Self-Editing, The Writer’s Friend

All kinds of writers (fiction, business,  non-fiction, etc.) have all kinds of reasons they need to self-edit. 

For starters – well it’s the place to start. Even if you have it in your budget to hire a professional editor or you have friends in the office standing by to do a read through, the fact of the matter is you need to do a self-edit first…and maybe last. 

Great news is there are all kinds of helps you can use.  But, of course there are advantages and downsides to using those tools.  

The advantages? 

Many tools are free or low cost, yep, you can use many of them for nothing.  These tools aren’t human so if you have a difference with them it is quite impossible to insult them or cause hard feelings. If you pay attention to what you find when using these tools you’ll learn stuff. Really, you will. And a tool won’t judge you for misspelling the same word over and over, it will simply point that out for you to correct.

The disadvantages?

One is the same as the advantage – the tools aren’t human.  They won’t think for you. A tool may give you a heads up regarding potential problems, but it’s you as the writer who needs to decide what to address and how or if you should ignore it altogether.  A tool isn’t going to fix it for you. Sometimes a tool unearths something that isn’t clear and you’ll have to dig around  in craft of writing books or style guides to figure it out. 

So why don’t you give some helpful tools a try?

Check out the Hemingway App http://www.hemingwayapp.com/desktop.html   It will highlight adverbs in blue. After that you can dump them or leave ones you think are important leading the way to showing your reader instead of telling a story.

When you approach self-editing remember first it’s good to begin with the overview then work your way down to sentences and fixes for words. Use only one tool at a time or you’re really going to confuse yourself. And it isn’t necessary to use every tool in your toolbox every time you write. Think about which ones will do the job the best.

Here’s a link to eight proofreading tools you might find useful.

Meanwhile don't forget my new comic series, written and illustrated with Charlene Brash-Sorensen is Kindle Free through Thurs. Aug. 27.  Grab your copy now! 

 

Writers And The Learning Curve

Writers; we’re by necessity much more than that these days. The world of writing and everything associated with it has changed amazingly in the past few years and continues to change every day. Think about it. The internet with it’s amazing resources for writers; research at our fingertips, social media to get out there and meet our readers and promote, videos and so much more.

It’s all a bit of a whirlwind, but if you’re a writer you’re already all too aware that what it means to be a writer is changing on a daily basis. How we can be successful at it is changing even faster. You have to grab the brass ring of what our culture is throwing at us, move forward rapidly, build new skills with alacrity and stay on top of stuff you previously didn’t even know existed (well, actually you didn’t know it existed because a short time ago it didn’t!).

So here are three of those skills I mentioned above to consider:

   1.    Network with other writers. Seriously. We used to believe writers were lone wolves, working in a quiet little room of his or her own. It wasn’t altogether true then, just partially. Yes, a certain amount of isolation and quiet is needed to do the work of writing. That’s just the way it is. Writers need peace. But, on the other hand when you read about historic writers frequently you read about them hanging out in cafes with other writers and artists. They created communities for themselves and that community creation in our times still extends to hanging out with other like-minded writers. However it has expanded to include the social network online. You know, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and the like. Reach out to other writers and editors. If you spread the word about their work they’ll spread the word about yours. Nurture friendships that can grow and spread over years.

    2.     Now’s the time you have to learn to be an editor in addition to a writer. You must edit your own work. Nobody is going to accept sloppily written work. Not publishers or editors, magazines or book publishers or script readers or agents. And, not readers if you self- publish and get your work out there on your own. Gone are the days of dumping a box of pages on an editor’s desk and being met with a smile. Competition is much fiercer these days than twenty or even ten years ago. Don’t give any reader the opportunity to toss your work aside because it’s just too messed up to read. You can hire an editor, there are lots of them out there, if you need to. But polish! Learn little tips for editing such as changing the font temporarily to give yourself a new angle. Let your work sit a few days or a week or whatever you need before you re-read and polish. Ask a friend for a quick read-through. Whatever it takes. Make your work worth reading. And if you’re self-publishing learn to format to Amazon or whatever venue you’re publishing to.

