If you’ve ever typed “The End” and immediately wanted to hide your manuscript under your bed, you’re in good company. Revising a first draft might be the most daunting part of the writing process — especially because so many writers assume it should somehow feel easier. You’ve done the hard part already, right?
Not quite.
Personally, I find revision to be where the real magic happens — but also where all my doubts come rushing in. And I’m not alone. Inside our Mindful Writing Community mastermind sessions, this topic comes up all the time. It’s tender ground for a lot of us.
Why Revising a First Draft Feels So Overwhelming
There’s a reason so many of us freeze when we think about rewriting our book. A first draft is raw. It’s full of inconsistencies, half-developed characters, clunky scenes, and plot threads that disappear mid-sentence. After pouring months (or years) into getting words on the page, the thought of tearing it all apart again can feel devastating.
In recent mastermind sessions, I’ve heard writers say things like:
- “My draft is more like a pile of scenes than a story.”
- “I wrote it all down, but now I hate it.”
- “I know it’s bad, but I don’t even know where to start.”
If that sounds familiar — you’re not broken, you’re revising.
Even published authors go through round after round of rewrites. It’s common practice in the publishing industry for manuscripts to undergo multiple revisions before reaching their final form. I’ve said it before: my first draft of 142 Ostriches looked nothing like the final version. Characters were missing. Entire scenes were out of order. But that’s the work — shaping something rough into something readable.
Revision isn’t a sign of failure — it’s a rite of passage.
Where to Start: Big Picture First
One strategy shared by Erin LaRosa, a wonderful romance writer who joined us in one of our sessions, is to resist the urge to dive into line edits too soon. Instead, she recommends sharing your first draft with a couple of trusted readers and asking for only big-picture notes. Plot holes. Flat characters. Boring sections. Places they wanted to stop reading.
This kind of feedback helps you see patterns. If three people ask why your protagonist doesn’t just call someone instead of driving across the country, that’s a clue. One writer in our group shared a scene where her character abruptly leaves town without saying goodbye to a close friend. Multiple readers flagged it as emotionally confusing — why wouldn’t she say goodbye? It turned out the writer had cut a key motivation scene in an earlier draft. By restoring a brief but powerful moment that revealed the character’s fear of goodbyes, the scene clicked into place.
And if you don’t feel ready to share? Start with this:
- Write out what each main character wants.
- Keep that note next to you and make sure every chapter moves forward based on what they want.
This simple clarity has helped me many times when I felt lost in the middle of a revision.
Some Favorite Revision Tactics From our Mindful Writing Community
Here are a few favorite strategies that have come up in our community:
- Note cards on the wall with plot points, themes, and emotional arcs.
- Read aloud slowly to catch awkward phrasing and pacing issues.
- Highlight sections where you feel bored, stuck, or detached — those probably need to go or be rewritten.
- Don’t be afraid of a page-one rewrite. Yes, it’s hard. But sometimes it’s the only way to make the story you meant to tell actually come through.
- Reverse outline your draft. Go through each chapter and write a one-line summary. It can help you spot pacing problems and inconsistencies in the story arc.
- Use a story structure framework like Save the Cat, Three Act Structure, or The Hero’s Journey to analyze where your beats land and whether they build effectively.
One of the writers said, “I’m 50 pages into my ‘revision’ and I’ve kept maybe three sentences from the original draft. But it’s better now. It’s actually the book I wanted to write.”
That right there is the magic.
Talk About It
Here are some questions to think about, or to bring up with a writer friend for discussion:
What’s been your biggest hurdle in revising a first draft?
Do you lean on community feedback, or do you like to make a full pass solo before showing anyone?
And how do you know when a draft is ready enough to send to beta readers or agents?
Bonus prompt: Have you ever revised a scene so dramatically it felt like a totally new story? Share a before-and-after example or a tip that helped you transform a rough section into something you’re proud of.
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