In general terms I go through four phases.
The first phase is to get the story out of my head and into the computer. The first draft is rough with some chapters quite complete, others very sketchy, but with everything written and in sequence I can go to phase two.
The second phase isn't concerned with the writing (prose, style, PoV, spelling etc), but with the story. I'll spend a couple of weeks in cafes, bars, during long walks analysing the thing to death to make sure it's the story I wanted to tell, makes sense, means something, justifies its existence. By the end of this process if anyone asks me 'why did they do that' or 'what's the point of this conversation' I can justify it. I think this is the same as the analytical process I go through in my day job as a designer, be it graphic design or landscape design, when the client says 'why this, why that' you have no problem answering. You've thought about it. You've already asked yourself those questions.
The third phase is to go back to the novel and rewrite it to make sure all the analysis is covered. Some parts might need a big rewrite, some structural changes, other parts might have been nailed first time. The sketchy bits are written in full. It should start to look like a proper novel now!
The fourth phase is the read, edit, read, edit phase. I'm happy with the story by now, so the rest is to do with correcting errors, improving the flow, sharpening the dialogue, setting the scene. I don't have a methodology as detailed as Wolfe, but the latest draft of my novel is number 5 and the revisions to it were writing style, typos and such.*
Chris
*And then I joined this forum! The novel isn't about to be rewritten, but I am now thinking about a complete rewrite of one of the early chapters after reading some of the points raised in the review sections.
