Edit your Novel Using an Outline

Editing is a daunting, overwhelmingly complicated process, one that many authors like to put on the backburner. But there are ways to approach the process, using two documents: your outline and a revision map.

A revision map is a document in which you list the bigger picture problem areas of your novel, before getting into the nitty-gritty issues. Read through your outline, find the issues that need to be addressed, and list them in your revision map under specific headings.

If you’re a ‘pantser’ and don’t have an outline on-hand, create one before your first round of edits. If like me, you prefer to write from a heavier, more detailed outline, I suggest creating a basic one just for editing, one that boils down each chapter to its scenes; these should amount to a few simple sentences.

Make sure your outline is accurate, tidy, and precisely represents your story and its order of scenes.

After you have your outline prepared, list the issues you have in each category: plot, character, conflict, theme, and point of view. Organised under these elements, editing might not be as unnerving as initially seems.

An outline in the editing stage can be used to view the plot without the clutter of dialogue, syntax, grammar, etc. It’s best used as an instrument to determine which scenes should be cut or edited.

Promise yourself that you will, in the beginning stages, refer to the outline only as a guide to your story. Using the novel as a guide will slow you down as you read through it, and areas that need your attention later will call to you to address them now, pulling you from the task at hand.

“We have no choice but to believe a narrator in the beginning, until given a reason to no longer find them credible.”
- Unknown

PLOT
Open your outline and begin, referring to each scene as Scene I or Scene II, or naming each, a short title that describes it so you can easily recall what it’s about.

Then decide that scene’s fate; whether it deserves its place in your novel. If there is no conflict, nothing to drive the story forward, and no new information being revealed about the story or its characters, the scene isn’t pulling its weight.

This is hard to determine at times. Your writing might pack a punch, but if the scene doesn’t belong, it will only serve to slow the story. Basically, if you can remove a scene without it affecting the story, it hasn’t earned its place.

Have a clear, defined description of how you enter and leave each scene; a line or two should suffice. Ensure there is variety with scene entries and exits — some should start with description or dialogue, others with action.

Does the beginning of your scene have a hook that catches the reader’s attention, pulling them in and enticing them to continue? Does the end contain a hook that will pull them through to the next chapter? Each scene flowing to the next should help you in finding any plot holes or inconsistencies that may be present.

If you find any issues with scene purpose, variety, hooks, inconsistency, etc. list them in your revision map and come back later when the map is completed.

“An outline in the editing stage can be used to view the plot without the clutter of dialogue, syntax, grammar, etc.”
- Unknown

CHARACTER
Some stories are more character-driven than plot-focused. The plot may be one commonly found, one that doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel when it comes to storytelling, but the characters and their depth can bring it to life.

It sounds contradictory to say that your protagonist should be changing throughout the story while remaining consistent, but it’s true. They should be on the road to change as the story moves forward while maintaining aspects of their personality and character throughout to be relatable and realistic to the reader.

Track your protagonist (and secondary characters) throughout the outline, keeping an eye out for consistency.

Write an arc for each character, simplified to a short paragraph, then read through your outline in full to judge whether they’ve completed that arc.

Carefully review each rung of the ladder that gets them from the beginning to the end — there is no point in creating a path for your character if, along the way, you skip a few essential rungs, so their arrival at the top makes no sense.

If you find issues with consistency, their goals, temperament, backstory, etc., list them in your map. I always include a ‘dialogue’ sub category here. Whether there are light dialogue issues, i.e. occasional instances of stilted dialogue, or heavier problem areas, i.e. you find that two (or more) specific characters continually communicate in a way that doesn’t seem appropriate or realistic, note it in your revision map and return to tackle these problems when it’s been filled.

CONFLICT
While many stories are character-driven, some are plot-centred, and others feature settings that can overshadow both elements, there is always one literary device present — conflict.

Without the battle to uncover Voldemort’s Horcruxes, Harry and his followers could end He Who Must Not Be Named and his reign with far less effort, and the trip back to Winterfell would be a simple stroll through the woods for the Stark children.

Though conflict drives the story, it’s common to find little in the beginning as you’re introducing the story, characters, and setting. Just don’t make it a frequent thing.

To address a lack of conflict, whether major or minor, look through your outline and confirm that someone or something is preventing the protagonist from achieving their goal.

If the scene contains information necessary to the plot but doesn’t push the story forward, make a note in your map, a consideration to add a conflict, rather than cutting it altogether.

If you don’t find your character(s) facing some kind of barrier in the majority of scenes, it will likely stall the story. Record it in your map for later.

“We have no choice but to believe a narrator in the beginning, until given a reason to no longer find them credible.”— Unknown

THEME
‘Theme’ is a literary device, one of the most difficult to grasp and define. The theme of your novel — its underlying message or its ‘big idea’ — dictates the tone you set. The theme and attitude of your story and outline should line up; if not, it will read as disjointed and inconsistent.

You generally won’t apply a dark, nihilistic tone when the theme is love or friendship, and your prose won’t resemble Dr. Seuss if your protagonist’s story is one of betrayal and violence.

E.g. In Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects, there are some lighter moments, tenderness, and humour, but there is an overlying theme of darkness injected into these, a gloom that is always present.

Another e.g. In Caroline Kepnes’s You, a significantly lighter read, there are many moments of gentle affection, but a sense of murkiness and obsession always persists, hanging overhead.

Look through each scene, allowing diversions in mood and emotion, but always paying allegiance to the theme you want to set.

I personally find that the correct tone often applies itself when the theme is established and stays consistent, so review your outline for consistency with the theme, noting any issues in your revision map. Stay on track with it through your novel for the appropriate tone when the map is completed.

POINT OF VIEW
The last thing you want is a confused reader, one flicking back and forth through pages trying to determine through whose eyes the story is being told.

This is particularly important when using multiple viewpoints or third-person omniscient. Anchor the reader in each scene, clearly establishing the character in control.

Set each character as such in each scene description in your outline, then, using your completed outline and revision map, review each scene to ensure there will no question in the reader’s mind.

I like to keep a ‘random’ category for issues that come to mind that don’t fit the above headings. This might be something harder to define, like a:

• suspicion that the scene isn’t enough to pull the reader in, even though you’ve included the appropriate conflict and hook
• scene you hoped would be thrilling that is falling flat because you haven’t nailed the emotional component
• setting you chose that fails to be so rich and engaging that it almost resembles a character in your story, as you’d hoped.

The process of editing being as formidable as we all know it to be, it’s best to wait until the map has been filled before you begin overseeing changes.

If you’re tempted to tackle one category at a time, editing your prose before seeing every issue laid out in your map, you may end up solving what you thought was one problem and creating three more in the process.

When your map has been filled with every issue that comes to mind, read through your novel again, using your map as a reference, a guide to the areas that need to be addressed.

Make the necessary calls; keep what you’ve deemed fit to preserve and cut what isn’t working.

A novel is rarely in its best shape after one round of edits, so when you’ve ticked off everything in your map, step away from your book for a short period, then come back and begin the process all over again.

This time around, your new outline, featuring recent changes, and your revision map should be significantly less detailed, calling for less work while bringing you closer to the finished product.