What order should I do my revision passes in?
- Revise from biggest issues to smallest, never the reverse.
- The order: structural, scene-level, line, copy, then proofread.
- Each pass targets one layer so you do not polish text you later cut.
- Line-editing before structural work wastes effort on doomed scenes.
- Mixing layers in one pass is why revision feels overwhelming.
Revise in layers from largest to smallest: first structural (plot, arcs, order), then scene-level (does each scene earn its place), then line editing (rhythm and clarity), then copy editing (grammar and consistency), and finally proofreading. Do one layer per pass. Polishing sentences before the structure is settled means line-editing scenes you will later cut — wasted effort and emotional attachment to text that should go.
Chapter i·Why it matters
The single most common revision mistake is starting with line edits — fixing commas in a chapter that structural revision will delete. Working biggest-to-smallest protects your effort and your judgment: you never fall in love with a beautifully edited scene that does not belong. Doing one layer per pass also makes revision tractable, because each pass asks one question instead of forcing you to weigh plot and punctuation at once.
Chapter ii·What to include
- A structural pass first: plot logic, arcs, scene order.
- A scene pass: does each scene earn its place and advance the story.
- A line pass: rhythm, clarity, word choice.
- A copy pass: grammar, consistency, style sheet.
- A final proofread for typos and formatting.
- A rule of one layer per pass.
Chapter iii·Example
A novelist itching to polish prose forces herself to do a structural pass first. She cuts three chapters and reorders the second act. Only then does she line-edit — and saves the dozens of hours she would have spent perfecting the sentences in the chapters she just deleted.
WriteLoom's Edit studio structures revision into layered passes, so you fix the big things before polishing the small ones.
See the Edit studio