  3.  Create your persona and presence online. Start a YouTube channel if you want to put videos out there to promote your work. Create fab pins to pin on your Pinterest boards. Post on twitter and Facebook. Add photos of book covers and yourself. Maybe create a blog or your own webpage. Gain followers who want to share your work. Do it by creating relationships between yourself and your readers. Tell them about your process, why you write, what’s the next big thing you’re working on, anything that will get and hold their attention. Tell them your thoughts on what you might be writing next and ask their opinions. Engage.

What new skills beyond these have you already cultivated and absorbed? Toss them into the comment box and let others know what’s moving your career forward.

Writers and Readers Websites Wednesday - Writers & Artists

 

Writers and Artists has a web address out of the UK and offers expert advice articles, inspirational author interviews, competitions, a lively online community and editorial services for every stage of the writing journey. 

 Sound good? Then head on over and give it a thorough checking out.

Writers and Readers Websites Wednesday- The Editors Blog

Beth Hill's a fiction writer and editor. 

The Editor's Blog is filled with articles on many aspects of writing posted about every week to two weeks to a month. Last one was March 17, 2014. She offers recommended reference books, has a connect on Twitter and tells us "It's all about the words". 

From a writer/editor's perspective, she's right! 

Some interesting links there as well. 

Go ahead. Visit. It's a great site.

Tips For Editing What You Write For the Earnest Writer

You’re a writer and let’s face it, editing probably isn’t your favorite thing to do. No surprise there. But there are some guidelines I keep I mind that make it easier for me and might for you as well.

First I keep in mind that there’s a time for writing and there’s a time for editing. There’s no doing both at once, it just won’t work. I have to turn the crazy writer lose to get that story written and out there. If I try to edit at the same time and keep second-guessing myself it’s far too easy to become overly critical about what I just wrote. So take my advice, tell your inner critic to shut up until the story is actually on paper. Time to edit later.

When later arrives I do, however, read what I’ve written over and over and over until I’m nearly darn well sick of the whole thing. There are times when I have to let it rest in between and then go at it again.

BUT, and it’s another big BUT, there’s a fine line between tweaking and editing the writing you’ve just created to death. Really, don’t do it. Learn when to stop and maybe let someone else read it and provide some feed-back.

Write tight. I suspect most authors have a hard time cutting their own work. I know I do. There are some ‘precious babies’ in there! But, when in doubt cut the words. And bear in mind you can probably cut as much as 10 or 15 percent of your word count pretty easily. One book I had published was cut, by me, by more than 25 percent. Get an ax and have at it.

Never trust your spell checker. Seriously. Just don’t. The checker is good to locate the obvious for a quick and dirty edit. It won’t catch things like their, there, they’re, or if typing quickly things like Ties in place of times or horse in place of house or a myriad of other little mistakes.

Read your writing for clunky, overlong and just downright irritating sentences. Sentences with lots of commas, semi-colons and convoluted points to make. You know the ones. They’re the sentences that have to be read several times just to figure out what’s happening to who. Or who said what to who. Find them. Kill them. Cut them down to size. Read your work out loud, you’ll find them easily.

A professional editor isn’t a bad idea. But if you have friends you can convince to read the writing in progress, print it out and ask them to scribble notes. I’ve found that’s the best way. Yes, your victims could just receive a word document and add their comments with the tools in the program and I won’t say that wouldn’t be productive. But there’s just something about a printed page in front of a person that seems to make finding the rough spots all that much easier.

Think about these suggestions implement them with your writing and tell me what you think.

Writers Websites Wednesday - & Readers Too!

This week I found Authors Helping Authors or Aha!  It's a great little resource sit for writers where you an poke around, find popular links, archives and search categories for tips and helps you might find useful. Generally helpful and interesting. Tips, inspiration, editing, you name it. A site definitely worth wandering in.

A Few Tips on Editing For Writers

-yes, I mean your own work

Editing your own writing can be difficult. There's a lot to pay attention to and there is frequently the 'flavor of the week' in regard to the continually evolving dos and don'ts and 'forbidden words'. Most of the time I tell folks not to go crazy every time a new trend or a new word to be avoided is announced.

However, there are things you can keep an eye out for – many things.  Today I’m offering just a shot list of things that just might smooth your writing, make it flow a bit better and help to draw your reader in. And readers don’t try to pretend you don’t want to be drawn in – it’s why you read and why you have ‘favorite’ books and authors.

