Self Editing I

Do the easy stuff first, is my byword. I check for grammar, typos, words that spell-check didn’t catch. If a word is in the computer memory it won’t be highlighted, but it could be one that doesn’t fit. Do you know how to right well? Is it write or wrong? You know what I mean. I look at sentence beginnings. Do several in a row start the same way? How about sentence length? I think of the writing I like to read and use it for a pattern. I don’t count each word in the sentences except for some young children’s stories, but vary the length and substance. All big words? All small? I mix them up so they appeal to the eye before they’re even read.

I read my story or chapter aloud. Does it flow? Does it make sense? Over the years I have used this editing technique and found untold numbers of spots needing correction. I used to subject my husband to being my audience, and if he laughed or got tears in his eyes I felt I had it made. If he looked bored or had a puzzled look on his face I ended up with complete rewrites or dumped the project in the wastebasket.

Getting into the details takes more work. Dialog, checking words to see if better choices can be made, cutting the fluff—all time-consuming, but very important. More on these things next time.

-Contributed by Shirley Shibley

Put on Your Editor’s Hat

Do you like to edit your own manuscripts? You know—self edit? Come on…really?

I don’t.

I mean, it’s just not the cat’s meow.

But I know I should. I know I’m supposed to. I know it’s what a cat’s gotta do to learn how to be a successful writer. So I decided to break my habit of neglecting this part of my writing life.

The first thing I did was get myself an editor’s hat. You know—first you wear the writer’s hat and then you take that off and put on your editor’s hat? Right? Well, I didn’t have an editor’s hat. So I went out and got one. Like it? It even has a little mouse at the top and this twirly thing to twirl around. It’s purrfect for a cat like me. You should get one, too!

After I finish my first draft of my manuscript, I set aside some time to edit. And now I make sure it isn’t the drudgery it used to be. I make sure it’s fun!

I put on my silly editor’s beanie. It gets me in the mood to have fun, dude. Then I get out my special highlighter pens. I splurged and bought some wa-ay cool ones that I can use to make neon colors and decorate all over my manuscript. (They don’t even have a cap to lose, but click like a ballpoint pen.) Since I have neon yellow and neon pink and neon orange, now I’m HOPING to find mistakes in my manuscript just so I can mark ‘em on my page and turn the boring black and white little marks on the paper into bright, fun, colorful pictures.

I know my weaknesses, too. So I made a list of ‘em. Here are the first three, for starters:
1. Don’t always use punctuation correctly.
2. Weak verbs.
3. Poorly constructed paragraphs without a clear beginning, middle, and end.

I also printed out some self-editing checklists from how-to-write books, and articles I found on the Internet. These lists remind me to check for realistic dialog, show don’t tell, and lots of other important stuff.

I take my highlighters and have some fun! First I look at every single sentence I wrote in my first paragraph. I highlight the capital letter at the beginning of the sentence in pink. I highlight the punctuation in that sentence in yellow. Then I make sure to check that I used that punctuation correctly.

If I’m not sure about the punctuation rule, I look it up in my reference books. But hey—my reference books aren’t bo-o-oring like yours might be. Oh no! First I made specially decorated book covers for each one of ‘em so they’re bright and colorful, not scary-looking or over-the-top academic. Then I got my highlighters out and really decorated the pages I use the most to remind me what the rules are that I most often forget. Plus, I got sticky notes in all shapes and sizes to stick on the pages I look up over and over again. I want to save my energy for chasing mice, not for flipping through the pages looking up the same rule I’ve used a zillion times before. Like I said—I want this self-editing thing to be as fun as a cat can have it.

So hey—how about you? Are you having fun when you self-edit your manuscript? If not, do something about it. Make it fun, like I did. Now editing’s my favorite part of writing. Not! But really, it’s way more fun than it used to be. Especially when I put on my editor’s hat. And nibble on tunafish…but that’s another story.

-contributed by Humphrey, Nancy’s writing buddy

Self-Eddyting—Try Spell Checking THIS

Eye shirley knead help with my man you script edits.
Eye deep end on books and webb sights.
Are criteek group is kind wen they mark up each lion,
Even wen eye think that eye am rights.

Edits means cheking much moore than just grammer.
It’s diesecting theme, voice, and plot.
Did eye show ore tell? Hows’ the view pointe and meddle?
Did my big inning hook ewe or knot?

