Tag Archives: self-editing

March 9, 2026 · 6:00 am

Successful revisions #writing

I always think that in some ways, books are like machines. They’re comprised of many essential components, and if one element fails, the book won’t work the way the author envisions it.

My writing life.So, what are these parts?

Prose, plot, transitions, pacing, theme, characterization, dialogue, and mechanics (grammar/punctuation).

As an editor, I’ve seen every kind of mistake you can imagine, and I have written some travesties myself. I need my writing group, people with a critical eye who see my work first and give me good advice when I’ve gone astray.

I don’t want to waste my editor’s time, so once I have completed the revisions suggested by my beta readers, I begin a self-edit.

I use Microsoft Word, but most word processing programs have a read-aloud function. I place the cursor where I want to begin and open the Review Tab. Then, I click on Read Aloud and begin reading along with the mechanical voice. Yes, the AI voice can be annoying and doesn’t always pronounce things right, but this first tool shows me a wide variety of places that need rewriting.

screenshot of the read aloud functionI habitually type ‘though’ when I mean ‘through,’ and ‘lighting’ when I mean ‘lightning.’ These are two widely different words but are only one letter apart. Most misspelled words will leap out when you hear them read aloud.

  1. Run-on sentences stand out.
  2. Inadvertent repetitions also stand out.
  3. Hokey phrasing doesn’t sound as good as you thought it was.
  4. You notice where words like “the” or “a” before a noun were skipped.

This process involves a lot of stopping and starting, taking me a week to get through the entire 90,000-word manuscript. At the end, I will have trimmed about 3,000 words.

image of scissorsThe next phase of this process is where I find and correct punctuation and find more places that need improvement. Sometimes I trim away entire sections, riffs on ideas that have already been presented. Often, they are outright repetitions that don’t leap out on the computer screen. (Those are often cut-and-paste errors.)

Open your manuscript. Break it into separate chapters, and make sure each is clearly and consistently labeled. Make certain the chapter numbers are in the proper sequence and that they don’t skip a number. For a work in progress, Baron’s Hollow, I would title the chapter files this way:

  • BH_ch_1
  • BH_ch_2
  • and so on until the end.

Print out the first chapter. Everything looks different printed out, and you will see many things you don’t notice on the computer screen or hear when the AI voice reads it aloud.

  1. Turn to the last page. Cover the page with another sheet of paper, leaving only the last paragraph visible.
  2. Starting with the last paragraph on the last page, begin reading, working your way forward.
  3. Use a yellow highlighter to mark each place that needs correction.
  4. Put the corrected chapter on a recipe stand next to your computer. Open your document and begin making revisions as noted on your hard copy.

Repeat this process with each chapter.

This is the phase where I look for what I think of as code words. I look at words like “went.” In my personal writing habits, “went” is a code word that tells me when a scene ends and transitions to another stage. The characters or their circumstances are undergoing a change. One scene is ending, and another is beginning.

weak versus strong words. We try to move is weak. We move is strong.Clunky phrasing and info dumps are signals that tell me what I intend the scene to be. In the rewrite, I must expand on those ideas and ensure the prose is active. I must cut some of the info and allow the reader to use their imagination.

Let’s look at the word “went.” When I see it, I immediately know someone is going somewhere.

But in many contexts, “went” is a telling word and can lead to passive phrasing.

Passive phrasing does the job with little effort on the author’s part, which is why the first drafts of my work are littered with it. Active phrasing takes more effort because it involves visualizing a scene and showing it to the reader.

I ask myself, “How do they go?” Went can always be shown as a brief, one-sentence scene. James opened the door and strode out.

Confusing passages stand out when you see them printed. Maybe it’s the opposite of an info dump. Maybe the lead-up to the scene wasn’t shown well enough and leaves the reader wondering how such a thing happened.

The most confusing places are often sections where I cut a sentence or paragraph and moved it to a different place. These really stand out if they create a garbled scene.

image of a stop lightHINT: If your eye wants to skip over a section of the printout, STOP. Read that section aloud and discover why your mind wants to skip it. Was it too wordy? Was it muddled? Something made your eye want to skip it and you need to discover why.

By the end of phase two, I will have trimmed about 3,000 more words from my manuscript.

At this point, the manuscript might look finished, but it has only just begun the journey. Now it is as ready as I can make it, and it goes to my editor, Irene, who gives it the final polish.

Context is everything. I am wary of relying on Grammarly or ProWriting Aid for anything other than alerting you to possible comma and spelling malfunctions.

If you don’t know anything about punctuation, don’t feel alone. Most of us don’t when we’re first starting out, but we learn by looking things up and practicing.

If you are looking for a simple guide to commas that will cost you nothing, check out my post, Fundamentals of Grammar: 7 basic rules of punctuation, published here July 7, 2021.

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June 2, 2025 · 6:00 am

Self-editing – a 3-step process #writing

Many people in my online community have asked for tips on self-editing. I don’t recommend it, as most people don’t have the tenacity to do a proper job of it. However, it can be done, so we’re revisiting a post from April of 2024 on effective self-editing. I hope this answers some questions!

As an editor, I saw every kind of mistake you can imagine, and before that, as a writer, I made them all. This is why I rely on an editor for my work. Irene sees the flaws that my eye skips over.

WritingCraft_self-editingWhen prepping a novel to send to Irene, I use a three-part method. This requires specific tools that come with Microsoft Word, my word-processing program. I believe these tools are available for Google Docs and every other word-processing program. Unfortunately, I am only familiar with Microsoft’s products as they are what the companies that I worked for used.

What follows are three steps that should eliminate most problems in a manuscript.

Part one: Beta Reading is the first look at a manuscript by someone other than the author. I suggest you don’t omit this step unless you can find no one who understands what you need. A good beta reader is a person who reads for pleasure and can gently express what they think about a story or novel. Also, look for a person who enjoys the genre of that particular story. Your beta reader should ask several questions of this first draft (feel free to give them the following list).

beta read meme 2Part two: Once I have ironed out the rough spots noticed by my beta readers, this second stage is put into action. Yes, on the surface the manuscript looks finished, but it has only just begun the journey.

In Microsoft Word, on the Review Tab, I access the Read Aloud function and begin reading along with the mechanical voice. Yes, the narrator app is annoying and mispronounces words like “read,” which sound different and have different meanings depending on the context. However, this first tool alerts me to areas that were overlooked in the first stage of revisions.

ReviewTabLIRF07032021The most frustrating part is the continual stopping, making corrections, and starting.

I use this function rather than reading it aloud from the monitor, as the computer screen tricks the eye. I tend to see and read aloud what I think should be there rather than what is.

  • I habitually key the word though when I mean through or lighting when I mean lightning. Each is a different word but is only one letter apart. Most (but not all) miss keyed words will leap out when you hear them read aloud.
  • Most (but not all) run-on sentences stand out when you hear them read aloud.
  • Most (but not all) inadvertent repetitions also stand out.
  • Most of the time, hokey phrasing doesn’t sound as good as you thought it was.
  • Most of the time, you hear where you have dropped words because you were keying so fast you skipped over including an article, like “the” or “a” before a noun.

