Plot: Change It Up

When going over your MS, most of the time you are editing your punctuation, your grammar. Switching out words. Removing a lot of the extra words that don't need to be there. The problem is that sometimes we forget to look at what these words say and mean. And we forget that they can change.

Here's what you need to ask yourself: Who said it had to be that way?

A lot of times I forget that I'm the one who created this story in the first place. I forget that I can change anything I want. I fall into the rut of "but that's how it has to be!"

Truth is: No, that's not how it has to be. Now wake up, get a back bone, and have the courage to change your story.

You essentially are God of your book.

Which means you can change whatever you want. But sometimes we forget this.

What you have to realize is that things CAN change and they probably SHOULD for the overall improvement of your plot.

There have been many times where I've woken from my intense editing mode and realized, "Wait, I could make this happen instead."

Take a chance. Create a new version of your manuscript. Change a scene - drastically. Brainstorm different ways for the plot line to develop. Make it more exciting. Make it scarier. Make it more emotional. If it's too much, too crazy, your beta readers will tell you so.