I hope our U.S. writers had an enjoyable and safe 4th of July! Ours was weird with fireworks shows cancelled, but I did go to a friend’s house and watch Hamilton on Disney+. After years of hearing about how great the show is, I was happy for the opportunity to experience it myself, even if it was through a TV screen instead of on Broadway.

I started this series on finishing a novel waaaaay back in January (the good ol’ days before I had ever heard the term “social distancing”) and we’re now in the editing phase of novel writing. So far with editing, we talked about:

Taking a break before you edit

How to know if your novel is worth editing

Then a couple weeks ago, in Editing Part One, I talked about starting edits with high-impact story problems and working your way toward low-impact rather than editing chronologically. (Meaning take care of those plot holes in chapter eighteen before prettying up sentences in chapter one.)

Now we’re digging into editing those high-impact, overarching story issues. In the biz, we call this the “macro edit.” Separating out character issues from plot or theme or setting issues feels tricky, because if you’ve done your job, they all weave together, but for teaching purposes, it can still be helpful to examine one story element at a time.

Step One: Identify the problems

You’ll need to step back from your story, look it over, and trust yourself to recognize what’s not working. Often this is about paying attention to what your gut tells you. If a character “doesn’t feel quite right,” chances are you’re right. This is usually a step you take care of when you read through your manuscript, like I talked about in Editing Part One.

Step Two: Diagnose the problem

But recognizing “this character isn’t really working like I thought he would,” is too vague. We need a specific diagnosis before we can move onto fixing the problem.

To be good at editing, you must learn to ask the right questions about your story.

I mean questions like: Where in the book did I establish this character’s lie? If I cut this character from the story, what would I lose? Did I give readers reasons to like and cheer for this character early enough in the story?

In editing, you’re taking all that writing knowledge you’ve gleaned from experiencing stories and studying the craft of writing, and now trying to apply it to your specific story. Often we try to apply that knowledge to first drafts and then get frustrated because they’re not turning out the way we want. While you should definitely make your first draft as good as you can, often applying what you’ve learned in the editing stage is a more effective approach.

Let’s use my experience with editing The Lost Girl of Astor Street. In this book, my main character, Piper, is looking for her missing best friend. The only person who seems to understand how desperate she is to find Lydia is the (young and cute) police detective, Mariano. They spend time together searching for Lydia and grow to have feelings for each other.

This seemed like a natural progression in my head, but when I read the first draft, I thought, “The arc of their relationship feels off.” Fortunately it didn’t take too long for me to diagnose, “Piper is way too distracted with Mariano and not nearly upset enough about her missing friend.”

I diagnosed the problem. But then I had to figure out how to fix it.

Step Three: Fix it

That’s an easy step to type, but not such an easy thing to do!

So, I knew Piper was too preoccupied with Mariano considering the traumatic circumstances under which they met. I went into all their scenes and scrubbed flirtation, flutters, or attempts she made to present herself in a flattering light. I decided she was too distraught and worried for her friend to be thinking about Mariano in that way.

Fixed, right?

Sadly, no. The next time I read through the whole book (right as I was getting ready to move into my micro edit) I realized that now there was no arc for their relationship. We went from a relationship that was “we’re working together toward a common goal” to “we like each other” all in one unsatisfying clunk because I’d removed those hints that Piper and Mariano were developing feelings for each other.

I went back in and added a tiny bit from Piper’s POV, but I think the best fix I made was to have other characters comment on the burgeoning relationship between her and Mariano. Others around Piper recognize what’s going on between them before she does, and that helped tremendously with keeping her focus on Lydia while also growing their romantic interest in each other.

The perfect fix for the problem you’ve diagnosed may not come to you right away, but you’ll get there if you stick with it!

Here are some questions you might find helpful to ask about characters as you embark on your macro edit:

Main Character(s)

• Does my MC have a goal?
• Do I know why this is his goal?
• Do others oppose his goal?
• What is his inner desire? (Love, respect, honor, etc.)
• What lie does he believe?
• What is the origin of this lie? How has it been reinforced to this character?
• What truth does he need? Does he know it by the end?
• Does he have multiple people, places, or objects he cares about?
• What can he do at the end of the book that he couldn’t do at the beginning? Did I show this progression?
• Does he have a wound, and does he get over it?

Antagonist(s)

• Does my antagonist have a goal?
• Do I know why this is his goal?
• Do others oppose his goal?
• What is his inner desire? (Love, respect, honor, etc.)
• What lie does he believe?
• What is the origin of this lie? How has it been reinforced to this character?
• What truth does he need?
• Does he have multiple people, places, or objects he cares about?
• Does he actively work to stop my main character?

Other major characters

• Do they have goals?
• Do I know why these are their goals?
• Do others oppose their goals?
• Do they believe in a lie?
• What is the origin of this lie? How has it been reinforced to this character?
• What truths do they need?
• Why are they necessary to the main character’s story?
• Do they oppose or challenge my main character’s worldview?

Here are several other posts you might find helpful:

How to know if you’ve done a good job with character development

4 Steps To Showing Character Development

5 Things To Know About Your Main Characters

One Way To Make Sure Your Characters Make Sense

How To Effectively Test Your Characters