This is a long process that involves a lot of stopping and starting. It takes me well over a week to get through an entire 90,000-word manuscript. I will have trimmed about 3,000 words by the end of this phase. I will have caught many typos and miss keyed words and rewritten many clumsy passages.

But I am not done.

Part three: the manual edit. This is where I make a physical copy and do the work the old-fashioned way.

Everything looks different when printed out, and you will see many things you don’t notice on the computer screen or hear when it is read aloud by the narrator app.

  • Houghton_Typ_805.94.8320_-_Pride_and_Prejudice,_1894,_Hugh_Thomson_-_Protested

    Illustration by Hugh Thomson representing Mr. Collins protesting that he never reads novels.

    Open your manuscript. Make sure the pages are numbered in the upper right-hand corner.

  • Print out the first chapter and either staple it together or use a binder clip. If you drop it, the pages will all be together in the proper order.
  • Turn to the last page. Cover the page with another sheet of paper, leaving only the final paragraph visible.
  • Starting with the final paragraph on the last page, begin reading, working your way forward.
  • With a yellow highlighter, mark each place that needs revising.
  • With a red pen/pencil, make notes in the margins to guide the revisions. (Red is highly visible, so you won’t miss it when you are putting your corrections into the digital manuscript.
  • Put the corrected chapter on a recipe stand next to your computer. Open your manuscript and save it as a new file. (ManuscriptTitle_final_Apr2024.docx.) Begin making the revisions as noted on your hard copy.
  • Do the same for each chapter until you have finished revising the entire manuscript.

I look for info dumps, passive phrasing, and timid words. They are signs that a section needs rewriting to make it visual rather than telling. Clunky phrasing and info dumps are signals telling me what I intend that scene to be but haven’t shown. Showing takes fewer words. Many times, I must cut some of the info and allow the reader to use their imagination.

I will have trimmed another 3,000 to 4,000 more words from my manuscript by the end of this process.

By the time we begin writing, most of us have forgotten whatever grammar we once knew. Editing software is a good tool for this. But editing software operates on algorithms and doesn’t understand context.

to err is human to edit divineI am wary of relying on Grammarly or ProWriting Aid for anything other than alerting you to possible problems. Look at each thing they point out and decide whether to accept their recommendation or not. 

You’ll get into trouble if you assume the AI editing programs are always correct. As I said above, they don’t understand context. Good writing involves technical knowledge of grammar, but voice isn’t about algorithms.

Novels are comprised of many essential components. If one element fails, the story won’t work the way I envision it. I always remember that it’s been months since a beta reader saw the mess I am working on and much has changed. I take a hard look at these aspects:

  • Characterization – are the characters individuals?
  • Dialogue – do people sound natural? Do they sound alike, or are they each unique?
  • Mechanics (grammar/punctuation flaws will be more noticeable when printed out)
  • Pacing—how does it transition from action scene to action scene?
  • Plot – does the story revolve around a genuine problem?
  • Prose – how do my sentences flow? Do they say what I mean?
  • Themes – What underlying thread ties the whole story together? Have I used the theme to its best potential?

Being a linear thinker, this process of making revisions works for me. It can take more than a month, but when I’ve finished, I’ll have a manuscript that won’t be full of avoidable distractions. It will be something I can send to my editor. And because I have done my best work, Irene will be able to focus on finding as much of what I have missed as is humanly possible.

Editors_bookself_25May2018If you read as much as I do (and this includes books published by large Traditional publishers), you know that a few mistakes and typos can and will get through despite their careful editing. So, don’t agonize over what you might have missed. If you’re an indie, you can upload a corrected file.

We are all only human, after all.

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April 15, 2024 · 6:22 am

Self-editing part 1 – seven basic rules of punctuation #writing

Many authors are just starting out and have never written anything longer than a memo or a tweet. Once that first manuscript is finished, they will self-edit it. But what if they didn’t have the luxury of a college education in journalism? Many new writers don’t know how to write a readable sentence or what constitutes a paragraph.

MyWritingLife2021I certainly didn’t. If these authors hope to find an agent or successfully self-publish, they have a lot of work and self-education ahead of them.

Most public schools in the US no longer teach creative writing. While some do have some writing classes, the majority of students leave school with a minimal understanding of basic grammar mechanics.

  • They know when they read something that is poorly written, but they don’t know what grammar error makes it wrong. It just feels awkward, so they stop reading.

We who love to read know good writing when we read it. We might have the idea for the best story and the dedication and desire to write it.

However, getting our thoughts onto paper so other readers can enjoy it is not our best skill—yet.

But it soon will be. First, we must think of punctuation as the traffic signal that keeps the words flowing and the intersections manageable.

Trying to learn from a grammar manual can be complicated. I learned by reading the Chicago Manual of Style, which is the rule book for American English. Most editors in the large traditional publishing houses refer to this book when they have questions.

chicago guide to grammarIf you are writing in the US, you might consider investing in Bryan A. Garner’s Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation. This is a resource with all the answers to questions about grammar and sentence structure. It takes the Chicago Manual of Style and boils it down to just the grammar.

There are other style guides, each of which is tailored to a particular kind of writing, such as the AP manual for journalism and the Gregg manual for business writing. The CMoS is specifically for creative writing, such as fiction, memoirs, and personal essays, but also includes business and journalism rules.

However, the basic rules are simple.

Punctuation seems complicated because some advanced usages are open to interpretation. In those cases, how you habitually use them is your voice. Nevertheless, the foundational laws of comma use are not open to interpretation.

Consistently follow these rules, and your work will look professional.

First, commas and the fundamental rules for their use exist for a reason. If we want the reading public to understand our work, we need to follow them.

Wrong-Way-Traffic-Sign-K-101-1Let’s get two newbie mistakes out of the way:

  1. Never insert commas “where you take a breath” because everyone breathes differently.
  2. Do not insert commas where you think it should pause because every reader sees the pauses differently.

Second: How do we use commas and coordinating conjunctions?

A comma should be used before these conjunctions: and, but, for, nor, yet, or, and so to separate two independent clauses. They are called coordinating conjunctions because they join two elements of equal importance.

However, we don’t always automatically use a comma before the word “and.” This is where it gets confusing.

Compound sentences combine two separate ideas (clauses) into one compact package. A comma should be placed before a conjunction only if it is at the beginning of an independent clause. So, use the comma before the conjunction (and, but, or) if the clauses are standalone sentences. If one of them is not a standalone sentence, it is a dependent clause, and you do not add the comma.

Take these two sentences: She is a great basketball player. She prefers swimming.

  1. If we combine them this way, we add a comma: She is a great basketball player, but she prefers swimming.
  2. If we combine them this way, we don’t: She is a great basketball player but prefers swimming.

The omission of one pronoun makes the difference.

You do not join unrelated independent clauses (clauses that can stand alone as separate sentences) with commas as that creates a rift in the space/time continuum: the Dreaded Comma Splice.

