How to Start Editing Your Novel: A Technique for Gaining Perspective

[@EllenBrock]

I hope you all like this video! My brain is still a little mushy from being sick, so hopefully it isn't too rambling. I added show notes with timestamps to the description if you need to reference sections again or if you want to skip around. Several of you mentioned that the volume was too quiet in my last video. I tried to increase it. Please let me know if it's still too quiet. Lastly, stay tuned until the end for a rare sighting of Toby (my dog). Thanks so much for watching and for your likes, comments, and support!

[@cm24624]

The sound is good. You look well. I hope you feel better soon. Thanks for the vid! 👍🤗

[@OlettaLiano]

Good video. I already do many of the things you spoke of, but it's always nice to have someone like you to validate my methods. Thanks.

[@EllenBrock]

The audio distorted a little when I turned it up in my editing software. Maybe I need to adjust the microphone settings. I'm not sure what to do.

[@macronencer]

@@EllenBrock Have you tried using a compression plugin? I think that might help to maximise the volume without hitting the peak level, so it could work. I loved this video, by the way. Thank you, very useful indeed! Oh, and my MC happens to be called Toby :)

[@jetfirexx]

@@macronencer Yes compression is what you want but if you can get the recording louder, that'll be easier

[@ssghosh7728]

This is the coolest video I've ever watched about Editing.

[@vestycakes]

This method seems so intuitive to me. I've been reading a book on self-editing a first draft and it's been slow going because I'm not connecting well with the ideas she proposed. This seems way more in line with how I tend to work. Thanks for another great video!

[@EllenBrock]

Awesome! I'm really glad!

[@QueenCloveroftheice]

I'm not sure why I'm watching this since I haven't even finished my first draft yet lol

[@sonyabechtel543]

Sameeee

[@sonyabechtel543]

Same lol

[@darrenfreyauthor]

It's never too early or too late to get advice. I just finished my rough draft last night but I'm taking in as much schooling as I can. Her, along with a few others here on KZbin know their shit and I have learned a lot from them.

[@not_sat_10]

Same

[@cadencev5572]

HHAHAHAHA WE'RE ALL SO SAD

[@reteraya]

I would give this video multiple likes if I could! It is so refreshing to come across editing advice that, in addition to presenting clear, practical steps, is so attuned to the heart of why writers write. I appreciate how you privilege the writer‘s vision and the parts of the story they love. Also, I hope you are feeling better. And Toby is adorable!

[@Ruylopez778]

*Puts Ellen's advice at the top of the LOVE column* *Adds Toby to LOVE column* *Puts entire 2nd draft in INDIFFERENT*

[@bradley4250]

The first video I've watched, for which the speaker conducts herself with professionalism. Thank you for this.

[@MadailinBurnhope]

I love your focus on "rediscovering the original vision", that's so refreshing to me; so many writing videos seem to encourage getting as far as possible from what you originally wanted

[@Eleni_Datsika]

3 awesome videos in just few days! The perfect Christmas present for us! :D Thank you so much for taking the time to help us, although you have been busy and then sick. I hope you feel better soon!

[@EllenBrock]

Merry Christmas to you as well! Thanks for your support!

[@slicerneons3300]

I want to comment on your good advice, BUT THAT DOG HAS AN AFRO!!

[@west2ndproductions]

Perfect timing for this for me! Welcome back!

[@devcybiko]

I'm also a writing coach. I love your videos - you give great advice. I wonder about the advice regarding not thinking about readers. I ask my writers to start thinking about the audience before putting pen to paper. If the writer really wants to make a commercially viable novel, she needs to know what genre, age, gender, and educational level of the reader will be. If you're writing a vampire story, you need to make sure you are writing within the tropes and paradigms of that genre. Otherwise, the audience won't get what they're expecting. But if you're just writing for pleasure, it doesn't matter.

