In 2014, I shared a draft of my novel too early. It had typos. I attempted to write a dystopian erotica novel about skateboarding and ended up grossing out most of my beta readers. The structure alternated between skateboard scenes, sex scenes, skateboard scenes, sex scenes, and on and on for 60,000 words. That is not how erotica novels work; there is still a romance and storyline to it.
The version I shared in 2016 was an improvement. One beta reader stated I had to rewrite the last 50 pages. Endings are tough. I had some mixed reviews from my beta readers, and some never got back to me at all. I sent it to literary agents and got rejections or no replies.
My novel is a father-and-son saga, and one beta reader of my earlier attempts told me she knew the father but did not know the son. Around 2018, I rewrote the novel from the son’s perspective. I also went for a more literary writing style. That one was short, I think, around 50,000 words. So, in 2020, I attempted to write a two-perspective novel, alternating between the son’s story and the father’s story. I combined the writing I had already done. That got muddled quickly, and I didn’t do much revision. Authors like Celeste Ng do multiple storylines magically, but a one-character storyline in chronological order is much easier.
In the late summer of 2023, a friend and beta reader told me the story is good, and maybe we could collaborate on a screenplay. I took an online Gotham Writers screenwriting class that fall and felt that type of writing was not for me; it had too many rules and felt like coding. However, I did learn the three-act story structure from that class, and it finally made sense to me.
I enlarged the three-act story structure diagram and placed the plot points of my novel on Post-it Notes. On January 1st, 2024, I started writing it out by hand. To achieve a reasonable length, which is longer for sci-fi and dystopian novels, I planned out 120 writing sessions. If written every night, I’d have a draft done by Early May. The reason I write out first drafts by hand is that after fifty typed pages, I revise too early, and end up stopping completely. I’ve done that several times in my life.
The handwritten draft took me longer than I had planned. I did not write every night. I spent early August hospitalized because of a psychotic episode. I started back in mid-August. In September, I started typing the beginning and writing out the ending at the same time. I finished the handwritten draft in early October 2024.
This week, in June 2025, I finished typing this version of my novel. I did a quick read of it and fixed a few typos and came up with a plan to revise. It’s standard revision to take a break from your work to see it with fresh eyes. I plan not to look at it for at least two weeks.
Here are a few things I need to consider:
1. Instead of having 120 short chapters that the handwritten version had, I combined them on the typed version to be 45 total chapters. Does that affect the read, and do the page breaks within chapters work?
2. Will the sex scenes and themes gross people out? There are fewer of them, but it’s part of a theme. The title of my work will include the word ‘degenerate’. Also, are there too many drug and party scenes?
3. Do dialogue and conversations between the characters move the story along too much? Should it have more action for the plotting points?
4. Are my plotting points too repetitive? I feel from my quick read that a character would say something in one chapter, and then several chapters later state the same or a similar idea.
My goal is to print it out one-sided and work on one chapter a day. It’s 45 chapters, and if focused, I’ll revise it in a few months. I’ll take notes. When a new plotting point arises, I’ll write it down, and hopefully, I will be able to spot repeated themes. And decide if it needs to be changed. At the same time, I can correct typos, make the dialogue better, and tighten up the prose.
Since I plotted out using the three-act structure before I wrote, I do not think I need to rearrange chapters or change the storyline too much. This draft is more thought-out than most first drafts.
There are tons of ways to revise. A Google search, YouTube, or even a book will give pointers. I believe the most important thing is to make it routine-based and an individual process. Make a plan and stick to it.
After I edit each chapter, I’ll read it out loud to myself and hopefully have a clean manuscript. I’m not sure if I’ll do beta readers again. I got some invaluable help in the past, but also some heartache. When a beta reader fails to respond or provides negative feedback, it can be deflating. However, unless you pay the beta reader, they are doing a favor. In the past, especially with my first attempt, I shared before it was ready. I now feel it’s important to make it my best before sharing it with anyone.
Any revision suggestions welcome, thanks for reading my blog post.