Comma Splice Meme

Boris kissed the hem of my garment, the dog likes to ride shotgun.

The dog has little to do with Boris other than the fact they both worship me. The same thought, written correctly:

Boris kissed the hem of my garment.

The dog likes to ride shotgun.

The dog riding shotgun is an independent clause and does not relate at all to Boris and his adoration of me. It should be in a separate paragraph. If you want Boris and the dog in the same sentence, you must rewrite it:

Boris and the dog worship me, and both like to ride shotgun.

Third, a semicolon in an untrained hand is a needle to the eye of the reader. Use them only when two standalone sentences or clauses are short and relate directly to each other.

Some people (including Microsoft Word) think a semicolon signifies an extra-long pause but not a hard ending. The Chicago Manual of Style and Bryan A Garner say that belief is wrong. Don’t blindly accept what Spellcheck tells you!

Semicolons join short independent clauses that can stand alone but which relate to each other. When do we use semicolons? Only when two clauses are short and are complete sentences that relate to each other. Here are two brief sentences that would be too choppy if left separate.

  • The door swung open at a touch. Light spilled into the room. (2 related short standalone sentences.)

  • The door swung open at a touch; light spilled into the room. (2 related short sentences joined by a semicolon.)

  • The door swung open at a touch, and light spilled into the room. (1 compound sentence made from 2 related standalone clauses joined by a comma and a conjunction.) (A connector word.)

strange thoughts 2All three of the above sentences are technically correct. The usage you habitually choose is your voice.

I generally try to find alternatives to semicolons. they’re too easily abused because Microsoft Word and most people don’t know how to use them.

Fourth: Colons. These head lists but are more appropriate for technical writing. Colons are rarely needed in narrative prose. In technical writing, you might say something like:

For the next step, you will need:

  1. four bolts,
  2. two nail files,
  3. one peach, whole and unpeeled.

Technically speaking, I have no idea what they are building, but I can’t wait to see it!

Fifth:  Oxford commas, also known as serial commas. This is the one war authors will never win or find common ground, a true civil war.

When listing a string of things in a narrative, we separate them with commas to prevent confusion. I like people to understand what I mean, so I always use the Oxford Comma/Serial Comma.

If there are only two things (or ideas) in a list, they do not need to be separated by a comma. If there are more than two ideas, the comma should be used as it would be used in a list.

We sell dogs, cats, rabbits, and picnic tables.

Why do we need clarity? You might know what you mean, but not everyone thinks the same way.

I accept this Nebula award and thank my late parents Irene Luvaul and Poseidon.

That sentence might make sense to some readers, but not in the way I intended. The intention of it is to thank my late parents, my editor, and the God of the Sea. If I don’t thank Poseidon, he’ll pitch a fit.

I accept this Nebula award and thank my late parents, Bob and Marge, my editor Irene Luvaul, and Poseidon, the God of the Sea.

Sixth: We use a comma after common introductory clauses.

After dark, Boris would change into his bat form and go hunting for enchiladas.

Seventh: Punctuating dialogue: All punctuation goes inside the quote marks.

  1. A comma follows the spoken words, separating the dialogue from the speech tag.
  2. The clause containing the dialogue is enclosed, punctuation and all, within quotes.
  3. The speech tag is the second half of the sentence, and a period ends the entire sentence.

The editor said, “I agree with those statements.”

If the dialogue is split by the speech tag, do not capitalize the first word in the second half.

“I agree with those statements,” said the editor, “but I wish you’d stop repeating yourself.”

stoplightWhy are these rules so important? Punctuation tames the chaos that our prose can become. Periods, commas, quotation marks–these are the universally acknowledged traffic signals.

If you follow these seven simple rules, your work will be readable. If your story is creative and well-written, it will be acceptable to acquisitions editors.

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April 10, 2024 · 6:00 am

Making effective revisions: the short story #writing

In the past few weeks, we have looked at the structural elements of the story, such as theme, narrative mode, point of view, and the author’s voice. We’ve talked about showing emotions and writing believable drama. We have dissected how a story flows from scene to scene.

depthPart1revisionsLIRF05252021So now, we realize that we must submit our work to contests or publications if we ever want to get our name out there. We have looked at our backlog of short stories and gone out to sites like Submittable or the Submission Grinder to discover contests or magazines that we’d like to send them to.

After all, some of these old ramblings could be pretty good if we dusted them off and polished them up a bit.

So now we’re going to look at the structural elements of a story that has been sitting for a while. Let’s have a look at one of many short works I wrote during lockdown but forgot about.

Author-thoughtsThe first thing we’re going to look at is the problem. Is the problem worth having a story written around it? If not, is this a “people in a situation” story, such as a short romance or a scene in a counselor’s office? What is the problem and why did the characters get involved in it?

The following is the core plot of a short story that came in just under 4,000 words.

A messenger, Oriana, and her partner are on a mission to a local ruler from his brother, the king. Before they arrive there, her partner quarrels with her and attempts to steal the coins that belong to the king. She knocks him out, retrieves what he had stolen, and continues her quest to take the coins to the king’s brother.

At the brother’s town, Oriana collects a small jewel, one that is really an item of great magical power. The king will use it to end the drought that has been crippling the country. Now, she must convey it back to the king.

Oriana meets a wanderer, Geran Rose, who, unaware of what she is carrying, joins her. They travel together, but then the next day, the former partner shows up, accompanied by a demon. Now, the messenger realizes what the thief is really after. She can’t let the demon have the jewel but knows she can’t defeat him. However, a dragon can. So, she and her companion lead the demon into dragon country, knowing that they could die as easily as the demon.

First, I look at believability. It is a fantasy set in a world of humans, elves, dwarves, and dragons, so in that world, would the central event I have detailed really happen? More importantly, would it happen in the way I have shown?

  • The dragons are wild creatures, sentient and, most importantly, looking for a good meal. Why would dragons desire to eat a demon? They love the taste of elves, but they love the taste of demons more. These dragons crave the darkness that the demon embodies in the same way I crave chocolate.

sample-of-rough-sketched-mapWorldbuilding is crucial in a short story. Is the setting I have chosen the right place for this event to happen? In this case, I say yes, that it is the only place where such a story could happen.

I absolutely loved writing the scenes set at the edge of the burning lands. But have I left enough clues in the setting for a reader to visualize the world? My writing group will tell me.

The next aspect I look at is characterization, or how I have portrayed the protagonist and other characters. I ask my characters the same questions that I would ask of those in a novel. Answering these questions also tells me if the plot is believable and relatable.

Are these the right people for their roles? Yes, the elf, Oriana is the only one who could carry this off. The human, Geran Rose is the perfect sidekick, intelligent, and a good fighter. The elven thief and the high-ranking demon were easy to write because they were so outrageously fun.

StoryMemeLIRF10052021Point of view: First person – Oriana tells us this story as it happens. We are in her head for the entire story. Do her actions and reactions feel organic and natural? After some work, I think yes, but again, I’ll have to run it by someone to be sure.