Eye useually putt my righting a way
for a weak or perhaps too or three.
And wen eye go back, eye can sea with knew eyes,
the miss steaks that weren’t obvius too me.

Are my speach tags to many? Is the pacing 2 slow?
Is the protag o’nest sent her stage?
Is it boaring or wordie? Due my centences run on?
Is my storie geared four the wright age?

If my man you script stunk, then I need to read Strunk
and The Elements of Grammar wood help two.
Eye half much to learn so eye guess eye wont’ burn
The book that Eisle edit my weigh threw.

Donations are being taken to buy Sheryl a Dictionary

Copyright 2008 Sheryl Ann Crawford

A is for Author…a writer’s alphabet

 Although this month’s topic is Self-Editing, I thought I’d take a bit of a side road, as a fun thing to do.  I think all writers can relate to these ideas, and I hope you enjoy it!

 

A is for author…we all know people who would be authors, “if only they had the

                            time!”

 

B is for books…we love to read them…and to write them!

 

C is for computers…they drive us crazy, but we couldn’t get along without them.

 

D is for doldrums…whenever you’re in the writing doldrums, try reading your

                              favorite author, or something in a completely different genre, or

                              just sitting down and writing!

 

E is for editors…the best editors are understanding, helpful, and friendly, even

                            when they send rejections.

 

F is for flowers…every writer needs to buy herself a bouquet of beautiful flowers

                            no now and then.

 

G is for groups…critique groups, that is, and Wordsmiths is the best!

 

H is for heart…when we write from the heart, we can’t fail to do our best.

 

I is for illustrators…illustrators give our words a “look.”

 

J is for jumping up and down…that’s what we do when we get an acceptance!

 

K is for knitting…my favorite leisure-time activity…and I’ve written a number of

                              articles about it, too.  Think about how you can write about

                              your hobby.

 

L is for light-hearted…any manuscript improves when it has a light-hearted touch.

 

M is for multi-tasking…I planned and took notes for this post while I was ironing

                               and doing other chores.

 

 

To be continued on my next post on June 19th.

 

Contributed by Marjorie Flanders

Four Steps to Successful Revision

Four Steps to Successful Revision

Revision can be scary. It means taking an honest look at my own writing – searching out loopholes in the story; examining character, setting, and plot for credibility; cutting unnecessary words – even whole paragraphs; making sure each sentence is as fine as I can make it. It means reading my own work until my eyes cross, then reading it again. Writing groups are a big help, but, in the final analysis, revision is a lonely business.

One night, I sat alone at my desk, struggling with a particularly difficult scene. I took words out and put words in. I rewrote sentences, trying to give them a life of their own. I lifted whole paragraphs and moved them to more credible locations. I searched my brain (and sometimes the thesaurus) for nouns that spoke volumes and didn’t need explanatory adjectives. Finally, it occurred to me that I was doing four things. Only four! Here they are – the steps all good writers take to improve their work:

1. add

2. subtract

3. substitute

4. rearrange

That’s it! That’s what revision is all about. By judicial use of these four steps, we edit words, sentences, paragraphs, pages, and chapters. Our sentences are of varied length and rhythm. Our language is fluid. Our vocabulary enriches. We create settings that are believable and invite the reader to step into the story. We turn so-so beginnings into attention grabbers, develop plot lines that sustain reader interest, and create exciting and satisfactory endings.

Revising can be scary, but knowing that all I can possibly do is add, subtract, substitute, and rearrange makes the task more manageable and my efforts more effective. Sometimes I even feel that a paragraph sings! That’s what successful revision is all about.

-Contributed by Marilyn Donahue

Check It Out!

Pull out your favorite pen, pencil, or marker and join us this month as we discuss “Self-Editing Techniques.”

Just as each writer has his/her own unique writing style, we all have techniques we use to edit our own work. Here are a few reasons why Self-Editing is important:

1.      Clarity – Checking our work periodically assures that our ideas have proper flow, our sentences are complete and not fragmented, and our thoughts are well written.

2.      Organization – Self-editing helps us stay on target with our main idea by keeping our points and paragraphs in a manageable order.

3.      Professionalism – When we self-edit we show we care about the quality of work we produce. We want to stand out to editors and publishers in a positive way by looking and sounding like we know what we are doing.

We hope you will benefit from the tips and techniques we will share throughout the month. Thanks for dropping by!

Contributed by Catherine L. Osornio