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Hi Growltiger Just wanted to take a moment to welcome you to Writing Dot com. Welcome aboard!!! As for your questions unfortunately I don't have any answers for that other than general/standard writing practices... I have one suggestion that may help though. When I first started here on WDC I used The story arc to help me become a better writer and learn the skill and horn the talent. When revising, editing, cleaning up, and polishing your memior keep the story ark in mind. It may or may not help. Also in the process it may trigger the blackout/grayout area and bring them memories and experiences to rememberence. (I'm including it below) Also I'm including a result that google pulled up for me The 8 Story ark... The Eight Point Story Arc from what I understand is 'considered to be a fool-proof, fail-safe and time-honored way to structure a story.' The arc points are listed below in order with a brief explanation of each (which are excerpts from that email article). 1 The Stasis This is the 'everyday life' in which the story is set. Think of Cinderella sweeping the ashes, Jack (of Beanstalk fame) living in poverty with his mum and a cow, or Harry Potter living with the Dursley's. 2 Trigger Something beyond the control of the protagonist (hero/heroine) is the trigger which sparks off the story. A fairy godmother appears, someone pays in magic beans not gold, a mysterious letter arrives ' you get the picture. 3 The Quest The trigger results in a quest ' an unpleasant trigger (e.g. a protagonist losing his job) might involve a quest to return to the status quo; a pleasant trigger (e.g. finding a treasure map) means a quest to maintain or increase the new pleasant state. 4 The Surprise This stage involves not one but several elements, and takes up most of the middle part of the story. 'Surprise' includes pleasant events, but more often means obstacles, complications, conflict and trouble for the protagonist. Watts emphasizes that surprises shouldn't be too random or too predictable ' they need to be unexpected, but plausible. The reader has to think 'I should have seen that coming!' 5 Critical Choice At some stage, your protagonist needs to make a crucial decision; a critical choice. This is often when we find out exactly who a character is, as real personalities are revealed at moments of high stress. Watts stresses that this has to be a decision by the character to take a particular path ' not just something that happens by chance. In many classic stories, the 'critical choice' involves choosing between a good, but hard, path and a bad, but easy, one. In tragedies, the unhappy ending often stems from a character making the wrong choice at this point ' Romeo poisoning himself on seeing Juliet supposedly dead, for example. 6 Climax The critical choice(s) made by your protagonist need to result in the climax, the highest peak of tension, in your story. For some stories, this could be the firing squad leveling their guns to shoot, a battle commencing, a high-speed chase or something equally dramatic. In other stories, the climax could be a huge argument between a husband and wife, or a playground fight between children, or Cinderella and the Ugly Sisters trying on the glass slipper. 7 Reversal The reversal should be the consequence of the critical choice and the climax, and it should change the status of the characters ' especially your protagonist. For example, a downtrodden wife might leave her husband after a row; a bullied child might stand up for a fellow victim and realize that the bully no longer has any power over him; Cinderella might be recognized by the prince. Your story reversals should be inevitable and probable. Nothing should happen for no reason, changes in status should not fall out of the sky. The story should unfold as life unfolds: relentlessly, implacably, and plausibly. 8 Resolution The resolution is a return to a fresh stasis ' one where the characters should be changed, wiser and enlightened, but where the story being told is complete. (You can always start off a new story, a sequel, with another trigger') I've only covered Watts' eight-point arc in brief here. In the book, he gives several examples of how the eight-point arc applies to various stories. He also explains how a longer story (such as a novel) should include arcs-within-arcs ' subplots and scenes where the same eight-point structure is followed, but at a more minor level than for the arc of the entire story. You can buy Writing a Novel from Amazon.com ' and I highly recommend that you do, as it's an excellent book for any writer of fiction, and deals with all aspects of the craft (not just eight-point arcs!) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Google says it quite clearly Turning a draft into a manuscript involves shifting from creative "word-dumping" to structured revision, focusing on developmental edits (plot, character, flow) before tackling line edits (grammar, word choice) and finally applying standard manuscript formatting (margins, font, spacing) for a professional look, often using a break for fresh perspective and tools like SmartEdit to polish it into submission-ready Reedsy or publishing material. Phase 1: The Big Picture (Developmental Edits) Take a Break: Step away from the draft to gain fresh eyes before diving in. Read for Story: Go chapter by chapter, checking for plot holes, inconsistent character names, and overall story flow (not spelling yet). Strengthen Characters: Ensure readers care about your characters, not just the exciting events. Build the Structure: Use feedback or a developmental plan to map out your revisions, focusing on weak areas. Phase 2: Refining the Language (Line/Copy Edits) Cut Filler Words: Remove "just," "very," "that," and other unnecessary words. Strengthen Verbs: Replace weak verbs with stronger ones (e.g., "jogged" instead of "ran slowly"). Check Consistency: Look for repeated words or phrases that break the flow. Read Aloud: This helps catch awkward sentences and improves readability. Phase 3: Standard Formatting (Submission Ready) Title Page: Include Title, Author Name, Contact Info, and Word Count. Font & Spacing: Use 12pt Times New Roman, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins. Headers/Page Numbers: Add author name and page number in the header, with numbers starting after the title page (often page 0 or 1). Paragraphs: Indent the first line of each paragraph (except after chapter breaks). Key Takeaway A draft is a creative mess; a manuscript is a polished, formatted document ready for review or submission, requiring focused revision on story, clarity, and presentation. Best of Luck |
Re: Ideas re turning draft into manuscript? how to finish... · 12-29-25 10:03am 
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