Revising your novel is hard work. It takes a lot of time if you want to do it properly. Maybe you'll even have to kill parts of your baby.

WHEN TO START REVISING

Don't start revising until you have finished your first draft, because once you start you won't be able to stop. The revision stage is your worst enemy if you haven't got from beginning to ending yet.

After the first draft you shouldn't start revising either. Not immediately. Take some time off to distance yourself from the novel you've written. This will take away blind spots.

REVISING

1. Read your entire novel from beginning to end. Don't touch the grammar. Only look at how the conflict unfolds, if it seems realistic and if there are parts that seem to be missing or that are irrelevant to the plot. Write down which parts don't work and why not. After reading it completely, change the parts that you have written down. You can add chapters or scenes, remove them, rewrite them or rearrange them.

2. Read and change again. Maybe you have even have to do it more than twice.

3. Let other people read your novel and make notes on what works and what doesn't. Read the parts that they don't like and see if you agree with them. If necessary, make changes.

4. Now read your book one last time. This time starting at the end. Take out all the grammatical errors.