[@EllenBrock]

I don't recommend that you never think about the reader at any point in the process, but rather to put aside thinking about the reader as you clarify your personal vision. Guessing at what readers want is difficult (even for industry professionals) and can be more a source of distraction and stress at the point that you're starting to developmentally edit a first draft. Once you know your vision, you can start to think about how to best convey that vision to readers, but starting with what the reader wants (in my experience) makes it harder to figure out that vision. I've also seen this cause writers to abandon projects out of boredom because when their vision is stripped away (or never discovered), they lose their passion for the project. It also makes it more likely you will end up with something so standard/expected/conformist that it won't be commercially viable due to being overly bland. If you write a vampire story that sticks strictly to the tropes and paradigms, there's little chance it will be published because the market is over saturated. Novels that don't stick to expectations but the writer stuck to their vision tend to do well even when using "tired" ideas like vampires: Twilight, Let the Right One In, etc. Once you know your vision and start to execute it, you can figure out how to make it as appealing as possible to readers while staying within your vision. Lastly, like I mentioned in the video, every process doesn't work for every writer. If I had a writer/client who ended up with totally wild and completely unmarketable concepts based on this exercise, I wouldn't have them do it next time, but I've never actually seen that happen. I hope that clarifies!

[@devcybiko]

@@EllenBrock I get what you're saying. I had a friend who would pick his projects based on his "market analysis" of current popular sales. That's a real... gamble. Thanks again for your videos. I recommend you to my writers. Glad to see you're back!

[@GuruOfwisdom]

A super helpful video on editing! I just finished my first draft of a gigantic novel last week, and I am about to begin the editing process. This is perfectly timed to help me fix plant holes and begin cutting the unnecessary things. I particularly found your comment on lost items helpful. I have a handful of things in the book that I lost items that need to be changed or cut. And I wasn’t particularly consciously aware of them until you mentioned that category.👍🏻🏆😎

[@boredgrass]

Video subject suggestion: Landscape description, especially those of invented landscapes, like those in science fiction. I see in it's artificiallity a temptation for infodumps.

[@maggiepfob]

I just started putting this method into practice the other day, editing my WIP, and it's blowing my mind! Closing up plot holes, strengthening (or eliminating) the weak spots, almost effortlessly. Much easier than all the mental anguish I was putting myself through just thinking about it and trying and discarding solutions and pounding my head against the keyboard, anyway. Thanks!

[@shoalsofficial9334]

Love it when you put new ones up mrs. Brock!

[@DK-ox7xi]

Thank you Ellen for another insightful video. Much appreciated!

[@Poisonedblade]

This advice also works when planning a party.

[@ChristinaFonthes]

loooooool

[@morphing_erebus]

Hope you'll get better soon! Also as someone who willnever write anything good enough to get published, I love your advice XD (not sarcastic, I'm just not that good but I like reading and thinking about possible stories in my head)

[@monicadenise6274]

That dog is beautiful!! Thanks for sharing !!

[@johnperivolaris6447]

Excellent advice. Thanks Ellen.

[@MoonMaidMokona]

I'm an author and literary editor, and this video came to me at the perfect time (proctastinating editing my current manuscript...)! This is such a good "deepening" of my current wishlist style of editing, which is basically what it says on the tin: make a list of all the things you wish were different about the book and tackle them one by one. We need more writing advice focused on the mental/mindset side of things tbh. (English is not my first language, hope this makes sense still!)

[@elizabethprcha5565]

This is really, really helpful. Thank you!

[@Thesilverninja]

Great video, Ellen! I lucked out in that for my current project I have a lot of items in the love category. The stuff that I hated got chucked IMMEDIATELY. Still, I like the types about using parenthesis to signify cut, change, replace. I'm definitely leaning towards using visual tools for outlining the novel and this video will be a great step in that direction. Also, the new graphics look great! :)

[@Jamesington]

Great video that's relevant to my process right now as I'm collecting beta reader feedback. Also love the notes and time stamps in the description.

[@niapri]

I'm embarking on my first ever revision for my first ever rough draft, and I was looking for some way to organize the process. Of course I own multiple books on editing, revision, characterization and structure....but none of them really tell you how to approach actually starting to revise a single piece of work. So, thank you for making this!

[@johngrahamwilson1649]

Great to know that other writers have these problems. (I thought I was uniquely stupid in that regard!)

[@TheStoryCan]

I've found that so many writers think this way, but the truth is one of our main skills as writers must be to problem solve, but we must also know when to problem solve (usually after the first draft I think) Great to connect with other writers :)

[@thetulianrenegade1827]

My favorite editor👌

[@madeleinespeagle2692]

Would you ever make a video on tips for becoming an editor? I’ve always wanted to do it but they say the industry is really hard to get into these days. Thank you so much, these videos are so helpful!