In a short story, conversations and brief moments of mind wandering can be vital in advancing the plot. Are the conversations unique to each character? I hope so, but my writing group will tell me more.

This is a short story, so do these scenes of conversation and internal dialogue show us something about my protagonist’s personality and provide information we need to know without dumping it? Again, I hope so.

What is the unifying theme, the thread that runs throughout the story and ties things together? In this case, it is the many nuances and ramifications of betrayal. Is that theme strong enough to lend believability to the plot?

The last thing I look at is crucial to a reader’s enjoyment of my short story.

How does it end? Is the ending satisfying and finite? I like the way my short story ends, but will my writing group agree?

In your short story, ask yourself if you wonder what could have happened next. Do you want to write more stories around these characters?

I have another story in the works for Oriana and Geran Rose, which involves a traitor, a ballgown, and the universal womanly desire for clothing with useful pockets.

Writing short stories is fun, a way of clearing the mind when I am stuck for ideas on a longer piece. Do make the effort to examine the structure of your short stories and rearrange the scenes as needed.

On Monday, we’ll walk through the steps for revising and self-editing your short work. This final phase of the process is crucial because what you submit must be grammatically clean and look professional.

short story arc

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July 3, 2023 · 6:00 am

Making effective revisions – avoiding repetition #amwriting

We who are indies know we should have our work edited, and most of us aren’t that good at self-editing. So, we find someone we can work with. But hiring an editor is expensive, so before we send our manuscript off, we should take the time to make it as clean as possible. It will greatly speed up the process if the editor doesn’t have to wade through a mess.

WritingCraft_self-editingOne of my favorite authors writes great storylines and creates wonderful characters. Unfortunately, the quality of his work has deteriorated over the last decade. It’s clear that he has succumbed to the pressure from his publisher, as he is putting out four or more books a year.

While I can write that many first drafts in one year, I could never make more than one book ready for a reader every two or three years. For that reason, I have manuscripts in various stages of completion and try to publish one a year. However, I often can’t keep to that schedule.

Taking the manuscript from the first draft to the finished product is a long and involved process. The author I mentioned above has his characters repeat what has already happened every time they meet someone new.

oopsThis frequently happens to me in a first draft, but whoever is editing for him is letting it slide, as it pads the word count, making his books novel-length. I suspect they don’t have time to do any significant revisions.

The Big Traditional Publishing Giants are just as tempted to rush a manuscript to publication as we indies are, and editing sometimes falls by the way. However, if an indie publishes work as poorly edited as what is being sold by the big publishers, the entire indie community looks bad.

Since the large publishing houses aren’t as concerned about their editing as we always thought they were, it’s up to us to find the flaws before we submit our work to them. This means you should prepare the manuscript as thoroughly as if you intended to publish it yourself.

ok to write garbage quote c j cherryhWhen we lay down the first draft, the story emerges from our imagination and falls onto the paper (or keyboard). Even with an outline, the story forms in our heads as we write it. While we think it is perfect as is, it probably isn’t.

The revision process is about far more than merely grammar and word placement. It is about ensuring the story arc doesn’t flat-line and that inadvertent repetition of entire ideas doesn’t bog it down.

Those who regularly read my blog know I frequently repeat an idea phrased a bit differently further down the post. My elderly brain seems determined to make that point, no matter what.

We all do this in our first drafts, and very few things are more “first draft” than a blog post.

Epic Fails meme2Inadvertent repetition causes the story arc to dip. It takes us backward rather than forward.  In my work, I have discovered that the second version of that idea is usually better than the first.

One way to minimize the number of flaws in your work is to print it out and read it aloud. Mark each place where you stumble or the passages don’t make sense with a highlighter.

You will find run-on sentences, spell-check errors, and many small things you don’t notice when it’s on the computer screen.

At this point, since you have already printed out each chapter, read it aloud, and highlighted what you stumbled over, you could take the time to go a little deeper into the revision process.

It’s already printed, so I don’t have to waste more ink or paper.

  • I turn to the last paragraph on each chapter’s last page.
  • Working my way forward with a yellow highlighter, I make notes in the margins.

Mardi_Gras_mask_cateyes_iconYou see things from a different angle when you start reading the chapter from the end and work your way toward the beginning. It’s amazing how many bloopers show up when you do this, even though you have already read it aloud. When you read it aloud you were going the direction you always go, the way you know so well. The mind tricks us, and we read what should be there instead of what is.

This admittedly involved process works for me because we don’t notice wonky grammar and mechanics as much when we see them on a computer screen.

Once I have printed out my manuscript chapter by chapter and finished going over it, I put the hand-corrected copy on a recipe stand beside my computer. I begin making revisions in a new file labeled with the date. The date in the file label tells me which is the most recent version of a manuscript.

BoH_revised_07-01-2023

(I never delete the old files because we never know when we might need something we have already written.)

weak-words-when-used-in-transitonsHere are a few things that stand out when I do this:

  • Inadvertent shifts in the spelling of names for people and places, such as Moran becoming Muran. (Keeping a style sheet of how names and created words are spelled and doing a global search for each before publishing resolves that.)
  • Places where I have contradicted myself, such as a town being northof the main character’s location, but they travel south to get there. Making a simple hand-drawn map resolves the location problem (if I remember to look at it).
  • Punctuation errors and missing quotation marks also stand out when I see them printed.

My editor keeps me aware of inadvertent shifts in spelling. Years ago, she taught me to make a style sheet for each project.

The style sheet can take several forms. Even a simple handwritten list will do, as it’s only a visual guide to print out or keep minimized on my desktop until needed. I was a bookkeeper, so I use Excel to copy and paste every invented name, hyphenated word, or placename the first time they appear in my manuscript.

  • I sometimes forget to make a note of made-up words and usages when I am really into writing. (Oops.)

My editor takes my list of invented words and adds the ones I overlooked to it during her part of the process.

ICountMyself-FriendsIf you have the resource of a good writing group, you are a bit ahead of the game. I suggest you run each revised chapter by your group and listen to what they say. Some of what you hear won’t be useful, but much will be.

Many years ago, a friend who read my work gave me a list of weak words to watch for.

Another friend trained me out of using “that” as a crutch word—a word I use too often in my everyday speech.

Constructive criticism is a good thing.

I have discovered that the real work of writing a novel comes after I have written the story.

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December 28, 2022 · 6:00 am

The Editing Process #amwriting

Self-editing is not an easy task. As a rule, I don’t recommend it because we authors see what we want to see. However, hiring an editor is out of reach for some people, and we will discuss that further in the second half of this article.

WritingCraft_self-editingThe publishing world is a rough playground. Editors for traditional publishing companies and small presses have a landslide of work to pick from and are chronically short-staffed. They can’t accept unprofessional work regardless of how good the story is.

Finding a freelance editor can be a challenge. A good way is to ask other authors who they recommend. Also, many freelance editors network through social media sites like Linkedin.

Another way is to google “how to find a freelance editor.”

