How to Edit My Own Writing
STYLE:
In the first draft, I might hurry to tell the story. That busy work needs to be revisited. Understanding wordiness, importance of showing vs telling, character sketching are all in this group.
My story is more character driver than plot driven, yet I must understand plot twists, foreshadowing, back story, pacing and all that.
On the other hand, the copy editor is responsible for those nitty gritty details but may not be responsible to see if the story makes any sense or how it could be fixed. Sometimes the developmental editor may wear the same hat and also take the responsibility of the copy editor.He may charge accordingly.
It is important to know what the editor I am hiring will do -- her experience, rates, time commitment and all that.
Editing is the most important part of writing.
No matter how great the agony is inside me for the untold story, I am also aware of Hemingway’s caution - If you can’t write, don’t.
I know the first draft is always ‘shitty’. Revisiting the first draft of my work-in-progress novel, which is only one third written (with an outline sketched),I pause to check if I am going in the right direction. I caution myself not to wear the critique or editor’s hat too soon as the creative process is not all done, yet, it is a catch 22.
I don’t want to strangle my budding story while it is still in its infancy at the same time I don’t want to proceed in the wrong direction.
In the meantime I attended some webinars and workshops, read much on writing a novel and editing and decided to write this article to save what I have learned for future reference and help fellow writers.
Jerry Jenkins in his webinar mentioned several aspects of writing and polishing a novel. The things that got my attention most are:
WHY:
Why do I want to write this story? What is the central message? Does my story unfurl that message (whisper, scream or sing) consistently? Am I convinced that the theme is deep enough to handle it for a very long time? A novel may take two years or more. Is it important enough for the readers?
Why do I want to write this story? What is the central message? Does my story unfurl that message (whisper, scream or sing) consistently? Am I convinced that the theme is deep enough to handle it for a very long time? A novel may take two years or more. Is it important enough for the readers?
Some authors suggest testing it. They advise us to learn to summarize it in six sentences and casually give elevator speeches to strangers. I may do that to those who ask about what I am up to these days. This is one way dipping my toes and finding out the importance of the theme or the interest level of the subject.
GENRE:
Understanding the genre is the next step.Where do I visualize my book in the bookstore or library? Who are its companions? How is my book similar? Every genre has certain characteristics. Readers expect certain things from reading those books. How does my book satisfy that, yet, is unique in its own way? Where is that authenticity? In order to grasp that, it is important to read books in that genre.
Understanding the genre is the next step.Where do I visualize my book in the bookstore or library? Who are its companions? How is my book similar? Every genre has certain characteristics. Readers expect certain things from reading those books. How does my book satisfy that, yet, is unique in its own way? Where is that authenticity? In order to grasp that, it is important to read books in that genre.
STYLE:
In the first draft, I might hurry to tell the story. That busy work needs to be revisited. Understanding wordiness, importance of showing vs telling, character sketching are all in this group.
My story is more character driver than plot driven, yet I must understand plot twists, foreshadowing, back story, pacing and all that.
EDITING:
There are different stages of editing, and professional editing is a must. Even Joyce Carol Oates uses them. The very basic ones are:
Developmental editing
Copy editing
Proof editing
While a developmental editor is responsible to check if the story meets the genre expectations, coherency in different chapters, anachronism, facts and many other things, she may not check every spelling mistake or grammar. On the other hand, the copy editor is responsible for those nitty gritty details but may not be responsible to see if the story makes any sense or how it could be fixed. Sometimes the developmental editor may wear the same hat and also take the responsibility of the copy editor.He may charge accordingly.
Proofreader checks it after the book is printed and makes sure everything is in its place.
It is important to know what the editor I am hiring will do -- her experience, rates, time commitment and all that.
Val Breit in her article guides us with this process. There are many resources including Reedsy where the editors’ profiles, experiences, rates are all spelled out.
But before I give my book to Beta Readers or to professional editors, I must do my homework. And here I am talking about formatting too. There is a certain expectation in formatting from writers regarding the presentation of the work.
FORMATTING:
The very basic expectations are:
- Manuscript must be in Word document format- .doc, or .docx
(I write in google drive)
- Spacing: Double space
- Font: Times New Roman 12 point
- Indenting: Fiction must be indented.
- Chapters: Use page breakers between chapters
- Blake Atwood breaks it down how to do it
Tucker Max in his article (scribe writing.com) talks about the different softwares that are available to edit the first draft.
These are the common ones. I use Grammarly and ProwritingAid both, and I am happy. I didn’t use Hemmingway.
The last thing is -
READING ALOUD:
Reading my writing immediately points out where the rhythm is not working, when the dialogues sound unnatural, where it is getting boring. I have yet to find out how to make my computer read it to me.
If you have any idea, please drop it on the comment box. I look forward to hearing your feedback.