[@shaunmattice6413]

Question; I've been working on a new novel for the last month or so, and while I've been working on the plot. I came up with a backstory for my protagonist which I feel helps develop their character and what made them become who they are. I've thought about making it as the beginning chapter of my novel, while at the same time I've also thought about using this backstory as flashbacks throughout the story. My question is, would it be too cliche to place a backstory within chapters as flashbacks?

[@trikebeatstrexnodiff]

If your character's background story is too RELATABLE or too CLICHE, then yes, I guess it would, so try to come up with a different, less-relatable backstory and when you are happy with it, you can spread this throughout the chapters as flashbacks as you please 😊🙌

[@miramari732]

Both ideas are good, you can decide which version (flashbacks vs prologue) is better during writing or when editing. Both can feel cliche/boring if done incorrectly, and be absolutely organic if done good. Write it down and start writing main story, if there's good moment to add flashback (it was triggered by current events and it follows logical order) you can add one. If there's no good place for flashbacks, you can take your backstory and trim it to prologue (made it to full scene and get rid of everything that feels infodump-y). Also you can mix and match both :)

[@pRahvi0]

This was a really helpful video - it made me realize some major flaws I had not noticed but just stuck with. Also, the summary in the description is great (with timestamps and all ^^), just extraordinarily thoughtful.

[@billwehrmacher3842]

Once again, great video. I'm learning a lot about writing, but I wonder sometimes should I be writing at all. I run a writing club that initially wrote to prompts. Some of my efforts moved to short story or novella length. I didn't have a message, no big picture, etc. Should someone like me stick to reading? 🙄 Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.

[@Danielex-en9ku]

You don't need a message, you just have to tell a story. It is just like playing an instrument, you do it because you like it

[@mischarowe]

Wonderful. Thank you so much for this strategy.

[@AnitaSleap1080z]

I needed needed needed this!!

[@karenelsworth489]

Thank you so much for your incredibly informative channel! Ive been struggling for ages to make sense of the giant mess of story I ended up with! I made some lists and tried the magic button - The magic button rocks! - I visualised the perfect version of my book and immediately saw a whole chunk of first chapters gone and a different way it is written, I can't thank you enough, this is amazing & now Im excited to finish editing my book. I hope your better now and do please keep rambling because your awesome :-D

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Great advice! Reminds me of something I learned from a writing guide called Blueprint Your Bestseller. They suggested that after finishing a draft you should get a piece of poster board and mark your story's main theme in the middle. From there, you'd write out the names of characters, settings, plot events, etc. on strips of paper. Then you would pin the strips onto the poster board, and where you pinned them would depend on how well they fit the theme. So if you had a character who fit the theme well, they'd go close to the middle while a character who didn't jive with the theme would end up at the far corners of the poster board. I've been using this technique for about 6 years now. Your advice is a great way to broaden it. Can't wait to try it out once I finish my next draft!

[@EllenBrock]

That's a really cool idea! I could see that exercise working really well.

[@rivkabegun9411]

So helpful! Thank you

[@jimfogarty6385]

w00t! Ellen's back

[@tamaraalonso1338]

thank you so much for your advice! Editing is a nightmare for me (i'm terrible trying to organize myself) and I think this could be an easy way to find what I need to change in my novel :)

[@Lillyspurs]

And your dog!! ❤️So sweet!

[@gmg9010]

Your definitely gonna help me oh and AustinMconnell sent me

[@kaiaanderson6014]

Hi Ellen! Could you make a video on tips for how to cure Too Many Ideas Syndrome?

[@guywittamic]

Another great video. Thanks so much! I'm sure others must have mentioned this, but would it be possible to turn any of your 15 minute + videos into podcasts? I'd love to listen to them while I'm driving, or whatever. Your audio is pretty great already, so you'd literally just have to split the audio, load it into Anchor (or whatever you'd use for podcasts), and upload it! You might also put ads on it over time, giving you another stream of income! :) My luck, you already have one I just don't know about lol PS THANKS for the time you take to do the timestamps in your description... how thoughtful!