Quill_pen smallBefore you hire an editor, check their qualifications and references. SFWA (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association) has an article you should read regardless of the genre in which you write: EDITORS AND EDITING – SFWA

What to expect once you do hire an editor:

Many editors will ask for the first twenty pages of your manuscript at no cost to you. They will either accept your project or explain why it isn’t ready for editing. Submissions should be formatted as MS WORD documents using Times New Roman 12 pt. font. Some editors will ask for a different font, so format it in the style they require.

Using the ribbon at the top, on the far right-hand side of the home tab, click Select All. This will highlight your entire document. With the whole document highlighted, open the paragraph tab to drop down the formatting menu. The manuscript should be aligned left, creating a ragged right-hand margin. Sentences should be double-spaced with no extra space between paragraphs. The first line of each paragraph should be indented .5 and formatted using the ribbon (not the tab key).

formatting_paragraphs_word_doc2018_LIRF

If you have used the tab key to indent paragraphs, you can fix it by using one of the following ways.

To remove tabs from a manuscript in MS Word or most other word-processing programs, open the “Find” box (right side of the ribbon on the home tab). In the “Find” field, type in ^t. (Caret + lowercase t) (press the alt key 94 to make ^ and key the t). This only works if you have a ten-key (number pad) at the right side of your keyboard: ^t.

Then click “Replace.” In this field, type nothing. Click once on “Replace all,” and it will remove every tab.

remove_tabs

That will leave you with no indents whatsoever. Your manuscript will temporarily look like a wall of words, but you will resolve that.

Once the tabs are all removed, use the following instructions to format paragraphs.

FIRST: SELECT ALL. This will highlight your entire manuscript.

Step 1: On the Home tab, look in the group labeled ‘Paragraph.’ On the lower right-hand side of that group is a small grey square. Click on it. A pop-out menu will appear, which is where you format your paragraphs.

Step 2: On the indents and spacing menu: Use standard alignment, align LEFT. We use this format because we are not looking at a finished product here. We are looking at a rough draft that will be sliced, diced, and otherwise mutilated many times before we get to the final product.

Step 3: Indentation: leave that alone or reset both numbers to ‘0’ if you have inadvertently altered it.

Step 4: Where it says ‘Special,’ select ‘first line on the dropdown menu.’ On the ‘By’ menu, select ‘0.5.’ (Some publishers specify a different number, 0.3 or 0.2, but 0.5 is standard.)

Step 5: ‘Spacing’: set both before and after to ‘0.’

Step 6: ‘Line Spacing’: set to ‘double.’

If you don’t have a ten-key pad, you must remove each tabbed indent by hand. Beginning with the first paragraph on the first page, scroll down and use the backspace key to remove the tab indenting every paragraph.

The editor will probably use the track changes function in MS Word. They will return your manuscript with their suggestions for revisions, highlighted in red and noted in the review column on the right-hand side of the document. You will use the track changes function to accept or reject each suggestion. This is what track changes looks like when you get the manuscript back:

what track changes looks like

Also, you might receive a separate report detailing the editor’s overall impressions of your manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses.

During the editing process, a word-frequency report might be generated. A style sheet will probably be developed for usages and unique spellings that may pertain to your manuscript. Via email, you and the editor might discuss the names and usages that may differ from standard spellings to create that style sheet. A good editor will respond to your questions as soon as they receive your email.

We overlook many flaws when trying to self-edit our work because we are as immersed in visualizing the scene as we were during the moments when we first wrote it. Our eyes see what we imagine to be there rather than the typos or missing words.

steampunk had holding pen smallIf you’re a member of a writers’ group, you have a resource of people who will beta read for you at no cost. As a critique group member, you will read for them too.

Be careful how you phrase your comments on their work. Be accurate and find positive things to point out as well as areas that need work.

For those who can’t afford a full professional edit, there is a way to make a pretty good stab at editing your own manuscript. However, it is time-consuming, which is why an editor’s services are not cheap.

Open your Manuscript.

Break it into separate chapters by copying and pasting each individual chapter into a new document. Doing this preserves the original manuscript and breaks it down into manageable chunks.

Save the chapters in a new file labeled with the word “revisions.” Example: Barons_Hollow_revisions_12-22-2022

FileDocumentClearly and consistently label each chapter. Ensure the chapter numbers are in the proper sequence, and don’t skip a number. I would label my individual chapter files this way:

  • BH_ch_1

Print out the first chapter. Everything looks different printed out, and you will see many things you don’t notice on the computer screen.

Turn to the last page. Cover the page, leaving only the final paragraph visible.

  • Starting with the last paragraph on the last page, begin reading, working your way forward.
  • Look for typos and garbled sentences.
  • With a yellow highlighter, mark each place that needs correction.

I can’t stress the importance of the following observation strongly enough:

YOU MUST UNDERSTAND AND OBEY THE BASIC RULES OF GRAMMAR. Those who think the standard grammar rules don’t matter to readers are doing their work and reputation a disservice.

misuse_grammar_consistently_memeIf you are writing in the US, you might consider investing in Bryan A. Garner’s Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation. This is a resource with all the answers to questions about grammar and sentence structure. It takes the Chicago Manual of Style and boils it down to just the grammar.

For a quick one-page reference, here is a link to an article I posted on the basics of grammar:

Fundamentals of Grammar: seven basic rules of punctuation

Punctuation is not an area where we can cut corners. It serves as the traffic signals, affects pacing, and avoids verbal chaos. Most readers won’t notice the grammar if you have a good grasp of the basics and are consistent.

When you have finished, you should have someone you trust read it for typos and copy/paste errors you might have missed. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but readers want to enjoy the book, not struggle through garbled sentences.

The New Year approaches, and many books will be indie-published novels written during NaNoWriMo. Will they be readable and enjoyable? If the authors took the time to have their work edited and seen by their writing group first—then yes, probably so.

Whatever you write, and whatever your publishing path, I wish you a blessed New Year. May the well of inspiration never run dry!

christmas-holly-sidebar 2

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December 19, 2022 · 6:00 am

Editing Software – the Pros and Cons #amwriting

Every year about this time, the question of purchasing editing software arises in one or another writers’ forum. These programs are expensive, but for me, they are a good investment. I have used ProWriting Aid in the past, but it didn’t play well with MS Word and often glitched.

WritingCraft_self-editingI understand that slight incompatibility has been resolved. In my opinion, both programs are good, and both have pros and cons.

I switched to Grammarly in 2016 because it worked well with MS Word. I know it also works well with Google Docs, as a friend of mine uses that program.

Grammarly is a tool I use to self-edit my blog articles in conjunction with the Read Aloud function that comes with MS Word. No matter how good we think we are, self-editing is problematic. We will overlook many flaws in our work unless we can view it from a different angle.

I use these two tools to turn out three articles each week, hoping to be as professional looking as possible.

I still miss obvious errors.

I find working with editing software as annoying as heck.

Editing software is good at alerting you to some errors. But these helpful programs are not as valuable as we wish they were. The suggestions they make concerning phrasing are based on algorithms and often make no sense.

