According to Kate Grenville (Writing from Start to Finish - a six step guide) "editing means making your piece reader friendly...flows easily... you use an acceptable standard/form of English... such as appropriate punctuation, spelling, grammar and paragraphing".
She suggests you read it through from start to finish. Make notes in the margins where you hesitate, question or spy something, but don't stop to correct it, go back later when you have finished the whole and take your time over your corrections/alterations. It also helps to read it aloud.
I find that I need to do it in hard copy, so this applied to me. However, if you are happy with the computer, use 'track changes' on your tool bar it is easy to go back and see what your thoughts were when you hit a glitch reading it through. I can't resist altering it then and there if I use my computer and it interrupts the flow of the story for me.
Kate Grenville divides editing into three categories - style, grammar, and presentation.
Style
Is 'How' something is written. Ask yourself - Is it consistent through out? Is it in keeping with the tone (comic/serious) of the story? Is it right for your targeted reader? Does the way it is written flow smoothly? Do particular words jar you out of the story?
Grammar
Well, this is a doozie and 100's of books are out there to help you.... in brief watch out for, Fragmented sentences, run-on sentences, tense, pov, commas, apostrophes, quotation marks, appropriate paragraph breaks, dangling modifiers, etc...
Presentation
Like a meal, presentation makes the experience enjoyable or a struggle to get through. Look for
spelling mistakes; consistent use of language eg. US English or UK English not a mix of both; layout inconsistencies - such as indents, margins, spacings after periods and between paragraphs,etc.. Font style easy to read eg 10 -12pt and in New Courier , Times New Roman... ; then Title... what do you want it to do, tell the reader about the story, draw the reader in.... etc.
Then reread the whole piece again..... put it aside for a week or so, then reread again.
I'm currently revising Twisted Vines... I haven't read it since December. I hope to have it ready to send off soon.
It is snowing here at present and very cold, - 11.5C this morning.
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2 comments:
I wanted to so revise today. A nasty sinus infection took me down Friday night after my moment of glee. Argh.
Hopefully tomorrow I can revise, revise and revise. Great picture, now I'll know who to be on the look out for in the February meeting.
Revising can be such a slow process. I'm also finding myself correcting and adding to my story as I go. I like the idea of printing it out and going over it on hard copy. I used to do that ages ago. Maybe I'll try again.
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