[@nadeezn]

i know it’s been a year and i’m not sure if you’re still interested but i suggest using an app called musi. it has every video on youtube available and lets you listen to them like a music app, plus it’s ad free (aside from the ones that pop up on screen, but those aren’t too bothersome) :]

[@guywittamic]

@@nadeezn thanks! 🙏

[@tigerlion9567]

Mrs. Brock how are you at re-editing a psychological thriller (sub-crime) novel?

[@Grifiki]

"When those Irish Eyes are Smiling, you know it's Spring."

[@arsenicbug1537]

! I'm happy to see another video is up! Your videos are always a great resource for me to think about how I should be editing my works so I'd like to say thank you for making these videos available to all of us writers

[@elcidbob]

Argh. You should have 10x the subscribers.

[@End_Zionism]

I missed your videos and was starting to get a little worried! Thank you for this, the video is extremely helpful!!

[@ledge-magee]

I'm on my first draft and I know this isn't the most helpful video to watch during that time, but I'm close to the word count I was aiming for but don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. I just feel like it's garbage and want to start editing right away XD

[@LesleyProvost]

I have a topic request (and forgive me if you've touched on this before) but I'm wondering how a writer decides (and plans) how to tell a story out of chronological order. Thanks for the great advice, Ellen!

[@gmsherry1953]

I thought we had to kill our darlings. This makes it sound like maybe we get to keep them. I'm probably misunderstanding the meaning of "darling." It's probably not "what's important to you"; it's probably more like "the thing you love even though you know it doesn't belong in the story" -- and you told us what to do with that; put it in a different story. My only finished novel is centered around my "darling," which I know has to come out, but it's also the thing I care most about in the story, which ... probably means I should write only for myself!

[@EllenBrock]

Yes, sometimes things you love are incompatible. In that case, saving them for another story will work well. What I really wanted to address in this video is an issue I've seen come up a lot: writers losing interest in projects after cutting out a component that was meaningful to them in favor of keeping elements that weren't. I've also found that when writers can clarify their vision/goals, they stop loving some elements because they realize those elements aren't serving their bigger goals (the things they love even more). Of course there are writers who have golden-word syndrome who really need to learn not to view everything they write as one of their darlings, and they will need a different strategy (usually they need more experience to discern what is truly beneficial to their novel or they may need to take more time developing a vision). I hope that makes sense!

[@sherriandara2699]

Not only HIGHLY motivational, but everything about Ellen is wise. Every time I get to the point that writing stresses me beyond belief, I get energy just finding nuggets of gold Ellen shares. Thank you Ellen. I feel like you are by my side through my journey in writing and in the times I am almost too stressed to carry on and drop it all to go into becoming a full time artist, you are right there with words of encouragement. You give me belief in myself.

[@TheShewolf555]

Thank you ❤

[@WilliamAlanWebb]

For what it's worth, I use a developmental editor even on novelettes and novellas that are not sourced through a publisher, where they do that work. (My regular publisher is my developmental editor). It's a must for professional story telling.

[@heikek2134]

Wow, that was immensely helpful - thanks for sharing your experience with us

[@thecrazysmash157]

Thanks austinmcconnel for sending me here

[@XVisionary978]

Woohoo I'm 5th person to comment! Also I love watching your vids ms. Brock, it has helped me a lot with working on my novel. I also wanted to ask what to do when other people come with a location or character or book name that I had in mind?

[@jkadmin9460]

So helpful, as always!

[@milestrombley1466]

Outlining and beta reading does help with story development.

[@floydlooney6837]

Editors must be ready to be brutal and vicious. lol.

[@tandy139]

Thanks Ellen, nice video. You've given me an interesting project to get to work on this Saturday morning. It may help me to make a breakthrough.

[@patmcroin]

The thing about Ellen is that she thinks about storytelling the same way I do. So it's very easy for me to walk away from any video having learned something valuable. Thank you for keeping up all the great info, Ellen!

[@eveemcghee4454]

Thank you for everything you do Ellen

[@danielclarke7036]

Thanks Ellen , I love all your videos, super helpful! I’ve just completed my 1st draft of my 1st novel and have yet to re-read it. Would you suggest doing these activities before the first read, during or after?

