You don’t need more filler. You need better progressive complications.

Your inciting incident hooks your readers and promises them a story they’ll love.

And then comes the middle.

The messy middle. The quiet doldrums of your story, where plot momentum goes to die.

Where your characters wander, your conflict blurs, and you start to wonder if any of it is working.

So what do you do? Add some “stuff that happens” and hope it holds your readers’ interest? Toss in a random subplot? Describe your character’s breakfast in extreme detail?

Nope. This is the space of the progressive complications.

And in this episode, I’m showing you exactly how to revise them.

Because the middle of your story isn’t filler or unnecessary fluff. It’s 60% of the story, and it has an essential job to do.

• What progressive complications really are (and what they’re not)
• How they build momentum and escalate conflict
• The 8 qualities I’m looking for when I edit progressive complications
• How to know if your scenes are working—or just taking up space
• And more!

And to make it even easier, I’ve created a cheat sheet to help you revise your progressive complications. Print it out, keep it handy, and use it every time you edit a scene.

If you’ve ever gotten stuck in the middle of your manuscript wondering how to move forward—this episode is for you.

Let’s take your messy middle and make it unputdownable.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• Get the Inciting Incident Revision Cheat Sheet: alicesudlow.com/87
• Work with me: alicesudlow.com/contact
• Ep. 42: The 6 Essential Elements of Every Novel, Act, and Scene
• A clip from S1E4 of Younger

Send me a Text Message!

Want my support in your revision?

In Story Clarity, we’ll work one-on-one to sharpen your story’s structure and craft a revision plan that works. If you’re ready for thoughtful, personalized feedback from an editor who gets what you’re trying to do, I’d love to hear what you’re working on.

Get started by telling me about your story here.

Support the show

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Alice and Your Next Draft." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more writers through the mess—and joy—of the editing process. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap the stars to rate, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Loving the show? Show your support with a monthly contribution »

Your first chapter has a monumental task: to make potential readers care about your book right away and hook them to keep reading.

Every sentence is a chance to earn your reader’s attention—or lose their fragile, baby-fresh interest before your story even begins.

And that’s assuming that your book makes it to the bookstore shelves. If you’re traditionally publishing, the first chapter’s burdened with even more responsibility. It’s your first impression with agents and editors, who will judge whether to consider the full manuscript based on the first five or ten pages alone.

The stakes are high.

So high, in fact, that it’s easy to get stuck—revising and refining your first chapter over and over while the rest of the manuscript gathers dust.

So I asked Abigail K. Perry, a fellow editor and book coach, to come help us break out of that trap.

“If we don't care about a character, we don't care about what happens to them. . . . Pull us into character and let us understand and get to know them so that when threats are posed against them, we care about what happens.”

—Abigail K. Perry

You’ll hear:

• What great first chapters must accomplish
• Why mystery is a good thing in first chapters (and info dumps are not)
• How to make your readers care about your characters in a matter of pages, paragraphs, or even sentences
• And more

If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in a first chapter revision loop, this one’s for you.

Check out Abigail’s “First Chapter Deep Dive” episodes on the books we discussed:

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
• Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Send me a Text Message!

Want my support in your revision?

In Story Clarity, we’ll work one-on-one to sharpen your story’s structure and craft a revision plan that works. If you’re ready for thoughtful, personalized feedback from an editor who gets what you’re trying to do, I’d love to hear what you’re working on.

Get started by telling me about your story here.

Support the show

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Alice and Your Next Draft." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more writers through the mess—and joy—of the editing process. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap the stars to rate, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Loving the show? Show your support with a monthly contribution »

Your inciting incident sets the stage for everything that follows. Here's what to revise so it can carry the story.

A great inciting incident does a lot of heavy lifting.

→ It hooks your readers, pulling them into the story.

→ And it sets up everything to come, laying the foundation for a brilliant climax your readers will love.

The beginning matters. Which means there’s a lot of pressure to get it right.

But what does right actually mean? How do you start a story well?

