Some writers hate revisions. They can spend months polishing scenes, tweaking dialogue, and rewriting chapters, only to realize their story still has a problem – and they don’t know why.
Psst.
It’s your protagonist.
I’ll go to the mat for the following statement:
Every story that has ever touched another person, energized a fan base, or launched a cultural movement, shares one thing in common: strong protagonists who drive their story forward at every step.
That’s why Dessert First! Developmental Editing uses three proprietary tools to keep you focused on activating your protagonist and putting her to work.
Let’s take a look at how those tools work.
Quasi Query Exercise
In Dessert First!, you’ll draft a Quasi Query right after you send me your manuscript.
The Quasi Query is a draft query letter to an imaginary agent or publisher, pitching them your finished book.
Writing this letter is a fun exercise, because it allows you to step into your dream of sending a market ready book out into the world.
But it’s also instructive, because the worksheet I provide walks you through the process of narrowing your pitch into a few protagonist-led sentences, just as you would in a standard query letter.
Here’s the general formula for a strong pitch:
PROGANIST must ACCOMPLISH THIS THING or else face THIS TERRIFYING RESULT.
That doesn’t mean every hero has to fight big scary bad guys. The stakes can be internal, the stakes can be small. They just have to feel HUGE to your protagonist.
That narrow, protagonist-led pitch, becomes the argumentative through line for our edits.
It sets the stage for the rest of the work I do, because that query positions your protagonist as the elemental life force of the story from your first page to your last.
As an added bonus, when I return my Edit Binder to you, it will include notes on your Quasi Query to help you draft the real thing, that magical day when your book is done.
Renovations Wrangler Tool
At the end of the edit process, you’ll receive your Edit Binder, which contains the same margin notes and Edit Memo that most developmental editors provide.
But the Dessert First! Edit Binder is filled with additional treats.
On top of the Quasi Query, you’ll also get a reverse outline of your manuscript, using my Revisions Wrangler tool.
A reverse outline reflects the scene order of your manuscript, as it appears in the pages of your draft. It allows you a way to see, at a glance, how your protagonist is or isn’t driving the story, at a glance.
The Revisions Wrangler turns that reverse outline into an actionable tool for planning your next draft.
In the Wrangler, you can filter the outline by character, by action, by world building, by plot position, and more.
That allows you to identify the gaps in your storytelling that I’ve identified in my notes, one lane at a time.
Invariably, seeing those gaps in that format will fire your imagination to begin brainstorming solutions that may even go beyond my suggestions.
That’s why the Wrangler also allows you to brainstorm and draft new scenes in the tool.
And when you’re ready, you can generate an entirely new outline for the next draft in the Wrangler, using the scenes you want to keep from the reverse outline, and your new work, too.
Synopsis Worksheet
The Synopsis Worksheet is the final extra goodie in your Edit Binder.
When you’re ready to send your book into the world, you may need to provide a short synopsis to agents, or publishers, or if you’re going the independent route, to use as fodder for marketing.
But a synopsis is also a great tool for determining if you’re READY to send the book into the world.
When you can write a great, character-driven synopsis of your work in 500 – or even 250 words – your book is likely ready. The Synopsis Worksheet in your binder gives you a plug and play outline to get that done.
Still have questions about my protagonist-centered approach?
Maybe you thought up the skeleton of your story, long before you had a protagonist in mind.
That may be – but your story is lived through your protagonist’s eyes. Your protagonist gives it life, growing the flesh and muscle that become your story’s ultimate shape.
Let’s put my English Lit degree to work as we continue the conversation:
In true two-hander projects, where you have two protagonists, they both need to make the choices that power their own stories, and the way those stories interact provide shape to the whole.
The film When Harry Met Sally is a good example of a classic two-hander.
That said, a case might even be made that When Harry Met Sally isn’t a true two-hander.
Harry’s name is the first in the title, and the language implies that the change is going to happen to him upon meeting her.
And Sally doesn’t make any of the big choices about their relationship, Harry does.
He’s the one who continually recognizes her, he’s the one who pursues the relationship, he’s the one who bolts when he and Sally finally fall into bed together – and he’s the one who literally runs across Manhattan to win her back in the final moments.
So there you go! One protagonist determines the beats of the story, after all.
Even in ensemble casts, one true protagonist generally rises to the top.
The supporting characters are robustly drawn, and enjoy their own character arcs, but one protagonist always rises above the rest as the engine of the story.
For example, in E.L. Doctorow’s kaleidoscopic novel Ragtime, we follow an enormous cast of characters through many arcs and transformations.
But I would argue that the actual protagonist of the book is the character of Mother. It is she who makes the fundamental choice that alters the lives of most of the people around her, and her own, when she chooses to bring Sarah and her baby into her house.
Have we had enough literary theory for one blog post?
Let’s get back to talking about YOUR protagonist!
With Dessert First! Developmental Editing, you’ll find an editing process that supports your journey as a writer, and teaches you how to turn your protagonist into the star of her own story.
And, once you understand how your protagonist’s choices build the structure of your novel around her, you will be able to use that insight again and again, with every subsequent book.
Ready to get your protagonist sharp, focused, whipped into shape, and your book closer to sale? Book a Power Hour to learn more about my process, and to tell me all about your book. We can talk about anything you like, and I’ll try to answer any questions you have about craft and this crazy business. Your Power Hour is your time, to use as you please, and it’s the first step to getting on my Dessert First! Developmental Editing roster. Book your Power Hour now.
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