Revision is painful for some writers and often they try to pass off the first draft as acceptable. It’s more convenient this way. The writer operates on the assumption and hopes that his first draft passes standards. If you’re writing for a living, you’ll never be able to put food on your table if this is the pervading attitude that you put into your writing. Publishers and editors are meticulous. Revision is an essential part of writing. It’s in this stage where you shape rough material into something that’s more organized and engaging.

Revision is not just about catching grammatical errors, hunting down typos, and checking formats. If you write fiction, you’re looking if your manuscript adheres to a checklist of standards to make it publishable. Are the characters believable enough that they jump right off the page? Are there any plot holes that need fixing? Is the timeline consistent, or are there any anachronisms that must be eliminated? Are the descriptions too lengthy or just enough to transport your reader into the scene? These are some examples of checklists you may want to look at in your manuscript.

Depending on what works for them, writers have different ways of revising their work. If you haven’t found the method that works for you, try the recommended methods below and see what works for you. You may even want to use a combination of these tested methods. In my case, I prefer to set my work aside for a few hours or even a day (depending on my deadline). When I get back to my writing, my refreshed eyes spot inconsistencies that I haven’t seen during the first draft. Choose the method that suits you best.

Read it aloud

Your critical ear will reveal unrealistic dialogues and long-winded descriptions. In the movie, “The Lonely Guy,” Steve Martin attempts to write a romantic novel. As he reads aloud a description he wrote for a lovemaking scene, he squirms and disposes of the page. While our eyes can spot the grammatical errors and the typos, our ears can detect what doesn’t sound natural. You can also read it out loud to a friend. See how your friend reacts and accepts his/her feedback openly.

Set it aside for a while

This method works for me. If you leave your manuscript alone for a while and then get back to it, your refreshed mind and eyes will spot sentences, phrases, dialogues, and mechanics that don’t add up. You can’t see these things during the working of the first draft because your mind is so absorbed on writing down what it thinks and you’re expecting that you know what you have written down that you don’t notice any errors.

Revise immediately

If setting your work aside doesn’t work or if you’re often pressed for deadlines, this method may be more to your liking. Our brains work differently. While a fresh set of eyes and a refreshed brain can easily spot errors upon going back to your first draft, there’s something to be said about working on material while it’s still hot off the grill. While your mind is still in the zone, tackling revisions immediately can be beneficial as you polish what you want to say. You’re still very absorbed in the story you weaved and the roadmap in your head is very clear where you want to take it. Setting it aside may not work for you if you find that procrastination hampers your recollection of your story.