What is an algorithm? Wikipedia says:

In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm (/ˈælɡərɪðəm/ is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specifications for performing calculations and data processing. More advanced algorithms can perform automated deductions (referred to as automated reasoning) and use mathematical and logical tests to divert the code execution through various routes (referred to as automated decision-making). [1]

This means that editing software is defined by finite rules. Suggestions are made based on the placement of a word or punctuation. Editing programs will often strongly suggest changes that may not be right for that situation because software isn’t intuitive. It is unable to understand the fluid nature of creative writing and how the way we combine words evokes emotion.

powerwordsWordCloudLIRF06192021Most word processing programs have some form of spellcheck and some minor editing assists. Spellcheck is notorious for both helping and hindering you.

When a word is misused but spelled correctly, your word-processing program’s spellcheck may not alert you to an obvious error. But editing software probably will.

  • There, their, they’re.
  • To, too, two.
  • Its, it’s

The BIG problem for those who don’t remember the basics of grammar or were never taught them is this: editing programs cannot see the context of the work they are analyzing.

That is where your eye and understanding of context and grammar must prevail.

New writers must learn how their native language works. Editing programs are helpful but can mislead and confuse authors who are new to the craft and don’t understand the mechanics of grammar. One must know:

  • how to construct a sentence,
  • how to construct a paragraph,
  • how to write dialogue.

At this stage in our technology, understanding context is solely a human function. Context is defined as the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect.

I find software for editing useful. I do rely on it as a way to turn out articles in a timely fashion.

strange thoughts 2You might disagree with the program’s suggestions. You, the author, have control and can disregard suggested changes if they make no sense. I regularly reject weird suggestions.

Each time the editing program highlights something, I examine the problem sentence. Knowing that how I phrased a sentence tripped the program’s algorithms encourages me to look at that passage with a critical eye.

I may not use the program’s suggestion, but something triggered the algorithm. I search for a better way to get my idea across.

Even editors must have their work seen by other eyes. My blog posts are proof of this, as I am the only one who sees them before they are posted. Even though I write them in advance, edit them, and then look at them again before scheduling them, I still find silly errors two or three days after a post has gone live.

Grammarly isn’t as helpful in my creative writing as it is for a blog post. It’s too difficult to ignore the oddball suggestions it makes while I’m writing, so I don’t waste time by running my raw work through that grinder.

Instead, I write a chapter or scene and move on. Later, I access the Read Aloud function and read that section along with the mechanical voice. It’s annoying and doesn’t always pronounce things right, but this first tool shows me many places that need rewriting.

I use this function rather than doing it myself, as I tend to see and read aloud what I think should be there rather than what is.

What does the Read Aloud function help me see?

  • I habitually key the word though, when I mean through. These are two widely different words but are only one letter apart. Most, but not all, miss-keyed words will leap out when you hear them read aloud.
  • Most but not all run-on sentences stand out when you hear them read aloud.
  • Most but not all inadvertent repetitions also stand out.
  • Most of the time, hokey phrasing doesn’t sound as good as you thought it was.
  • Most of the time, you hear where you have dropped words because you were keying so fast you skipped over including an article, like “the” or “a” before a noun.

chicago guide to grammarI am wary of relying on Grammarly or ProWriting Aid for anything other than alerting you to possible problems. If you blindly obey every suggestion made by editing programs, you will turn your manuscript into a mess.

Editing software in conjunction with a style guide can be a tool for learning if you really want to learn the fundamentals of your native language. If your native language is English and you wish to invest in editing software, you should also invest in one of two books, depending on whether you use American or UK English:

The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation (American English)

OR

The Oxford A – Z of Grammar and Punctuation (UK English)

Both American and UK writers should invest in:

The Oxford Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms (UK and American English)

Each time the software makes a suggestion you disagree with but don’t know why—look it up in the grammar book. Learn why something looks right to you but is technically wrong. Then choose to write it the way you like it best. If you know the rules, you can break them with style.

oxford_synonym_antonymAlso, it never hurts to have a book of synonyms on hand. We all tend to inadvertently repeat ourselves, and the Read Aloud function will shed light on those crutch words. A dictionary of synonyms and antonyms can help us find good alternatives.

My best advice is to never stop learning about the craft of writing. I have taken advantage of every opportunity to learn, both from books and from my editor.

As you can see in the screenshot below, Grammarly points out things I need to reexamine. By the time the post goes live, it has been run though Grammarly, read aloud, and set aside for a day. Then I read it again, make more revisions, and schedule it.

Grammarly12172022LIRF

Credits and Attributions:

[1] Wikipedia contributors, “Algorithm,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Algorithm&oldid=1127589631 (accessed December 17, 2022).

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February 21, 2022 · 6:00 am

The three-step process for successful self-editing #amwriting

Last week I was asked about my self-editing/revision process. I do have a method that works for me, but it’s time-consuming. There is no magic bullet for this.

toolsIn some ways, novels are machines. Internally, each book is comprised of many essential components. If one element fails, the story won’t work the way I envision it.

So, what are these parts?

  • Characterization,
  • Dialogue,
  • Mechanics (grammar/punctuation),
  • Pacing,
  • Plot,
  • Prose,
  • Theme,
  • Transitions.

I began this journey knowing nothing about how a novel is constructed internally. I wanted to write stories, but they never came out the way I saw them in my head.

Plot-exists-to-reveal-characterSo, realizing I knew nothing was the first positive thing I did for myself. I made it my business to learn all I could, even though I will never achieve perfection.

Writing is a craft where the bar is raised with every success. Each achievement you make pushes the hope of perfection a bit higher, still just out of reach.

But I won’t stop trying.

As an editor, I’ve seen every kind of mistake you can imagine. This tendency to not see the flaws in our own work is why I have an editor. I can see the places that need work in your manuscript but need someone with a critical eye to see my work.

When prepping a novel to send to my editor, I use a three-part method. This requires specific tools that come with Microsoft Word, my word-processing program. I feel sure these tools are available for Google Docs and every other word-processing program.

Phase one: the initial read-through. Once I have completed the revisions suggested by my beta readers, this stage is put into action. After considering their suggestions and revising the manuscript, it looks finished. But it has only just begun the journey.

In Microsoft Word, on the Review Tab, I access the Read Aloud function and begin reading along with the mechanical voice. Yes, it’s annoying and doesn’t always pronounce things right, but this first tool shows me many places that need rewriting.

the review tabI use this function rather than reading it aloud myself, as I tend to see and read aloud what I think should be there rather than what is.

  • I habitually key the word though when I mean through. These are two widely different words but are only one letter apart. Most, but not all, miskeyed words will leap out when you hear them read aloud.
  • Most but not all run-on sentences stand out when you hear them read aloud.
  • Most but not all inadvertent repetitions also stand out.
  • Most of the time, hokey phrasing doesn’t sound as good as you thought it was.
  • Most of the time, you hear where you have dropped words because you were keying so fast you skipped over including an article, like “the” or “a” before a noun.

strange thoughts 2This is a long process that involves a lot of stopping and starting, taking me a week to get through an entire 90,000-word manuscript. I will have trimmed about 3,000 words by the end of phase one. I will have caught many typos and miskeyed words and rewritten many clumsy sentences.

