You just finished a manuscript! HOORAY! Take a minute to celebrate and WALK A WAY!

What? No! I need to revise. I need to edit. I need to send it off to a beta reader/editor/agent/publisher immediately!

Before you do any of that, you need to let it breathe.

You need to take a step back. Bask in your accomplishment and do something else for a moment. Actually, much longer than a moment, but I’ll take what I can get here.

I understand that with deadlines and publishing schedules and pressure to put out a book every 72 hours, it can be really hard to feel like you are “wasting” time by not going back to page one and starting revisions immediately, but hear me out.

Ever stand in front of a full refrigerator searching for the pickles that are directly in front of you?

That’s why you need to step away from your story.

Your brain is still in that world. It’s still wearing the clothes of those characters. If you immediately start staring at it again, your mind is going to fill in the plot holes, skip over the craft errors, and make it difficult to see the gaps in the character arc. Basically, it’s going to hide the pickles.

Space from your story will benefit you during the revising and editing process.

First, it’s a great feeling to spend enough time away from the story that you forget particular lines or scenes. You read it again and get to think, “Wow! I wrote that. I’m pretty awesome!”

Second, the further you are from the world you’ve created, the easier it is to recognize where your vision hasn’t made it to the page. Looking at a scene with fresh eyes days, weeks, or even a month after you’ve written it gives you perspective.

Did that grand, robust moment you’ve played out in your mind fully convey in the story?

Do the characters feel as authentic and life-like when you haven’t been immersed in their point of view?

Can you see that typo in the first paragraph that you’ve read past at least fourteen times now?

So take some time.

Read a different book.

Binge-watch a series.

Backpack across the country.

Whatever takes your mind away from the story for as long as you can stand it.

Trust me. It will make it much easier to find the pickles.

Are you still confused about Show, Don't Tell?

When You See It: A Practical Guide to Show, Don’t Tell.