[@kc2823]

Just discovered your channel. (I'm a project editor and have been part of the corporate London publishing scene for years.) You are a gem! I am now going to binge-watch every video. Bless you for your generosity and sharp mind.

[@Char10tti3]

Hi Ellen, thank you so much for your videos. Been following them for a few years and they are always really helpful. Just grabbed my old writing notebook and last date was almost exactly a year ago... ooops. I was wondering if you have any videos on voice and also dialogue. I have a disability similar to dyslexia and I find it hard to write and flow naturally. I have what I want to write very visually in my mind but find it hard to write. I use the cutting and replace kind of thing with my essays which is similar in terms of practical steps to editing.

[@biglogan6142]

Hey! Welcome back!!! Your videos have been a huge help to me as a very new and unpublished "writer" :P ... and I'm really glad to see you back posting your predictably helpful and insightful videos! On behalf of myself, and all the people who don't say but think it: Thanks a lot for your help and keep up the awesome work!!!

[@rowan404]

Maybe it’s because this novel came of age alongside me (started writing it when I was 15 and finished the rough draft just over 4 years later), but I love almost everything about my book and don’t hate anything. The only developmental problem I have is a sagging middle for act 2A, but I can’t decide what to cut until I get feedback from beta readers because I love every chapter in it. Additionally, I can’t go off of my “original vision” because instead of losing my vision, I _gained_ it along the way. My original vision was a shitposty story about the Area 51 Raid to entertain readers on Wattpad, but over the years, it turned into a societal critique with the purpose of 13:27. In fact, not only did I find my vision along the way, but I found _myself._ Since I accidentally gave the protagonist the same misbelief that was responsible for most of my mental illness, her character arc allowed me to grow alongside her, alleviating years of self-loathing and suicidal thoughts and even plans. Is there a way to rank this character arc above “love”? It deserves much more. After all, it may have saved my life. I think the reason I love almost everything and don’t hate anything is because this book has been my lifeline for more than 1/5 of my life. At first, it provided me with temporary but much needed escapism, and later on, it gave me an actual escape.

[@benjaminguzman3428]

A channel named Austin McConnell shouted you out and I'm probably going to subscribe now

[@jpolgar1]

Simple and brilliant. Thank you!

[@JohannesSiemers]

Your videos are one of the best for craft. Thank you and keep up the good work.

[@Lillyspurs]

Thank you for this! I always learn so much from you! You’re a gem!!!

[@1monki]

I wrapped up my first editorial development edit using this video as a guide. I tweaked the structure slightly. My initial draft was lean by design, focusing on crucial scenes. This meant there were no unnecessary scenes, but it had its fair share of other issues. Anyway, I'm really excited about the results from this review pass. The high-level overview provided solutions that weren't feasible at a scene level. By making significant changes before diving into line editing, I was able to address problems in the rough draft that I wasn't particularly attached to. Now, I'm preparing for review two and can't wait for it. Thanks, Ellen!

[@BonnieNicoleWrites]

This is SO helpful! Thank you! I have definitely been overwhelmed with all the many pieces and things that I know need to be changed. I appreciate your video.

[@FITZFACTOR]

Thanks Ellen! I'll try this right away. Do you recommend doing this exercise immediately after re-reading your story? I put my draft away for a few months so that I could come back with fresh eyes. Wondering if it'd be best to do this exercise from memory (and then see how it compares during my re-read) or if it'd be best to just read the story and then do the exercise. Hope this question makes sense, haha. Thanks again for the video!

[@mohanpandey7038]

Hi Ellen, Just a line to record my appreciation for the way you explain everything in your videos. Yours is a simple direct method that gets registered with the viewers effortlessly. Thanks again.

[@NadiWLJ]

My way to fix my draft = rewrite the whole thing! As it's my first book I realised my inexperience influenced my draft too much.

[@rebeccavaughn8897]

I’m an underwriter. So, yes, realizing that something is unnecessary clutter and deciding to cut it is both shocking and painful. Yet still needed.

[@winterkind1772]

Turns out I don't like the wip i'm doing right now. I really want to go back to my older wip, that noone but me liked ^_^° welp. I love it anyway so back I go! Thank you for making me see that clearer!