But I am not done.

Phase Two: The Manual Edit

This phase is where I find my punctuation errors most often. I look for and correct punctuation and make notes for any other improvements that must be made. Usually, I cut entire sections, as they are riffs on previously presented ideas. Sometimes they are outright repetitions, which don’t leap out when viewed on the computer screen.

  • Open your manuscript. Break it into separate chapters, and make sure each is clearly and consistently labeled. Make certain the chapter numbers are in the proper sequence and don’t skip a number.
  • Print out the first chapter. Everything looks different printed out, and you will see many things you don’t notice on the computer screen or hear when it was read aloud.
  • Turn to the last page. Cover the page with another sheet of paper, leaving only the final paragraph visible.
  • Starting with the final paragraph on the last page, begin reading, working your way forward.
  • With a yellow highlighter, mark each place that needs correction.
  • Put the corrected chapter on a recipe stand next to your computer. Open your document and begin making the revisions you noted on your hard copy.

CAUTION INFO DUMP ZONE AHEADThis is the phase where I look for info dumps, passive phrasing, and timid words. These telling passages are codes for the author, laid down in the first draft. They are signs that a section needs rewriting to make it visual rather than telling. Clunky phrasing and info dumps are signals telling me what I intend that scene to be. I must cut some of the info and allow the reader to use their imagination.

I will have trimmed about 3,000 more words from my manuscript by the end of phase two.

Phase three is the step that only works if you understand grammar and industry practices. Be aware that understanding context is solely a human function at this stage in our technology.

You may have found that your word processing program has spellcheck and some minor editing assists. Spellcheck is notorious for both helping and hindering you. It may or may not alert you to an obvious error.

  • There, their, they’re.
  • To, too, two.
  • Its, it’s.

In this third phase, I go over each chapter using Grammarly. I have also used ProWriting Aid. Each program has strengths and weaknesses. There are several other programs available to writers, but I have only tried these two.

DangerEditing programs operate on algorithms and don’t understand context. I am wary of relying on Grammarly or ProWriting Aid for anything other than alerting you to possible problems. If you blindly obey every suggestion made by editing programs, you will turn your manuscript into a mess.

If your knowledge of punctuation is sketchy, don’t feel alone. By the time we begin writing as adults, most of us have forgotten whatever grammar we once knew. If this is your case, your best bet is to avoid these costly programs.

It takes far less money to invest in a book like the Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation and learn how grammar works.

Good editing software is expensive. For my specific needs, it has been a worthwhile investment. If you choose to invest in some, use common sense when reviewing the program’s suggestions.

My three-part self-editing process can take more than a month. When I’ve finished, I’ll have a manuscript that won’t be full of distractions. I will send it to my editor, and she’ll be able to focus on finding as much of what I have missed as is humanly possible.

And, if you read any books published by the large Traditional publishers, you know that a few mistakes and typos can and will get through despite our careful editing.

We are only human, after all.

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December 6, 2021 · 6:00 am

Editing Programs – the pros and cons #amwriting

With NaNoWriMo 2021 behind us, it’s time to talk about editing programs again. Several writers in our region have asked me if I use one in my own work.

MyWritingLife2021I do use Grammarly—but also, I don’t.

I rely on my knowledge of grammar and what I intend to convey more than I do an editing program. While they are good at alerting you to some errors, these helpful programs are not as useful as we wish they were.

No software can replace knowledge of grammar. An author must have confidence in what they intend to convey and how they wish to say it.

For this reason, editing software may not be a good tool for every author.

A person with no knowledge of grammar will not benefit from relying on an editing program for advice. There is no way to bypass learning the craft of writing.

You may have found that your word processing program has spellcheck and some minor editing assists. Spellcheck is notorious for both helping and hindering you.

they're their there cupSpellcheck doesn’t understand context, so if a word is misused but spelled correctly, it may not alert you to an obvious error.

  • There, their, they’re.
  • To, too, two.
  • Its, it’s

Grammarly is an editing program I use for checking my own work, in tandem with Pro Writing Aid. I pay a monthly fee for the professional versions of these two programs. Each one has strengths and weaknesses.

For me, especially in my first draft, some words are like tics—they fall out of my fingers and into my keyboard randomly and out of my voluntary control. I don’t self-edit as I go because, at that point, I’m just trying to get the story down. The second and third drafts are where I shape my grammar and phrasing.

I want to write active prose, so I don’t want to use words with no power behind them.

Often removing an adjective or adverb strengthens the prose. Descriptors are easy to find because these words frequently end with the letters ‘ly.’

You could do a global search for the letters ‘ly,’ and a list will pop up in the left margin of your manuscript.

However, the most ludicrous advice I’ve ever heard at a critique group came from an author who was about to publish his first book. He had a great deal of enthusiasm for the craft but was armed with too little knowledge: he told a new writer to remove all adverbs from her narrative.

Unfortunately, he forgot that words like “later,” or “everywhere,” or “never” or “alone” are also adverbs.

That sort of wrong-headed advice survives because it is based on a writing truth: unnecessary adverbs and adjectives inflate the word count but add no value. Worse, they sometimes fail to tell us something that we need to know.

In other words, use adverbs and adjectives when they are necessary and cut them when they aren’t.

In my own work, I seek out adverbs, descriptors, qualifiers, and “weed words.” I look at how they are placed in the context of the sentence and decide if they will stay or go. Many will go, but some must stay.

The BIG problem for those who don’t understand the basics of grammar is this: editing programs cannot see the context of the work they are analyzing.

In one of my older manuscripts, this sentence triggered the algorithm:

“The tea was cool and sweet, quenching her thirst.”

Grammarly suggested replacing quenching with quenched and then suggested a comma at the end instead of a period.

Pro Writing Aid made the same suggestion but didn’t tell me to add a comma.

These programs operate on algorithms defined by finite rules. They will often strongly suggest you insert an unneeded article or change a word to one that is clearly not the right one for that situation. That is where your eye and understanding of context and grammar must prevail.

chicago guide to grammarNew writers should invest in the Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation and learn how grammar works. For people new to the craft and who don’t understand grammar or how to construct a sentence or a paragraph, or how to write dialogue, editing programs will confuse and mislead them.

To get the best out of editing software, you must know the basics of how to write.

At this stage in our technology, understanding context is solely a human function. Context is defined as the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect.

A person with no knowledge of grammar will not benefit from relying on Grammarly or any other editing program for advice. There is no way to bypass learning the craft of writing.

Because context is so important, I am wary of relying on these editing programs for anything other than alerting you to possible comma and spelling malfunctions.

You might disagree with the program’s suggestions. You, the author, have control and can disregard suggested changes if, as illustrated above, they make no sense. I regularly reject weird suggestions.

However, when the editing program highlights something, I examine the problem sentence. Just knowing that the way I phrased a sentence tripped the program’s algorithms encourages me to look at that passage with a critical eye.

