"It is wrong.
You should not do that," Jack says.
His arms are crossed grumpily across his frumpy suit.
There's little question that editing, whether you do it yourself
or have someone else do it for you, is integral to the writing process. But if you're like many writers, you enjoy
the process of writing, but aren't so fond of editing, especially if it's your
own work. I'll confess that I
struggle with self-editing, even though I work as a professional editor.
So arm yourself with these five strategies for revision to amp
up your writing, and tackle the persnickety problem of self-editing.
Shelve it
You've heard it before, but if you're like me and often working
to a deadline, you might wonder if it's really worth putting your project away
(for a few days, a few weeks, even a few months) before you take out your
editing pen. Trust me, it's worth it. Even if you only have a few hours, put it
aside, go do something else, and come back to it later.
Often, when we're up to our eyeballs in a project, we miss
things because we've been working so closely with the material. Some of these will be little things, like
double words, protagonists who start off with blue eyes and have green by the
end of the story, and characters who don't talk or behave quite true to their
established character, not to mention plot gaps, things we may have forgotten
to write, and other odd happenings.
Setting a work aside allows us to gain perspective and to look at it
with fresh eyes. And you'll catch far
more awkwardness and mistakes than you would if you hadn't given the work time
to percolate.
Be a reader, not a writer
It's true: writers think
differently than readers. When you're
editing, make sure that you're thinking like a reader. Don't forget to think about your particular
breed of reader and why they read. You
want hook them, keep them reading long past the time they'd intended to
stop. So think about the things that
draw readers in and keep them interested.
What might your readers think?
How might they feel? How might
they react to your character? To the
plot? To the setting?
Do a close read and edit
Oftentimes, writers skim through when they edit. After all, they know their own work, they
know who did it and how, and they know how the story ends. While skimming is tempting, don't succumb to
the temptation. A close, line-by-line
edit can be a powerful tool, and can help you to catch things that don't quite
work, things that are easily missed if you're skimming to edit. Break your work down into manageable chunks,
whether by scene, by chapter, by section, or by stanza to make line-by-line
editing more manageable. Editing like
this requires focus and time, but it's well worth the payoff: a more cohesive and better-flowing
product.
Read it aloud
This sounds rather silly, and I know that people often look at
me as if I'm a bit batty when I suggest it, but it really does work. If you're uncomfortable reading aloud to
yourself, read to someone else (or, even better, have them read it to
you). If all else fails, your dog/cat/fish
can be a captive audience, and they really won't care if your writing falls
flat.
For some reason, we can "hear" some errors that we
have difficulty seeing on the page, which is why reading aloud works so
well. We'll catch awkward turns of
phrase, sentences that are too lengthy, and descriptive sequences that seem to
go on without end. So take the time to
read it aloud, and make sure that you're truly listening when you do.
Read,
lots
In my experience, writers who read a lot write better than
writers who don't. When reading others'
work, take a look at what works, and what doesn't. If a particular passage really strikes a
chord with you, take the time to write it out, long-hand with a pen on paper,
to get a feeling for how it was written.
When you come across something you really like, as a reader, take a look
at it as a writer, focusing on the elements that went into it, and how those
elements connect with the reader. Read
as much as you can, from a variety of sources, not just within your own genre. After all, the more you read, the better your
writing will get.
Conclusion
There are many, many other suggestions out there--a quick Google
search for "how to self-edit" results in 275 000 hits--but editing,
whether you do it yourself or not, has a significant impact on your final
product. Just take a look at how a fairly
minor edit changes our initial example.
"It's just wrong," said Jack, his
grumpiness evident as he crossed his arms tight against the frumpy suit he'd
insisted on wearing. "You shouldn't
do it."
It's still not perfect, but it's a far cry from the stilted
original. A closer edit, taking into
account the five suggestions we've looked at, would help it even more. So shelve your work, read others' writing,
then return to your work, read it aloud as a reader (not a writer), and do a
close edit. See how a little
perspective, and some elbow grease, can change something drab and mundane into
the kind of prose (or poetry) that jumps off the page, grabs your reader by the
throat, and drags them kicking and screaming into your fictional world.
