Self-Editing Tips

From PNWA Writing Tips; Feb 8, 2018

Most of writing is rewriting, which makes self-editing a necessary part of any writer’s process. Still, it can be hard to know where to start. Editing a book is a big undertaking, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. One way to combat this is by taking things in stages. Here are some questions you can ask yourself as you work through various stages of editing. Note: it’s most helpful to edit large things first, then work your way smaller.

Structure: addressing large, glaring issues

• Is the character’s motivation clear?
• Is the conflict made clear?
• How can you increase the tension?

Scene and summary: a better way to think about showing and telling

• What parts of the book need to be explored deeply and in the moment? Are all these moments written as scenes?
• What parts need to be distilled to their most important points and summarized?
• Have you skimmed important scenes because they’re too challenging to write?

Action and emotion: refining motivation, conflict, tension

• Focus on blocking: is that roundhouse kick realistic in a narrow hallway? Does the chase on horseback go too smoothly considering your character is a novice horseman?
• Fact-check! Details about guns, job positions, science, flora, fauna, and anything else you might have gotten wrong.
• Hone in on two common pitfalls when writing emotion: abstraction and cliché. Use crisp, concrete images and evidence to help the reader understand how your characters are feeling.

Dialogue, setting, and other elements: put each of these things under the editing microscope

• Dialogue: What is not being said? Where can internal dialogue add turbulence or clarification to what is said out loud? How are the speaking characters at odds?
• Setting: Is the setting relevant, vivid, unique, and accurate? Describing the setting directly from the thoughts, back story, and current emotion of your viewpoint character will add meaning to the imagery.

Words: Considering sentence structure and rhythm

• Are all your sentences structured the same?
• Is that clunky paragraph in need of some longer, more flowing sentences?
• Is that action scene bogged down in clumsy phrasing, and instead needs some quick short sentences (and fragments) to liven up the narrative?

Cleanup: Deleting bad habits and other small accidents

• Delete unnecessary repeat words. You’d be surprised how many times your characters smile or nod in a single chapter.
• Did you use terms like very when you could have chosen a stronger adjective? Did you rely too heavily on adjectives when stronger nouns were needed?
• Double-check for inconsistencies, like when your main character’s sister’s eyes turn from blue to brown halfway through the book.
• Typos!