Your Next Draft
Alice helps authors of YA novels craft un-put-down-able stories with proven editing strategies and infectious love for the editing process. Get one expert editing tip in your inbox every week.
What da Vinci, Michelangelo, and you have in common
Hi Reader, Last week, my editor friend Kim and I took an impromptu trip to Italy. (Because when a friend of a friend offers you free round-trip tickets in exchange for escorting kittens from Venice to the US, you say absolutely, yes please.) We spent a day in Milan (not my favorite) and a couple days each in Florence and Cinque Terre (loved them both and hated to leave). Of course, we visited all the classic sites: the Duomo (in both Milan and Florence); Michelangelo’s David; the Uffizi...
When should you work with an editor? (it's earlier than you think)
Hi Reader, You’ve been working on your novel for so long. Not just months—years, maybe even decades. And yet you have a long way still to go. The day when you have a polished manuscript you’re proud to pitch or publish feels so far away, and you're starting to wonder if you're missing something crucial. And in the back of your mind, you might be wondering: When should you work with an editor? How much more should you do before you start looking? How many drafts should you finish before you...
The 1,000-word revision trick nobody enjoys
Hi Reader, I’ve been working with a lot of synopses lately. (That’s a summary of your entire manuscript in about 500 to 1000 words. You’ll send it along with your query letter when you pitch agents.) I’ve been reading them. Critiquing them. Revising them. Even, occasionally, trying my hand at writing them. Here’s how I felt about that writing part: Screenshot from my editor group chat. They were not shocked. This is, in fact, not just in. Anyone who has tried to write a synopsis knows that...
These 12 core genres power every great story
Hi Reader, Genre. Let me guess: It’s the bane of your existence. A convoluted soup of arbitrary descriptors that almost but not quite mean the same thing. Sci fi or fantasy? Paranormal or supernatural? Upmarket or book club? Do words even have meaning? Or, it’s a restrictive box with tropes and conventions you feel like you need to cross off a checklist, until your story is more “paint by numbers” formulaic than an original creation unique to your imagination. Or, it’s a necessary evil in...
How great first lines make readers pay attention
Hi Reader, It is a truth universally acknowledged that a fiction writer in possession of a brilliant story must craft a captivating opening line. No pressure, right? Your opening line is your story’s first impression. Agents, editors, and even readers decide fast whether they want to keep reading or drop the book altogether. And yes, they can make that judgment in as little as the very first sentence. So your opening line is doing some heavy, heavy lifting. But what, exactly, do great first...
I thought I knew this story in my bones
Hi Reader, In order to see what your story needs, you need to see your story from a new perspective. That’s one of the main reasons why I recommend revising via scene list. Each time I begin working with a new client, the first task I set them is to summarize their manuscript in a scene list. And every time, before they even share their scene list with me, they tell me some version of this: “This is sparking so many new ideas! I’m already seeing things I want to change.” That new insight is...
Where progressive complications go WRONG (and how to fix them)
Hi Reader, You’re stuck in the messy middle. Languishing in the doldrums of your story. The inciting incident is long past, the climax is so far ahead you can’t see it over the horizon, and you’re drifting, lost at sea. What is actually supposed to happen here? Where did your plot momentum go? Why do your pages feel full of stuff, and yet nothing ever happens? The answers to all those questions lie in your progressive complications. Specifically, something’s going wrong in your progressive...
Your progressive complication revision guide (cheat sheet included)
Hi Reader, Your inciting incident hooks your readers and promises them a story they’ll love. And then comes the middle. The messy middle. The quiet doldrums of your story, where plot momentum goes to die. Where your characters wander, your conflict blurs, and you start to wonder if any of it is working. So what do you do? Add some “stuff that happens” and hope it holds your readers’ interest? Toss in a random subplot? Describe your character’s breakfast in extreme detail? Nope. This is the...
Yes, I’m cutting whole chapters. You too?
Hi Reader, I’m working on a new guide to revising a novel. In it, I’m sharing a method to revise your novel and solve your story’s biggest challenges without getting stuck in line editing purgatory. Creating the guide seemed so simple and straightforward when I began. But as it turns out, this is a major creative process. I’m several drafts in, and I can tell you it doesn’t feel simple anymore! I’m going through all the same challenges you go through when you revise a novel. I’m making big...
How to write a first chapter readers actually care about
Hi Reader, Your first chapter has a monumental task: to make potential readers care about your book right away and hook them to keep reading. Every sentence is a chance to earn your reader’s attention—or lose their fragile, baby-fresh interest before your story even begins. And that’s assuming that your book makes it to the bookstore shelves. If you’re traditionally publishing, the first chapter’s burdened with even more responsibility. It’s your first impression with agents and editors, who...
Your inciting incident revision guide (cheat sheet included)
Hi Reader, A great inciting incident does a lot of heavy lifting. → It hooks your readers, pulling them into the story. → And it sets up everything to come, laying the foundation for a brilliant climax your readers will love. The beginning matters. Which means there’s a lot of pressure to get it right. But what does right actually mean? How do you start a story well? That’s what I’m tackling in today’s brand-new episode of Your Next Draft. I’m going beyond the definition of the inciting...
Alice helps authors of YA novels craft un-put-down-able stories with proven editing strategies and infectious love for the editing process. Get one expert editing tip in your inbox every week.