Editing: Doing it 'right'.

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Lycoplax

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Editing is correcting writing. So any mistakes in the writing, grammar/usage/clarity/story/characters/etc. should be on the table for editing.

These are my steps:
(All in chapters, but my chapters vary from 500-6000words)

1. Write it. (First Draft)
2. Comb through. (Grammar, misspellings, switched words, odd wording)
3. Sit back, ponder on what to fix the story and where holes might be.
4. Organize corrections.
5. Start rewriting scenes.
6. Revise some scenes, without revise.
7. Check if rewriting is needed for 6 (Revise Draft)
8. Comb through.
9. Edit for clarity. (Action scenes, long dialogue, difficult parts)
10. Edit to tighten. (Shorten sentences, combine likewise sentences and combine paragraphs)
11. Read through, combing and editing lightly
12. Let it rest. (Last Draft)
13. Get betas and see what they think.
14. Make necessary edits.
15. Publish. (Final Draft)

This is a very useful list, Will. It might help me sit down, breathe, and plan better, as I tend to groan and squirm around the time for #4 and #5.
 

shadowwalker

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This sounds interesting but I'm such a slow reader, if I went back to read everything just to edit the last page the further along I got it would start taking me days to just reread before editing that page.

I believe he meant he goes back to the start of that page, not the whole story. ;)
 

fergrex

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I'd wanted to ask a similar question, but a different detail. (I'm learning to revise, short stories to start.)

How often do people rewrite scenes from scratch? As in, after taking notes, and now understanding what the scene is supposed to do and how it fits in, write from a blank page and ignore the words from the first draft.
 

Anninyn

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I'd wanted to ask a similar question, but a different detail. (I'm learning to revise, short stories to start.)

How often do people rewrite scenes from scratch? As in, after taking notes, and now understanding what the scene is supposed to do and how it fits in, write from a blank page and ignore the words from the first draft.

Quite often. I may keep a line or two that worked well, but even in a short story I'll do that.
 

EnitaMeadows

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I say let it sit for a while, come back to it with fresh eyes so it's not still lingering in your head. Then start from the beginning and start reading. Make changes as you see fit as you go along. Grammar, spelling, punctuation. Try to identify plot holes and fill them. Cut scenes that aren't absolutely needed, add some that might. If you need to.

Then, once you're done, do it again. And again.
 

Jamesaritchie

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This sounds interesting but I'm such a slow reader, if I went back to read everything just to edit the last page the further along I got it would start taking me days to just reread before editing that page.


I don't go back to read everything. I already know what it says. Once a page is finished, I won't read it again until after the novel sells.
 

Sunflowerrei

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This is my revision method, so far:

1. Finish crappy first draft.
2. Take a few days off and ponder the story or the characters.
3. Re-read parts of the first draft, open a new document and start typing.

I've been doing a mix of rewriting scenes, writing new scenes, deleting, hacking, changing order, and cutting and pasting from the first draft to the new one. I like to have both docs up on the screen side-by-side as I revise.

I edit for grammar and spelling, too.

I decided to embark on a post-draft outline, to make it easier to see structure, transitions and storylines that might have petered out along the way. Then I'll start it again for the next draft.
 
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