Editing - An Easy List • Young Writers Society

Seraphania · 2009-01-16T11:05:38Z

Sooooo. I browsed the articles thread, but could find nothing about editing. D: Which seems to be an integral part of writing from my point of view. I'm not talking about posting your work and letting other people correct stuff for you - I'm talking nose-grinding, keyboard-banging, want-to-do-anything-but-this editing. Some of us (me included) love it, others hate it. But it's something we as writers all have to learn to do, and do well. But how the heck do you start? Well, here's a good list to follow. I hope it helps. Keep It Simple, Sweetheart. How to edit, the fun way. 1. Finish it. This may seem sort of like a "well, duh" thing, but our inner editors want us to be spouting out gorgeous lyrical bits of prose, not the barely-readable crap we usually come up with in the first draft. I myself was recently caught in the black hole of editing, but I've managed to stop and am now almost done with my full blown novel. Hurrah. 2. Just read it. And by read, I mean read . No changing allowed. If you're afraid you'll forget an idea, make a note so that you can remember it. The only thing you're allowed to fix at this point is grammar/spelling mistakes. That's all. 3. Macro edit. You've read it through - is something missing? Do you need to add a scene, or delete it? Are huge plot holes spouting up so big you're drowning in them? Now's the time to fix all the big stuff that you've been itching to do. Fix it all! 4. Now you can let your inner editor go wild. Go back to the beginning and reread it, but allow yourself to be nitpicky and change/add/remove what you need to. Usually I like taking a break before I start doing this. I may work on something else, or just not write at all. Let your head clear. Then edit it to the best of your - and I stress this - ability. If you're having problems, make a note of it so that you can ask someone for help later. 5. Find someone you trust to be honest but not cruel to read your story. Just let them read it; unless if they're another writer or an author, just ask them to give you their opinion. 6. Find ONE person to be your editor. I stress this as well. Having too many people "edit" your story can actually be a bad thing; they'll want to add in their own ideas, and sooner or later the story may no longer really be what you wanted it to be. Find someone - your parents, if they like to read and write as well, a good friend, a teacher, your husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend. Find a bum on the street if you really want to. But one person, two at the most. 7. Rinse and start again. :D I hope that helped. D: I know that editing can be a big scary thing, but as someone who's been editing others' stories for years, it's not that bad. It can even be fun. Over and out. -Ari

Angels-Symphony

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Sat Jun 06, 2009 11:32 pm

Angels-Symphony says... · Sat Jun 06, 2009 11:32 pm

>< If only you'd posted this sooner Ari!

xD I had to learn it on my own, and honestly, this method works. I finished my novel this past thursday with a wordcount of 110,918 words since October 19 of last year. I had to go back and rewrite a lot of things, but that delayed my finish date. It kept being pushed further and further, until finally, I decided that I'd leave all the mistakes to the editing part.

Now I'm here.

lol
-Shina

You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself into one.

The writer, when he is also an artist, is someone who admits what others don't dare reveal.

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