That’s what I’m tackling in this episode. I’m going beyond the definition of the inciting incident to share what I as an editor am looking for when I edit inciting incidents.

In other words, if you’ve written an inciting incident and aren’t sure how to tell if it works, this episode is your guide to edit it.

You’ll hear:

• How I define the inciting incident
• Where in the story the inciting incident appears (and how to tell if it’s too early or too late)
• The 7 qualities I’m watching for when I edit an inciting incident
• The 4 common inciting incident traps I see writers fall into (including one that’s really hard to spot, and yet it can tank the whole story)
• And more

Plus, I’ve gathered it all into a one-page cheat sheet you can reference every time you edit an inciting incident. Print it out and keep it in your writing space for easy access.

If you’ve ever found the advice to “make sure your story has an inciting incident” unsatisfactory, this episode is for you.

Don’t just make sure your story has an inciting incident. Use this episode to revise it until it’s good. Great. Unputdownable, even.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• Get the Inciting Incident Revision Cheat Sheet: alicesudlow.com/85
• Work with me: alicesudlow.com/contact
• Ep. 27: Value Shifts: How to Craft Compelling Change in Every Story

Send me a Text Message!

Want my support in your revision?

In Story Clarity, we’ll work one-on-one to sharpen your story’s structure and craft a revision plan that works. If you’re ready for thoughtful, personalized feedback from an editor who gets what you’re trying to do, I’d love to hear what you’re working on.

Get started by telling me about your story here.

Support the show

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Alice and Your Next Draft." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more writers through the mess—and joy—of the editing process. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap the stars to rate, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Loving the show? Show your support with a monthly contribution »

“It really broke my heart, actually. . . . For the rest of my life, it will break my heart.” A.S. King gets honest about what happened when the publishing industry failed her book.

What happens after you edit your book?

What happens after you’ve bared the story of your heart, crafted it into an excellent novel, and presented it to the world?

What happens when you get traditionally published, when you receive awards and accolades, and when it looks like you’ve won the author career lottery?

Last month, I brought author A.S. King on the podcast to share how she revises award-winning novels—complex, intense, surrealist, mind-bending stories meant to challenge her readers to think.

But that wasn’t the end of the conversation. In fact, it wasn’t even the start.

The conversation began months earlier, when I heard the story of her book launch for her latest novel.

I won’t spoil the ending here, but I will say: it did not go how she expected.

So today, I’m bringing Amy back on the podcast to tell us her publishing story and give us a glimpse of what comes after all the writing and all the revising.

You’ll hear:

• What really happened during A.S. King’s latest book launch
• How a publisher’s big promises fell through—and what that meant for the book
• Why even revising an excellent novel doesn’t guarantee industry support
• What it feels like when the book of your heart gets treated like just another product
• How gender, genre, and power shape what gets promoted (and what doesn’t)
• What it takes to keep going when publishing knocks you off course
• And more

It’s a peek into traditional publishing—and a reality check on what the industry feels like from the inside, even for an award-winning author in her prime.

And above all, it’s a reminder of what really matters when it comes to measuring your book’s success.

Links Mentioned in the Episode:

• Share your thoughts about this conversation in the comments here
• Order a signed copy of Pick the Lock from Aaron’s Books
• Hear more about A.S. King’s book launch in this conversation on the #AmWriting podcast
• Hear how A.S. King revised Pick the Lock in this conversation on Your Next Draft

Send me a Text Message!

Want my support in your revision?

In Story Clarity, we’ll work one-on-one to sharpen your story’s structure and craft a revision plan that works. If you’re ready for thoughtful, personalized feedback from an editor who gets what you’re trying to do, I’d love to hear what you’re working on.

Get started by telling me about your story here.

Support the show

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Alice and Your Next Draft." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more writers through the mess—and joy—of the editing process. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap the stars to rate, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Loving the show? Show your support with a monthly contribution »

Do you need to hire a line editor? Or should you line edit your manuscript yourself?

