Literary Agent Nathan Bransford has posted a great list of items to check off when revising your manuscript. As people comment and suggest other notes as well, he’s updating the list, so check back every now and then to see what’s new.
Here are a few I thought were the most helpful:
– Look closely at each chapter. If you can take out a chapter and the plot will still make sense, is it really necessary? Should some events be folded in with others?
– Is your voice consistent? Is it overly chatty or sarcastic?
– Do you know what your writing tics are? Do you overuse adverbs, metaphors, facial expressions, non-“said” dialogue tags, or interjections? Have you removed them?
I see that smile.