Arts & Entertainment, Writing
Editing and Revising
Lesson time 11:13 min
David shares his approach to editing and revising his novels, and why he enjoys the process.
Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
Topics include: Make Everything Fair Game • Check Your Pacing, Chapter by Chapter • Walk Away From the Material • First Draft: The Innocent • Know When to Let It Go
Teaches Mystery and Thriller Writing
In his MasterClass, bestselling thriller author David Baldacci teaches you how he fuses mystery and suspense to create pulse-pounding action.
Sign UpPreview
[MUSIC PLAYING] - Editing process is something I really love and enjoy. I do it in a twofold sort of step. I like to edit all the way through the manuscript, from the first chapter all the way through. I continually go back to it. I'm writing. I go back to previous chapters, particularly the first few chapters. I revise, I revise, I revise. Through the time I've finished a manuscript, I've probably edited this thing maybe a dozen times. Then comes the big-- the big board. And that's when I print everything out; I take it to my editing desk; I plop 500 pages down; I pull up my pens, red and blue pens; and I just bloody the page. Because this is where you turn the-- a manuscript into an actual novel. I know that a lot of stuff I put into the first draft is not going to stay in. I know I'm going to move things around. Scenes are going to be cut, other scenes are going to be added. And I'm going to develop characters a little bit more. Action scenes may be passed down or maybe even embellished a little bit. So looking at my drafts, you'll see a lot of stuff just crossed out. And I call it like, oh, this is a preachy moment. This is-- I got on my soapbox. I just wanted to say it. I had to write it. I knew it wasn't going to end up in the book. And you'll see, you know-- when I show you some pages, you'll see this big box with an x through it. That's preachy time, you know? Or soapbox time. Get rid of that. Or I'll just look at passages and I'll-- I'll realize that, you know, I don't need to have this intermittent passage in order to get to where I want to go in this chapter, so I just cut it out or reduce it in size. You will see in some of the pages that I've added a lot of material. Those were choices that I will make, and that you will make as well as you go through that you might have missed something going forward or you had an idea about the character that you wanted to embellish or enlarge. And the way you do that, you just have to add new material. But by and large, you're not going to have an enormous amount of additions to the manuscript. Certainly at the first draft stage, and certainly not at the copy edited stage. It's going to be more tightening and more cutting out. This is where it all comes together. This is my first time and first moment where I can sit down and I see the pages and I go through it in my mind from A all the way to Z, the entire story. I like to do it uninterrupted. So I have everything in my mind, all the million pieces juggling in the air, so I can see them and I know what to do with them. And this is my moment. This is my sweet spot. This is why I work hard to get the manuscript to this point, where I can put it down on that desk and just tear it apart. [MUSIC PLAYING] I think when you're editing a novel, everything is fair game. And I've done novels where a lot of it was focused on the editing process, it was focusing on the plot, and I had very little to do as far as deepening the c...
About the Instructor
David Baldacci has captivated readers across the world with gripping, suspense-fueled thrillers. Now the New York Times–bestselling author of 38 novels shares his techniques for crafting authentic characters, developing research-based plots, and navigating the world of publishing. Learn how to write a novel with red herrings, clues, and plot twists that will keep your readers turning the pages.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
David Baldacci
In his MasterClass, bestselling thriller author David Baldacci teaches you how he fuses mystery and suspense to create pulse-pounding action.
Explore the Class