Read on Twitter
After a little bit of editing turned into a lot of editing, I thought I'd put together a thread of some common editing stuff to help the #WritingCommunity and #writers out.
"I need my work all nice, neat, and polished before I give it to my editor."
NO. Please don't do this. You're actively making the job harder. This is like going to the mechanic after trying to fix the car yourself. Either trust the professional or don't.
NO. Please don't do this. You're actively making the job harder. This is like going to the mechanic after trying to fix the car yourself. Either trust the professional or don't.
"I'm going through all my work one more time before I send it off."
What this translates to is "I'm afraid to take a big step forward with my work so I've built a buffer for myself because I'm scared of what comes next." If you trust the editor, it'll be okay.
What this translates to is "I'm afraid to take a big step forward with my work so I've built a buffer for myself because I'm scared of what comes next." If you trust the editor, it'll be okay.
Onto some structural-crafty things
1. How many paragraphs in a row start with someone talking?
What that does is give the text a rough stop-and-start quality where we're waiting for someone to talk before we can picture anything in-scene.
1. How many paragraphs in a row start with someone talking?
What that does is give the text a rough stop-and-start quality where we're waiting for someone to talk before we can picture anything in-scene.
2. The best thing you can do in an action scene to keep the tension high and the scene moving is to focus not on the big broad descriptions, but the smaller ones and your sentence length.
Put the reader's eyes on the specifics. Zoom in as needed. Slow down and focus.
Put the reader's eyes on the specifics. Zoom in as needed. Slow down and focus.
3. The better replacement for an adverb isn't another adverb - it's a stronger, more evocative verb.
What exactly is the difference between "ran quickly" and "dashed", do you think? Is that difference critical enough that you can't go right to "dashed", really?
What exactly is the difference between "ran quickly" and "dashed", do you think? Is that difference critical enough that you can't go right to "dashed", really?
4. Above all else, the reader needs context in order to strike a balance between the info you're giving them and the emotion you want them to have about the info.
They're not going to know it's a big deal unless you help them see it as a big deal.
They're not going to know it's a big deal unless you help them see it as a big deal.
4b. Building that context doesn't come from chaining together more objective details, it comes from reinforcing the existing details AND adding new ones where appropriate. Yes, take an extra second and talk about the kid's stuffed toy.
5. If you're worried that any amount of description is going to completely ruin all the pacing you've built up to that moment, then I'm willing to bet your pacing is not great to begin with.
Directing the reader's attention is paramount. Which brings me to ...
Directing the reader's attention is paramount. Which brings me to ...
6. The reader is not a timid bunny or a meth-addled squirrel looking to bail on your work at the first sign of whatever you think might not be absolutely 10000% "perfect"
They CHOSE to read this, they've stuck around not to hate-read it but to try and enjoy it. Give them credit.
They CHOSE to read this, they've stuck around not to hate-read it but to try and enjoy it. Give them credit.
7. Put the movie in the reader's head. Scene by scene, what should they picture, how should they feel about it, who's moving where and how and why, what's being risked, what's making it not easy to succeed. Over and over. Every scene.
8. Inert soulless prose that drags on and seems a little too clinical drags a story down. Don't be afraid to write a messy sentence, a jagged fragment, or an unclear thing you can clarify in the next sentence. You have plenty of words and plenty of space, use them both.
9. If it's a new concept to the reader, the first time it comes up, describe it. Talk about it some. Then later, once we've been introduced to it, you can get progressively shorter or simpler with it as needed.
(last one) 10. No, you don't need so many "that" or "had" or "thus." The sentence can do its job really well without you throwing a speedbump at it.
