My first revision pass involves reading and note-taking, with the second pass being reasoning and then serious cutting. Not much sense in getting down to sentence-level editing when whole chunks of the manuscript probably need to get the ax anyway. I transfer to my ereader (because I somehow manage to take the manuscript more seriously there--don't ask why) and start reading, taking notes any time--and I mean any time, even if it's just for a paragraph--I like a scene, hate a scene. Find a plot hole. When I get bored. When I realize a character arc looks more like a flat line. When characters disappear. I go in looking for major problems, trying to sniff out as many as I can, and my book of notes may very well end up being novella-sized by the time I'm done.
What I make sure and not do, however, is slow down, or try and reflect on the whys of anything I do or don't like. I just make notes and keep going until I'm done. Then I set it aside for another while, maybe a week, before I go back in to try and decide all the whys. Is this scene trying to advance the plot but is just poorly written? Is this scene less worthy than toilet paper? From there I cut and rewrite until I've got something coherent and somewhat story-like, then I get into the nitty gritty (but deathly important) stuff like grammar.
But, to effectively direct your editing style, you really need to first look at your weaknesses. If you write a tight, clean first draft (firstly, damn you
), then you can probably jump to sentence-level editing.
My first drafts meander like a whiskey drunk burro, so I've got to chop first, refine later. What works for you might be different.
What I make sure and not do, however, is slow down, or try and reflect on the whys of anything I do or don't like. I just make notes and keep going until I'm done. Then I set it aside for another while, maybe a week, before I go back in to try and decide all the whys. Is this scene trying to advance the plot but is just poorly written? Is this scene less worthy than toilet paper? From there I cut and rewrite until I've got something coherent and somewhat story-like, then I get into the nitty gritty (but deathly important) stuff like grammar.
But, to effectively direct your editing style, you really need to first look at your weaknesses. If you write a tight, clean first draft (firstly, damn you
), then you can probably jump to sentence-level editing. My first drafts meander like a whiskey drunk burro, so I've got to chop first, refine later. What works for you might be different.