Revision, which is different from editing and polishing, is the opportunity to re-imagine and check your vision of your story.

Consider craft elements:

• Structure
• Point of view
• Themes 
• Conflict/Stakes
• Character
• Setting (including sensory details)

Don't be afraid to break some eggs:

• Spread out the entire piece to get a sense of flow
• Physically cut and rearrange to experiment with organization
• Ask questions or have someone else ask questions about the story
• Rewrite a scene from a different character's perspective
• Consider point of view and narrative distance
• Consider the beginning. Is this the best place to start the story? Does the beginning hold the end in it?
• Walk away and let it cool to gain objectivity (days, weeks, months)
• Without consulting the first draft, completely redraft a piece to see how it comes out.

Write a summary of what you envisioned for your story and then write a summary of the actual story as it appears on the page. Compare and contrast these two summaries and check for balance.

Write one sentence that captures what the story is all about.

In order to get the story "off the page" read it aloud. Revise as necessary.

Read as many stories and novels as you possibly can. Read actively, searching out all the relevant elements of craft. Mark these in the margins. Point out what you like and figure out why that is so. Also look for things that are not working and determine the cause.

Borrow and/or model elements that you admire.

Take risks in your writing.