Mad Woman

Mad Woman

Share this post

Mad Woman
Mad Woman
Writing Group Thread: Revision Passes
Writing Group

Writing Group Thread: Revision Passes

Plus a discount code for writing group members on my upcoming seminar on Memoir & Consent

Amanda Montei's avatar
Amanda Montei
Mar 25, 2024
∙ Paid
11

Share this post

Mad Woman
Mad Woman
Writing Group Thread: Revision Passes
18
Share

This is a weekly discussion for writing group (founding-level) subscribers. Read about the difference between the writing group and a regular paid subscription here.

Join us or upgrade your subscription here. Be sure to select Writing Group. You’ll get access to two virtual retreats a year, discounts on classes, writing prompts, and extra essays and threads on craft and creativity.


In our weekly writing group threads, several of you have raised the subject of revision, so I thought we should start with outlining some basics. Namely, the idea of revision “passes,” or rounds of revision in which the writer focuses on developing one element of a drafted text at a time.

The premise behind approaching revision in passes, or steps, is that revision is not a one-time deal, but a many-layered process— or rather, a process that needs to take into account just how many different elements compose a written text. We have sentence-level poetics and syntax, we have structure; we have world-building and character building, scene and setting; we may have conceptual or genre concerns and constraints; sometimes we have critical, philosophical, and cultural arguments and questions the writer is pursuing. It’s a lot. And perhaps the most overwhelming and self-defeating way to approach revision is to try to tackle everything everywhere all it once.

By tackling revision in passes, you acknowledge the magnitude of the process, and break it down into manageable steps.

Though I think it’s important to remain flexible in your revision process, here’s a helpful breakdown of some basic revision passes you can start with on a draft of pretty much anything, in the order I would do them in:

This post is for subscribers in the Writing Group member plan

Already in the Writing Group member plan? Sign in
© 2025 Amanda Montei
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share