What kind of techniques do you use in your writing while editing?
I have a hard time editing my work and I really want to get over a barrier I put up myself. I know when a part of my story needs help but I can't put my self to change it. I find it heartbreaking. How do you get over that, if you have that problem and how do you organize your thoughts while editing? #writing #writing-and-editing #creative-writing
8 answers
James Constantine Frangos
James Constantine’s Answer
Empowering Your Writing with Effective Editing Techniques
Elevating the caliber of your writing can be achieved by applying a variety of editing techniques. Here are some practical strategies to help you surmount the challenges you've mentioned and streamline your thoughts during the editing phase:
1. Pause and Refresh: Occasionally, distancing yourself from your work provides a new outlook when you revisit it. A break can help you emotionally detach from your writing, making it simpler to spot areas requiring enhancement.
2. Construct a Checklist: Formulate a checklist of typical writing errors or areas you find difficult, such as grammar, punctuation, or sentence construction. Utilize this checklist as a roadmap when editing your work to ensure you cover all crucial aspects of your writing.
3. Solicit Feedback: Think about sharing your work with others like fellow writers, educators, or writing clubs, to obtain constructive criticism. External viewpoints can provide priceless insights and recommendations for enhancing your writing.
4. Vocalize Your Writing: Voicing your work can assist in detecting clumsy wording, repeated phrases, or discrepancies in your writing. This method allows you to perceive how your writing sounds and pinpoint areas that might require alterations.
5. Concentrate on One Element at a Time: Rather than attempting to address all editing duties simultaneously, concentrate on one facet of your writing at a time, such as structure, dialogue, or character evolution. Segmenting the editing process into smaller tasks enables you to tackle each area more effectively.
6. Welcome Revisions: Acknowledge that editing is a vital stage of the writing process and that revisions are required to polish and elevate your work. Welcome the concept of making modifications to enhance the overall excellence of your writing.
7. Define Goals: Set precise editing objectives for each session, like revising a certain number of pages or addressing specific feedback received. Defining goals can aid in maintaining focus and motivation throughout the editing phase.
Top 3 Authoritative Sources Consulted for this Response:
The Writing Cooperative: An online hub offering valuable resources and articles on diverse aspects of writing, including editing techniques and tips for honing your writing abilities.
Writer’s Digest: A renowned publication in the writing realm, Writer’s Digest provides expert guidance on writing and editing, addressing topics like self-editing strategies and conquering common hurdles in the editing phase.
Grammarly Blog: Grammarly’s blog shares enlightening posts on grammar, punctuation, and editing best practices. It provides practical advice for writers aiming to boost their editing prowess and produce refined written pieces.
May God Bless You!
James Constantine Frangos.
Stuart’s Answer
I am still a poor editor of my own work. Two "tricks" have helped me: 1) read the work out loud to yourself (because you will "hear" places that need your attention) - this works particularly well after your second or third draft, and 2) for the final edits, read it backwards (last line first, and so on) so that you are not lulled by your own intentions.
Here's some good advice: John Gardner's How To Become a Novelist with an intro by Raymond Carver. In the intro, Ray Carver offers a difficult but useful exercise: as you review your work, remove your very favorite line; if you are enamored with it, it probably belongs elsewhere. This one piece of advice has been the hardest and most useful advice I've put to use over the years.
Stefania (Mandrin) Revelli, CCSP, CPRW
Stefania’s Answer
Trimming down your own written content is very difficult, but there are things you can do to help the process along. One of the things I like to do as I'm writing is to keep in mind the importance of each word, line or paragraph. Readers and audiences are time sensitive these days so every word and phrase you use should have purpose and intention to move your story along. Something else you can do is put yourself in a reader's shoes: are things clear? Flow from one idea to another easily? The very best way to figure out what can be cut out is to have a peer look at your editorial work. Choose someone who is knowledgeable about editing and writing. But also choose someone who might fall into your readership audience. Sometimes things might make sense to you, but not to an outsider who is reading your content for the first time. You can also use resources like Grammar Girl as you write to keep your editorial quality present. Good luck!
Liz’s Answer
First, I try to work out the beginning. The first couple of beginnings I write are never (or rarely) the right ones. I start too slow, bury the lede, or don't begin in the middle of the action. So I try to find what the center of my piece is and begin from there.
Once I've got a beginning in place, I look at the rest of what I've written and ask myself some questions: Do the next paragraphs "ramp up" from the beginning? Does anything need rearranging? What can I cut? What needs further elaboration?
Then I look at the end. Does it deliver something strong? If I'm trying to make an argument, have I made it clear and strong, possibly with a call-to-action? If I'm writing a personal essay, have I ended on something compelling, something emotional? If it's a larger work, like fiction or memoir, have I reached the conclusion or emotional arc I wanted to? If not, I go back to the middle and see what needs to be altered.
Then, I go through and check for smaller errors -- spelling, punctuation, grammar. I find that printing it out and reading it aloud helps with this. Then you can make notes for further editing later.
If you want to do that as you go, I suggest Grammarly, which checks for spelling, grammar, missing articles, comma usage, subject-verb agreement, and a lot more. It isn't perfect -- some words can be marked as misspelled when they're not. For example, the word "lede" in my opening paragraph is marked as misspelled, but it's a word that's used in journalism, defined by Merriam-Webster as "<span style="color: rgb(59, 62, 65);">the introductory section of a news story that is intended to entice the reader to read the full story." The point is that you always want to double-check unusual words to make sure they're correct. An app won't solve all your problems. </span>
There's also the Hemingway app that you can copy/paste your text into. It'll check for things like unnecessarily complex sentences, complex words that could be replaced by simpler ones (use vs. utilize, etc.), adverbs that could be replaced by better verbs, and the passive voice. It will also show the "readability level" of your work. The average American reads at an intermediate grade level, which the app defines at 10th-grade, so you want to aim for that or below.
Then, I ask at least one other person to look over it. Ideally, this would be someone a) in the target market for whatever I'm writing who b) has some background in reading/writing/editing and c) is willing to write all over it with a red pen. I don't want a potential editor to go easy on me -- having a tough critic in your corner will strengthen your writing overall.
Once they're done with it, I look over their suggestions, determine what's best for my writing (some darlings have to be killed, but others can stay if you can make a good argument about why), and then go back to square one.
Lather, rinse, repeat until you feel that there's nothing more you can do to better your work!
Liz recommends the following next steps:
Simeon’s Answer
Susan E.’s Answer
I don't use any special technique in my writing while editing. Editing is the last thing I think about. First I write, then look over and proofread. The proofreading is part of the editing process.
Gloria’s Answer
Christy’s Answer
As the saying goes, writing is rewriting. You also have to be merciless about your own work. If something isn't working, throw it out and do it over.
You weren't specific about what aspect of editing you're talking about. Editing can cover an overview of character development, plot construction, the larger arc of the story. Or it can cover the choice of language, flow of sentences, correct use of grammar and punctuation.
Here are a couple of techniques:
Christy recommends the following next steps: