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Developmental Chapter Edit

by CoreCommander Creative Production › Editing

70 minutes 5 Steps

  1. Questions to answer

    • What is this chapter's job in the book?
    • What does the main character want, and what stops them?
    • What has changed by the last page?
    • Why would a reader turn to the next chapter?
  2. Read the chapter

    30 minutes
  3. Margin notes

    20 minutes

    Mark confusion, slow patches, great moments and missed opportunities.

  4. Write an edit letter

    20 minutes

    Summarise the chapter's strengths first, then the three most important problems, with a suggestion for each.

  5. Prioritise

    • Rank the fixes from biggest to smallest
    • Note any changes that ripple into other chapters