The Writing Jobs

After the first draft, the first thing to do is to read the story from beginning to end as if for the first time and as if someone else wrote it. If a writer decides to do this to the best of his ability, he'll see the story's flaws with ease. It is important to understand that objectivity does not come easily to any writer, even if he thinks he can be highly critical of his own work.

Overall:

A serious look at the entire story is needed. What is the story's message? Is a theme hiding inside it somewhere or is the theme or the central message obvious? A core message such as love, forgiveness, resilience, truth is important because it holds the story together and creates depth.

The Start of the Novel:

How does the story start? Does it start with a bang then fizzle down or does it start simply but with an attention-grabbing first sentence, paragraph, or chapter to keep the reader reading and then begin to bring on the complexities? One thing to keep in mind is that most successful novels and long stories start simply, giving the reader a preliminary goal to keep track of, before the hard knocks. So the main character will be introduced properly, and after he finds his normal life turned upside down, he will have time enough to go through changes.

Plot and Scenes:

Does the storyline show an episodic plot or is the plot a climactic one? An episodic plot is a general story that is composed of episodes. Each of these episodes can stand alone on its own even though it is related to a central idea with the same characters, as in Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street or in the TV sitcoms.

A climactic plot is the one that has a definite story arc rising to a climax toward the end. If a writer has the climactic plot, and chances are he does, he needs to check if he has advanced the story through scenes that build up the dramatic tension, followed by checking each scene to see if it has a clear goal and if it leaves the reader wondering what will happen next. Finding the key scenes in the story and making them more dramatic will heighten their impact. That can be done, at least partially, by increasing the conflict in each scene and even inserting tension in between the characters who may be at the same side.

The Viewpoint:

The question to ask is: Is the story told through the viewpoint of the right character for it or if the story would be better off if any other character told it? For example, if Moby Dick were to be told by Captain Ahab, the story would be very different, even though Ahab is the protagonist. Instead, Ishmael did a fantastic job, telling the story. The same is true of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby which could only be brought to life through Nick Carraway's words.

The Main Character:

Here are a few questions the writer may ask himself. Does the main character have a clear-cut goal that only he can reach through his own initiative, even if the goal is not evident to the protagonist in the beginning of the story? 
Is the main character deep enough? Was there a character sheet for him, and if not, can one be made now to see if his persona and the changes he has gone through fits with it?

Is the main character dramatic enough? A character who acts to resolve some life issue or challenge despite being in pain is a dramatic character. A character's need to act while he is hurt and as the result of his actions may even hurt more will draw empathy or some kind of an emotion from the readers.

Is there an unresolved problem from the protagonist's past that fits well with the theme and has a direct impact on the story? Is it implied or told directly? If the answer is yes to these questions that means the novel has an extra depth; if not, an unresolved problem that might have influenced the protagonist's actions can be added.

Then, what does the protagonist do at the darkest hour? And when does his darkest hour come? One thing to keep in mind: the darkest hour is before the dawn could apply to the protagonist and the story arc.

The Ending:

The ending of the novel has to come along the lines of logical thinking. An unhappy ending will not make a novel more literary if it shocks the reader and leaves him disappointed. On the other hand, a forced Hollywood ending will disappoint just as much since it will make all the hard work of the writer appear wishy-washy.

Chapters:

Next, a serious look at the chapters is needed. Can a chapter begin a little later? Is the opening exciting enough to grab the reader's attention? Do all the chapters in the novel begin the same way? It is a good idea to open each chapter and check the opening paragraphs for these questions.

Chapter endings, too, need to be checked for the quality that will make the reader wonder what will come next. The questions to ask here might be: Can the chapter end earlier or can it be added to?; Do all the chapters end in the same way?

Dialogue:

Is the dialogue realistic enough? Does the dialogue vary according to the action in the story? Can the dialogue be made more memorable in some way? For the answer to the last question, it is advisable to think in terms of stage plays, as to how each line can make a point.

Adorning the story:

Now is the time to add in sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste as much as possible to the descriptions and the scenes.

Finding the "telling" parts of the story is next. Is telling in any one part appropriate or would the story be better off if showing were to be used instead. A writer cannot always show and he should not always tell. A rule of thumb is 80% showing versus 20%.

In addition, changing the overused words and finding the passive verbs -forms of to be, seem, appear, make etc.- and deciding if they are necessary or if an active verb would make the story more exciting should be considered.

Last comes proofreading the novel for sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, and other aspects of grammar.

Joy Cagil is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Writers

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