Loop
Revision loop
You might say: rewriting, second draft, revising
Read the draft as a reader, test it on others, rewrite, and repeat. King: the first draft is written with the door closed; revision opens it.
- What it does
- Turns a draft into a book, one round at a time.
- Ask
- What is the biggest problem in this draft?
- Trouble
- Fixing commas while the plot is broken.
Parts
- Reverse outline: An outline made after drafting: one line per part for its main point.
- Beta readers: People who read the draft before publication and report how it felt.
- Revision pass: A full pass through the draft to find structural faults and rewrite it with fresh eyes.
Loop: cycle
Reverse outline → Beta readers → Revision pass → Revised draft ↺
Pattern
Sources
- Stephen King, The Art of Fiction No. 189, writing and revision discussion
Every book is different each time you revise it.
Use it on your project
teardown-apply: hold "Revision loop" (revision-loop) from the teardown at https://teardownatlas.com/fiction-writing/ against my project
Paste it into a coding agent that has the teardown skills.
An AI agent wrote this map with the teardown skill. It can contain errors: check the sources before you rely on a part. About and legal