There is nothing that compares to the satisfaction of finishing the rough draft of your manuscript, short story, or article. Writing isn’t an easy art form! It’s incredibly difficult and tedious work, at best. No matter what you are writing, you are trying to tell a story and get your point across. You are trying to appeal to your reader on a personal level, whether you are writing a suspense novel, a movie script that is a real tear-jerker, or an article about the need for community support to save the local animal shelter.
No matter how great it feels to complete the first draft, remember that it is only the first draft. If you want your reader to enjoy and fully experience what you intend for them to, your work is only beginning. The hardest part is yet come.
Most self-published writers struggle with the process of editing and proofreading. You know that old phrase, if you want to hide something, put it out in plain sight? Well, that holds true for writers when we edit and proofread our work. You can read a sentence ten times and still not realize that you wrote they’re when you meant their. It happens to the best of us. This blog entry will focus on tips for editing and proofreading. If you have some tips you’d like to share then please comment at the bottom.
Editing and proofreading are two different things. Editing means that you are making structural changes and rewriting entire sections of your work. Editing is correcting grammar and spelling as well as your writing style. It is going back and tackling your draft for content. All of these are pretty important. Proofreading, on the other hand, is going back over your work to correct the small stuff such as format and spacing.
I spent some time digging around online for a few nuggets of advice to help with the editing process. I found a ton of things! I’ll obviously not include everything here, but encourage you to research this topic for yourself. You’ll find more advice than any reasonable person can handle.
READ YOUR DRAFT LIKE A NEWS REPORTER WOULD READ IT.
Ask who, what, when, where, and why! Oh, and don’t forget how. These are all the questions that your reader will want answered from your book. They will ask these questions about plot, characters, and meaning. Make sure you cover these major topics if you want your reader to be emotionally invested in your story.
TAKE A BREAK!
When you finish your first draft give it some time before you start the editing process. Wait a day or a week. The more distance you put between you and your rough draft, the more likely you will spot awkward phrases and mistakes.
READ IT OUT LOUD.
This might help you understand a rhythm to your writing that you had not noticed before. Also, when you stumble upon something poorly written or not as smooth as the best parts of your draft, you will notice it right away. The parts that need editing will likely stick out like a sore thumb.
KILL ALL OF YOUR WEAK ADJECTIVES.
I’ve learned the hard way that weak adjectives can absolutely ruin a good story. Keep your thesaurus handy and make sure to avoid weak adjectives. Why use afraid when you can use terrified, aghast, or spooked?
BLOCK TIME FOR EDITING.
Don’t burn yourself out during the editing process. If you stay at it for too long it becomes more likely that you’ll miss some of your mistakes. Block out a time frame that works best for you. I find that editing for thirty minutes at a time with fifteen minute breaks in between works best for me. I block off that time for a total of no more than three hours a day.
No matter how great it feels to complete the first draft, remember that it is only the first draft. If you want your reader to enjoy and fully experience what you intend for them to, your work is only beginning. The hardest part is yet come.
Most self-published writers struggle with the process of editing and proofreading. You know that old phrase, if you want to hide something, put it out in plain sight? Well, that holds true for writers when we edit and proofread our work. You can read a sentence ten times and still not realize that you wrote they’re when you meant their. It happens to the best of us. This blog entry will focus on tips for editing and proofreading. If you have some tips you’d like to share then please comment at the bottom.
Editing and proofreading are two different things. Editing means that you are making structural changes and rewriting entire sections of your work. Editing is correcting grammar and spelling as well as your writing style. It is going back and tackling your draft for content. All of these are pretty important. Proofreading, on the other hand, is going back over your work to correct the small stuff such as format and spacing.
I spent some time digging around online for a few nuggets of advice to help with the editing process. I found a ton of things! I’ll obviously not include everything here, but encourage you to research this topic for yourself. You’ll find more advice than any reasonable person can handle.
READ YOUR DRAFT LIKE A NEWS REPORTER WOULD READ IT.
Ask who, what, when, where, and why! Oh, and don’t forget how. These are all the questions that your reader will want answered from your book. They will ask these questions about plot, characters, and meaning. Make sure you cover these major topics if you want your reader to be emotionally invested in your story.
TAKE A BREAK!
When you finish your first draft give it some time before you start the editing process. Wait a day or a week. The more distance you put between you and your rough draft, the more likely you will spot awkward phrases and mistakes.
READ IT OUT LOUD.
This might help you understand a rhythm to your writing that you had not noticed before. Also, when you stumble upon something poorly written or not as smooth as the best parts of your draft, you will notice it right away. The parts that need editing will likely stick out like a sore thumb.
KILL ALL OF YOUR WEAK ADJECTIVES.
I’ve learned the hard way that weak adjectives can absolutely ruin a good story. Keep your thesaurus handy and make sure to avoid weak adjectives. Why use afraid when you can use terrified, aghast, or spooked?
BLOCK TIME FOR EDITING.
Don’t burn yourself out during the editing process. If you stay at it for too long it becomes more likely that you’ll miss some of your mistakes. Block out a time frame that works best for you. I find that editing for thirty minutes at a time with fifteen minute breaks in between works best for me. I block off that time for a total of no more than three hours a day.
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