August Writing Update—Layering Revisions, part 1

Progress on the House and insights to layering revisions

Progress on my revisions for The House

The revisions for The House, the second book in The Spheres Series are moving along, and I write every day, no matter what. I work through step one in my new plan—see below—and have made it to Part 3, Chapter 29 (still 15 chapters to go). Once the plot beats and pacing between parts, chapters and scenes is fleshed out, I hope I can combine steps in the next iteration while still moving through a chapter each day without losing focus.

The layered revision approach turned out to be a helpful tool against feeling overwhelmed after another round of significant structural changes, so let me explain what I mean by layering revisions.

Layering revisions

Workflow

My aim is to go through one chapter each day, taking one to two hours per chapter (that is all the time I have). I concentrate on one step within each iteration but address issues in other areas if something is obviously not right and easy to fix. If I get stuck, I make annotations to come back to a specific point in the next iteration.

Step 1 – Plot and pacing

Because of the significant structural changes, I first concentrate on the overall structure, making sure the plot moves along a causal chain of events within my fictional world. I look at pacing by balancing action and dialogue with exposition and character development while not interrupting the narrative flow. I also look at foreshadowing and payoffs, planting subtle hints and identifying loose ends.

Step 2 – Character development

Next, I focus on characters’ motivations on a chapter and scene level. How does each character’s action, agency, and attitude fit within the wider arcs and themes? How can I express this in interactions and conflicts between the characters? When does change happen and why—do the beats match the inciting events?

Step 3 – Narration, dialogue, and description

At this point, I edit on a line-level to a word count assigned to each part or act. I add atmosphere and sensory details, matching the prose to the intended tone and style of the book as a whole. At this stage, I bring in more foreshadowing, leaving breadcrumbs for the reader to follow. I also review “infodumps” and look for opportunities to reveal the information through character actions and dialogue.

Step 4 – Narrative voice: style, tone, word choice and jargon

I read through the manuscript with a focus on the narrative voice. I review style, tone and word choice down to paragraphs and sentence, names for characters and location and invented technical or fantastical jargon.

Step 5 – Characters’ voices and body language

Authentic characters are important: I focus on one character at a time, moving from scene to scene, refining language, actions and attitudes.

Step 6 – Internal logic and continuity

This is a more refined continuity check: a read-through focusing on the speculative elements: does this action or event align with the rules I established? Did I accidentally contradict a established rule or left unexplained inconsistencies? I also start looking at more mundane aspects as well: is she wearing her coverall zipped up or does the top hang down her back?

Step 7 – Copy editing: grammar, punctuation, and spelling

Finally, this is the last walkthrough before the manuscript goes out to the copy editor and proofreader. At this stage, I throw all the tools in the toolbox at the manuscript:

• I start with text-to-speech—letting my computer read the text to me
• This is followed by feedback from Claude AI and ProWritingAid
• Then, I do another round of text-to-speech

This process ensures that the book is still my book and hasn’t been edited to a slow and painful death.

That’s all for this update—it’s time to return to my draft!
I’ll check in again next week.

Happy writing!