a bit of time with the story already, so your
to years, and along the way you’ll probably perspective won’t be that of a new reader. To
encounter obstacles. It’s normal to lose your get around this, put the manuscript aside for a
way, so allow yourself to make mistakes, to few weeks or months before you do this kind of
delete passages and plot lines, and to reconsider edit. Even a little break can give you a fresh eye
earlier events. You’ll be able to fix most prob- later. When you go back to the manuscript, try
lems you encounter with a bit of work. to print out a physical copy. This is similar to
how many readers will experience it, and it can
If the big idea itself seems to be failing, you put you closer to a reader’s experience.
may have to reconsider your approach. Don’t be
afraid to rewrite your early chapters or revise Sometimes it’s hard to decide when you’re done
your characters. Maybe the idea itself needs to with a manuscript. You may have a whole draft
evolve. This is all part of the process of editing, but it feels incomplete, or you find yourself
and it can be frustrating. But you should com- disliking it. Don’t spend too much time editing
mit yourself to your idea, and don’t give up on the same problem areas over and over. This is a
it. Abandoning the thing that really inspired type of procrastination and will generally only
you is lazy editing. augment your feelings of frustration. Try to
find a balance: edit to smooth out your writing
There are two kinds of editing: editing as you but don’t edit so much that you ruin the origi-
write, and editing once you’ve finished a draft. nal magic of your novel.
It’s a good idea to practice the first type on a
daily basis by tightening your prose to make it You’ll have to find a balance between writing
concise and effective. When reviewing the work with confidence, and writing with detached
that you’ve just done, ask yourself if it conveys judgment. Let your confidence carry you
what you meant it to, if it makes sense, and if through the actual writing, but use a critical eye
the writing feels good. The second type of edit- later to edit and refine your work. In the end,
ing involves reading an entire manuscript while your own sense of good and bad will be your
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DAN BROWN EDITING AND REWRITING CHAPTER SIXTEEN
best guide, so listen to that inner voice that tells writers are often a great choice as readers.
you when something isn’t working, and go back They understand what makes a novel work and
to fix the writing until it feels right. where it can be improved. Often you can set up
a trade, where you provide feedback on their
Learn More manuscript in return. Writer’s Café is an excel-
lent online resource for connecting with other
There are some great online tools for editing a writers to get your work reviewed and edited.
novel. They range from the Hemingway App, On that site, you can also join writing groups
which will help make your prose more concise, or take courses in the craft. Also, check out The
to AutoCrit, an all-purpose tool that will help Write Life’s 40 Places to Find a Critique Partner
with story structure, pacing, and language. Who Will Help You Improve Your Writing for a
Microsoft’s SmartEdit works on a word-by-word list of resources that can link you with readers
basis, helping you spot problem areas and clean and writers.
up sloppy diction, and Grammarly will do the
same (but, in addition, will follow you around writing exercises
the web as you type anything).
For Your Novel
For a startling experience, paste your writing
into the online tool Cliché Finder to spot the Create a color-coding scheme to keep track of
areas you need to improve. the condition of your writing like Dan does.
Mark all the writing you’re satisfied with in
At some point, you’ll need to show your work green, the writing you’re not sure about in
to other people. A new reader can provide yellow, and the writing you know needs to be
valuable feedback, but finding a good one can improved in red. As you review your manu-
be difficult. You’ll want to choose someone who script, your goal will be to get everything green.
likes the type of writing you’ve done and who Having color cues and a concrete objective can
isn’t going to be inclined to praise your work gamify the experience of editing for you and
just because they love you—in other words, turn it from a tedious exercise into a challenge.
you need someone relatively objective. Other
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