So you’ve finished your first draft. You’ve let it sit in a drawer for a few weeks. You’ve enjoyed your holidays, made your New Year’s Resolution, and had a thought about the revision process in general, what storytelling is really all about, how structure and plight work together, and some of the technical matters to keep in mind during your rewrite. Now it’s time to roll up your sleeves and really get to work! Over the next thirteen weeks, I’ll be sharing my own week-by-week plan for taking a manuscript from first gasp to polished draft. Welcome to my 13-Week Rewrite.

But where do you start?

Why, with a new outline, of course!

“But Mike…!”

I know. “I already have a finished draft!” And, “I don’t like outlining!”

I hear you. If you want to be stubborn about it, come back next week. Your process is…