🥑 prioritize! (ripple effects 3)

This email includes a free Google Sheets template for tracking edits!

Last time, we collected and organized feedback. This time, we’ll talk about how to implement it on the story level.

You have a list of revision notes. Some of them are big-picture, like get rid of that character or change the outcome of that scene, because they will affect things across the manuscript. Some of them may only affect one scene, or one conversation, or one sentence.

Either way, we’re going to prioritize them.

What I love about this method is that you can input your notes and thoughts in any order and organize them however you like with a couple of clicks. I’ve included instructions in the HOW TO USE THIS SHEET tab, but here’s the basic idea:

• Write the edit you want to make under “Description.”

• Put in the chapter number and the character/aspect this edit refers to.

• Give it a priority level—I use “a,” “b,” etc. to avoid confusing this with chapter numbers.

That’s it! Now you can sort your edits by chapter, character, and priority. You can hide completed edits, show only edits related to a certain character, etc.—whatever your little writer’s heart desires.

Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser, this sheet tracks changes of all sizes.

Get the template now!

Thursday: scene-level ripple effects.

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Hungry for digestible writing advice? Reply to this email with your burning question, and I may use it in a future Bite.

Thanks for reading Avocado Bites!

^{Avocado Bites is a publication of Avocado Tree Press, LLC, that helps you revise your stories one bite at a time. We love working with indie and traditionally published authors on fiction manuscripts—and if that’s you, welcome to our target audience.}

^{Ready for a sample edit? Here’s our site.}

^{Addison Horner is the chief editor of Avocado Tree Press. Here’s his newsletter. It’s different but still pretty good.}