I may not use the program’s suggestion, but something triggered the algorithm. That means my phrasing might need work. I may need to find a better way to get my idea across.

Timid WordsEven editors must have their work seen by other eyes. My blog posts are proof of this as I am the only one who sees them before they are posted. Even though I write them in advance, go over them with two editing programs, and then look at them again before each post goes live, I still find silly errors two or three days later.

Certain words and phrases don’t add to the narrative and only increase the wordiness. Used too freely, they separate the reader from the experience.

In my first draft, these words are like tics. They fall out of my fingers and into my keyboard randomly and out of my voluntary control. I never self-edit as I write the first draft because I am just trying to get the story down. The second and third drafts are where you deal with grammar and phrasing.

When I begin revisions, I will seek out adverbs, descriptors, qualifiers, and other “weed words,” look at how they are placed in the context of the sentence, and decide if they will stay or go

You can’t take shortcuts. If you are too impatient and choose to “Replace All” without carefully thinking things through, you run the risk of making a gigantic mess of your work. Some weed words are parts of other words, for example:

  • very—every
  • has—hasten, chasten

powerwordsWordCloudLIRF06192021If you have decided something is a “crutch word,” examine the context. Inadvertent repetitions of certain words are easy to eliminate once we see them with a fresh eye.

Context is everything.

I can’t stress this enough: take the time to look at each example of the offending words individually.

It’s unfortunate, but there is no speedy way to do this. You will be rewarded, though, when your book is finished to the best of your ability.

 

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July 5, 2021 · 6:00 am

Successful Self-Editing #amwriting

Books are machines, comprised of many essential components. If one of those elements fail, the book won’t work the way the author envisions it. So, what are these parts?

no_graceful_way_outLIRF02212021Prose, plot, transitions, pacing, theme, characterization, dialogue, and mechanics (grammar/punctuation).

As an editor, I’ve seen every kind of mistake you can imagine and written many travesties myself. This tendency to not see the flaws in our own work is why I have an editor. I need someone with a critical eye to see my work before publication.

I am in the process of revising my Accidental Novel, prepping it to send to my editor. I have a three-part method, using specific tools that come with my word-processing program.

Phase one: the initial read-through. This stage is put into action once I have completed the revisions suggested by my beta readers. At this point, the manuscript looks finished, but it has only just begun the journey.

I use Microsoft Word. On the Review Tab, I access the Read Aloud function and begin reading along with the mechanical voice. Yes, it’s annoying and doesn’t always pronounce things right, but this first tool shows me a wide variety of places that need rewriting.

ReviewTabLIRF07032021I use this function rather than reading it aloud myself, as I tend to see and read aloud what I think should be there rather than what is.

  1. I habitually key the word though when I mean through. These are two widely different words but are only one letter apart. Most miss-keyed words will leap out when you hear them read aloud.
  2. Run-on sentences stand out when you hear them read aloud.
  3. Inadvertent repetitions also stand out.
  4. Hokey phrasing doesn’t sound as good as you thought it was.
  5. You hear where you have dropped words because you were keying so fast you skipped over including an article, like “the” or “a” before a noun.

This is a long process that involves a lot of stopping and starting, taking me a week to get through the entire 90,000-word manuscript. By the end of phase one, I will have trimmed about 3,000 words.

Phase Two: The Manual Edit

The_Pyramid_Conflict_Tension_PacingThis phase is where I find my punctuation errors most often. I look for and correct punctuation and make notes for any other improvements that must be made. Usually, I cut entire sections, as they are riffs on ideas that have been presented before. Sometimes they are outright repetitions, which don’t leap out when viewed on the computer screen.

  1. Open your manuscript. Break it into separate chapters, and make sure each is clearly and consistently labeled. Make certain the chapter numbers are in the proper sequence and that they don’t skip a number. For a work in progress, Baron’s Hollow, I labeled my chapter files this way:
  • BH_ch_1
  • BH_ch_2
  1. Print out the first chapter. Everything looks different printed out, and you will see many things you don’t notice on the computer screen or hear when the voice reads it aloud.
  2. Turn to the last page. Cover the page with another sheet of paper, leaving only the last paragraph visible.
  3. Starting with the last paragraph on the last page, begin reading, working your way forward.
  4. With a yellow highlighter, mark each place that needs correction.
  5. Put the corrected chapter on a recipe stand next to your computer. Open your document and begin making revisions as noted on your hard copy.

This is the phase where I look for what I think of as code words. I look at words like “went.” In my personal writing habits, “went” is a code word that tells me when a scene ends and transitions to another stage. The characters or their circumstances are undergoing a change. One scene is ending, and another is beginning.

In fact, all info dumps, passive phrasing, and timid words are codes for the author, laid down in the first draft.

Clunky phrasing and info dumps are signals telling me what I intend that scene to be. In the rewrite, I must expand on those ideas and ensure the prose is active. I must cut some of the info and allow the reader to use their imagination.

I look for all of the eight forms of the verb “be” and change that passive phrasing to make it active if possible. The forms of “be” are subjunctives and are tricky words. They’re necessary in some cases, but not always and can become crutches.

Be_Eight_Forms_LIRF05122019Passive phrasing does the job with little effort on the part of the author, which is why the first drafts of my work are littered with it. Active phrasing takes more effort because it involves visualizing a scene and showing it to the reader.

For example, when I see the word “went,” I immediately know someone goes somewhere. But “went” is a telling word and is passive phrasing. I ask myself, “How do they go?” Went can always be shown as a scene. Loretta opened the door, gave Burt the finger, and strode out.

By the end of phase two, I will have trimmed about 3,000 more words from my manuscript.

Phase three is the step that only works if you have an understanding of grammar and industry practices. Currently, at this stage in our technology, understanding context is solely a human function.

You may have found that your word processing program has spellcheck and some minor editing assists. Spellcheck is notorious for both helping and hindering you.

Tools like spellcheck don’t understand context, so if a word is misused but spelled correctly, it probably won’t alert you to an obvious error.

  • There, their, they’re.
  • To, too, two.
  • Its, it’s.

In the third phase of prepping my work to send to my editor, I go over each chapter one more time, this time using Grammarly. I have also used ProWriting Aid. Each one has strengths and weaknesses.

Context is critical. I am wary of relying on Grammarly or ProWriting Aid for anything other than alerting you to possible comma and spelling malfunctions.

If you don’t know anything about punctuation, don’t feel alone. Most of us don’t when we’re first starting out, and if this is your case, your best bet is to avoid these programs.

chicago guide to grammarUse that money to invest in a book like the Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation and learn how grammar works.

Good editing software is not cheap. But for my specific needs, it has been a worthwhile investment. If you do choose to invest in some, use common sense when reviewing the program’s suggestions.

This three-part process can take more than a month. When I’ve finished, I’ll have a manuscript to send my editor that won’t be full of distractions. She’ll be able to focus on finding as much of what I have missed as is humanly possible.

Hopefully, between the two of us, I’ll have a decent book to publish early in 2022.

 

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