After all, you want to write an excellent novel. You know that great writing takes shape in revision, and you don’t want to skimp on any layers of editing.

Nor do you want to overestimate your writing skills and leave your book littered with clunky sentences that a wordsmithing line editor could polish into shining brilliance.

On the other hand, you also don’t want to mess up your editing process or your manuscript by getting the editing phases wrong.

You don’t want to hire the wrong people at the wrong time and reduce the efficiency of your edits by getting them out of order.

You don’t want to waste money you don’t need to spend on professional editing you don’t actually need.

And you definitely don’t want to make your manuscript worse by getting feedback that doesn’t match your vision.

So: do you need to hire a line editor?

Well, maybe. Or maybe not.

In this episode, I’m breaking down what line editing is, what line editors do, and what your book and your editing process truly need.

You’ll hear:

• What great line editors can do
• The risk of working with a line editor
• The key that makes great line editing possible
• How to find your best line editor
• And more

Whether you hire a line editor or line edit your novel yourself, the principles I share in today’s episode will help you ensure every word you choose is the right one for your story and your voice.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• See my sample developmental and line editing feedback: alicesudlow.com/83
• Discover Story Clarity and Story Refinery

Send me a Text Message!

Want my support in your revision?

In Story Clarity, we’ll work one-on-one to sharpen your story’s structure and craft a revision plan that works. If you’re ready for thoughtful, personalized feedback from an editor who gets what you’re trying to do, I’d love to hear what you’re working on.

Get started by telling me about your story here.

Support the show

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Alice and Your Next Draft." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more writers through the mess—and joy—of the editing process. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap the stars to rate, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Loving the show? Show your support with a monthly contribution »

“Revising is about making sure that you're saying what you want to say in the way you want to say it. . . . To me, revision is the sport. It's the impact. It's the reason we're writers.”

Have you ever read a book and thought, Holy cow, this is amazing. How did this author DO this?

Or, maybe you’ve read a book and thought, Wow, I wish I could write (or in my case, edit) a book like this, but this is incredible and it might be beyond me?

Well, that’s how I feel when I read an A.S. King novel.

She’s an impressively decorated author of novels for middle grade, teens, and adults. She’s the only author to win the Printz award for young adult literature twice—and that’s just two of many, many accolades.

She writes brilliant stories that are surrealist and puzzling and weird, and at the same time beautiful and heartfelt and honest and real.

And when I heard that she loves revision, I knew I had to bring her to Your Next Draft and ask her: how does she do it?

How does she manage to craft such intricately plotted, complex stories?

How does she innovate so much on a technical level, and keep me hooked on a brilliant story all the way through?

How does she turn her completely pantsed first drafts into award-winning novels—and then hit it out of the park again, and again, and again?

So I was thrilled when A.S. King agreed to join me on the podcast and spill all the details of her revision process.

In our conversation, she shares:

• Her five-draft revision process
• How she cuts 20% from her first draft (she uses the word “chainsaw” 😳)
• What it’s like to get feedback from her editor at her publishing house
• What she does with feedback she disagrees with
• The time when adding 14 sentences was the key that made a novel work
• The difference between taking your readers on a picnic and telling them a story
• And so much more

Plus, I’ve created a revision reading list to pair with this conversation so you can see A.S. King’s specific editorial choices at work in her novels.

A.S. King is an absolute gem of a human as well as a brilliant writer. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

P.S. My very favorite part of our conversation begins at 1 hr 21 min. Here’s a sneak peek:

“In the end, it is all about your voice and your experiences and your feelings. That's it. It's all writing is.”

Links mentioned in the episode:

• Get your A.S. King Revision Reading List:

Send me a Text Message!

Want my support in your revision?

In Story Clarity, we’ll work one-on-one to sharpen your story’s structure and craft a revision plan that works. If you’re ready for thoughtful, personalized feedback from an editor who gets what you’re trying to do, I’d love to hear what you’re working on.

Get started by telling me about your story here.