So, writers, time take heart. Don’t worry if there are a lot of the so-called forbidden words scattered throughout your work. After all there are plenty of the classics and lots of current best sellers that are peppered with them.

With the goal of improving everyone’s writing, here are a few thoughts.

One well over-used word is “Very”. There are times it’s necessary, but those are ‘very’ rare indeed. Just leave it out or reword. If you said, “The detective, a very tall man, stood close to the accused” how about “The detective loomed over the accused.” Or search your thesaurus and find another descriptive term that fits your style better.  Or just sit and consider for a few moments. Something else will come to you.

Another reminder; shed clichés like a ‘duck sheds water’. Unless your character is one who spouts them or there is another compelling reason for you to use one remember clichés are  just boring and worn. Their time is past. Come up with something new and fresh of your own. Be creative. That’s what you’re here for. 

The words ‘up’ and ‘down’ are generally greatly overused in writing and storytelling and can be pretty much eliminated. Example: “Elizabeth put her book down on the bedside table.” Try "Elizabeth set her book on the bedside table with gentle respect.” Or: “The drought dried up the earth to the point of cracking.” Eliminate ‘up’ and we might get: “The drought dried the earth into deep fissures.” Just think about it. Simple eliminations can add a great deal of punch to your writing.

More on the elimination front: consider eliminating phrases like “John could hear,” or “John could feel.” This is where showing your reader something is much stronger than telling. Instead of “John could hear the train in the distance.” Try making it more direct. Bring in the senses and put your reader right there. How about: “John heard the distant rumble of the train.” Or, “The sound of the approaching train reverberated in John’s head.” Another example: Instead of: “Jane could see the vultures circling in search of their next meal.” Try “The vultures floated in widening circles in search of their next meal.” 

Verbs ending in –ing can get to be a bit trying. That’s not to say you need to eliminate them altogether from your writing, you can sprinkle them in occasionally, in fact I doubt you could eliminate them altogether. But watch out for excess. Things like, “Joe was watching the parade while tapping his feet to the rhythm of the band.” Better: “Joe watched the parade while tapping his feet to the rhythm of the band.” Or “Joe tapped his feet to the rhythm of the band as the parade moved on.” Experiment, turn things around a bit and try to stifle the –ing urge just a little.

 

Don’t repeat words with great frequency. Scan your written page. Does any one word jump out at you? Does it pepper the page or reappear frequently throughout a chapter? Grab your thesaurus and have at it or visit http://thesaurus.com/.

And remember while it’s a bit distressing, it’s still true what William Faulkner has been quoted over and over as having said regarding writing, “you’ve got to kill all you darlings.”

Most of us writers believe whatever we first put down on paper or type to computer screen should be fabulous, complete, amazing. One gets a bit of a pain in the gut when thinking of pruning the words so carefully written, but, while we may spare a few of our darlings here and there the truth of the matter is Faulker was right. His point was on track. Writing the work is just half the battle.

Many times you’ll find as you write, that your original ‘great idea’ is overwhelmed by the actual story. By that I mean you’ll range far afield from the beginning inspiration that got you moving. And you’re going to find that many of your truly great thoughts and ideas will occur to you when you’re actually writing – sitting at your computer or with your legal pad in your lap – not just daydreaming and thinking about writing. So, despite your greatest hopes that your material will emerge complete and awesome at the first stroke, don’t count on it. This tripping off in other directions creates a great story, but it does leave some bumpy writing that needs tidying and ideas that need completing or revising.

Many self-proclaimed ‘writers’ want us to believe they carry all their ideas around in their heads until they can get the time to spew them down onto paper – no doubt in pristine form. However, how many of them actually do it? Presuming you’re one who actually writes, don’t get caught in that ‘romantic, artistic’ web of silliness where you believe you can work it all out in your head and write it all down later. There may have been one or two who could do it, but frankly I think they’re fibbing too.

So don’t wail and weep when you confront your rewrite, celebrate. You’ve got the guts down on paper, now is the time to really shine and turn that heap of guts into a god. 

Take a minute, tell me if this was helpful for you and what other writing topics you might like to see discussed.