[@The.Ghost.of.Tom.Joad.]

Thanks. Great advice. A take on, "finish it first." I often get bogged down in wording and sentence flow when editing... only to find that I need to cut details I've fussed over when editing scenes. Same happens with entire scenes or chapters when I look at the bigger picture. All that fussing for nothing. Your advice will help me here: finish the novel first, and then go back with a structured checklist. And polish afterward. I have a completed novel on my hard-drive. The middle section drags, disrupting the narrative flow. I'm going to go through that novel using your advice to (hopefully) salvage it.

[@MissShembre]

Using placeholders is so helpful when completing a first draft! Otherwise I'll just edit as I write. -___-

[@strangeland7434]

Love, Hate or Indifferent. Who writes things they hate? No, too strong a word. Indifferent and Love are all that is necessary. Perhaps we should focus on improving the indifferent. On a side note, i didn't know you had an Emu for a pet!!!

[@IsaiahHarbison]

Thank you

[@ofurev754]

Hey, do you know where I can get an affordable developmental editor?

[@FF-FAN9999]

very good video Ellen. I'm wondering about subplots, how important is it to have them in a novel? I'm asking this because I'm already at the 80k word mark and I still have a lot of story to tell in this story, so I'm wondering if I should just cut any subplots I have. Currently I just have one subplot with a character that only appears in 4 scenes(that in the end does serve the main story) but that I can easily replace with something else(or cut entirely and put the element that serves the plot into some other chapter). So I am wondering if the novel would suffer from just having one main plot.

[@dragonchr15]

The best advice in this video is to not to edit as you write….you never know when a scene will be cut or an entire section you spent hours to rewrite will change. Just use placeholders and focus on finishing to save time later.

[@primitiveplanet8202]

Toby is the name of a main side character in a novel I am doing last edit on it. I didn't expect him to look like that (at the end of this video.)

[@johnavery5384]

Excellent video. Thank you. Clear delivery and on point. You have given me some things to try to develop a method that works for me.

[@zeroisland7]

I have found a program called Doc to MP3 converter to be an excellent editing device. I get to listen to how it sounds when read and I have been able to make a lot of changes. While listening to it, I sometimes come up with ideas to improve a scene in the book. Granted some ideas have not decided on yet but it been great. In one novel, I deleted 15 percent of the novel because some stuff did not work. This along with what Ms brock suggestion will help even more! Thank you!

[@theowlman7091]

Thank you for putting an educational channel like this one. I've binged watched almost all your videos and learned alot from them in putting my novel together. I appreciate it and please make more content on your channel, please.

[@johnpauldagondong2720]

Oh my gosh. In my case, I think everything will just on on the 'hate column' like I feel like I've been writing a pile of shit. But this is helpful though.

[@bodine219]

I'm about to start editing for the first time. I'm really glad I found this video because I have no idea what I'm doing. It's a bit ovetwhelming.

[@a.beckles6656]

I have watched this video a few times but thanks for the show notes. Much appreciated!!!

[@beverlysdaughterdoreen4582]

Good afternoon. Are your techniques just for novel writing or can I use your technique for a collection of poetry.

[@Grifiki]

"LOST?? I like to think 'Foot Notes. What do you associate as 'Themes' ?

[@Ayatron34]

I have a question. As an editor, can you tell the difference between someone who writes based on textbooks and writes to the structures those books propose, versus someone who writes based on experience and trying things out for themselves? My brother thinks he has to read a ton of books before he starts writing screenplays and I can't convince him that textbooks ain't what makes you good.

[@BobbyBermuda1986]

What about a structural analysis of a popular book such as The Woman in the Window or so to celebrate 100k subs?

[@MapleNyte]

I want to write a story about a boy who learns he is adopted and starts to feel depression and guilt and stuff, and he stops treating his family as family and starts avoiding them. eventually, something happens to him that makes him stop acting like this and he continues his life with his family. You keep talking about how the first chapter needs to set the tone for the whole thing, so should I start with how he got lost from the orphanage, or should I start with just his life as a kid?

[@milliesaysokboomer]

Dear Ellen, can you come up with a video about where and how to find good editors and beta readers?

[@ichbifeuertrunk]

Your videos are great.