Support the show

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Alice and Your Next Draft." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more writers through the mess—and joy—of the editing process. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap the stars to rate, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Loving the show? Show your support with a monthly contribution »

Ever wondered what an editor actually does all day?

What it looks like to spend all day supporting writers in their stories?

Or what your editor’s doing in all that time when they’re not sharing their feedback with you?

If those questions pique your curiosity, you’re in luck. I’m pulling back the curtain to share a week in my life as a developmental editor and book coach.

You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at what I do with writers and what I’m working on when I’m not on calls giving feedback.

Plus, I’ll share all the best editing strategies, tips, and tricks that emerge as I dig into stories with writers this week. You’ll hear:

• How I use what we know about a story to solve for what we don’t know
• Whether it’s okay to “tell,” not just “show,” a character’s emotions
• How your character’s emotional intelligence impacts how your reader feels
• A simple way to track the emotional tension in your story
• How I draw out every last drop of meaning and emotion to make scenes unputdownable
• What it means to be “done” editing your book

I love my job and can’t imagine spending my days any other way. I hope you enjoy this peek at what it really looks like to be an editor and book coach!

Links mentioned in the episode:

• Want to work with me in Story Clarity and Story Refinery? Tell me about your story »
• Get a boost of editing joy in your inbox every Tuesday. Join the newsletter »

Further Listening:

• Ep. 32: How Spider-Man (And All Great Stories) Makes Us Laugh, Cry, and Feel the Feels
• Ep. 42: The 6 Essential Elements of Every Novel, Act, and Scene
• A week in the life of another editor and book coach: A Week in the Life: 5 Days Behind the Scenes with Savannah

Send me a Text Message!

Want my support in your revision?

In Story Clarity, we’ll work one-on-one to sharpen your story’s structure and craft a revision plan that works. If you’re ready for thoughtful, personalized feedback from an editor who gets what you’re trying to do, I’d love to hear what you’re working on.

Get started by telling me about your story here.

Support the show

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Alice and Your Next Draft." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more writers through the mess—and joy—of the editing process. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap the stars to rate, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Loving the show? Show your support with a monthly contribution »

When to use frameworks to solve your story problems—and when to trust yourself and lean on your own story authority.

You’ve heard of Save the Cat! Story Grid. Blueprint for a Book.

These are all frameworks designed to help you edit a novel. If you don’t know these names, I bet you know others—Hero’s Journey, Freytag’s Pyramid, 7 Point Story Structure, Dan Harmon’s Story Circle, there are dozens more.

Each one promises that if you use it, you’ll be able to craft better stories. And because we want to write good books, the writers I know are constantly learning new frameworks and analyzing their stories through them.

I use frameworks like these in the editing process, after the first draft is already written. But I’ve seen many writers use them earlier, even before they begin writing.

It’s a tempting thought, right? What if you could use these frameworks to solve your story problems and make writing your first draft so much easier? What if you could build a story from the ground up that already fulfills everything those frameworks require from the very first draft?

Would that shortcut the creative process? Would it help you create a better story faster?

Or would it get in the way of your storytelling? Are there moments in the creative process when frameworks like these might just do more harm than good?

I’m a big fan of storytelling frameworks. But today, we’re taking a hard look at them to see what they offer, what they can’t do for us, and how to tap into your true authority as the writer of your own story.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• Find B is for Book Coach on Substack »

Further listening:

• Ep. 79: Ask This Question When You’re Overwhelmed by Your Story
• B is for Book Coach: How to Take the Drama Out of Cutting and Rewriting Content
• B is for Book Coach: Comparison Isn't a Thief

Send me a Text Message!

Want my support in your revision?

In Story Clarity, we’ll work one-on-one to sharpen your story’s structure and craft a revision plan that works. If you’re ready for thoughtful, personalized feedback from an editor who gets what you’re trying to do, I’d love to hear what you’re working on.

Get started by telling me about your story here.

Support the show

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Alice and Your Next Draft." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more writers through the mess—and joy—of the editing process. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap the stars to rate, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Loving the show? Show your support with a monthly contribution »