How to Self-Edit Your Writing

 Your first draft is terrible.

Sorry, but also I'm really not. Even the top bestselling authors such as Stephen King revise and edit their work after a first draft. 

In my most recent round of edits, I realized I had changed the name of my main character after the first chapter… that would have been embarrassing to send off to a beta reader. 

Self-editing doesn't come easy to some, I'm definitely one of them, but here are a few tips and tricks to help you make your writing as clean as you can. 

Remove Uncertain Phrases 

You're telling the story so you should know precisely what is happening.

It seemed to be cloudy.. if your character doesn't know then your reader will be left guessing and frustrated. Are there clouds there or are there not clouds there? Those details that are concrete should be said as if they are. The floor should never seem to shake or the wind seems to blow through the trees. Is it shaking or not? Are the leaves moving? Then it's windy. 

Your reader needs to be able to visualize what is going on in your scene and shouldn't be left guessing if the wind is there or not. 

Remove Extra Steps

A novel isn't like that school essay you put off till the last minute that had to reach the bottom of the third page plus half of the fourth page if your teacher was anything like mine and your title/ name didn't count towards the length requirement. 

If your character is going to get a drink of water you don't need to write it as having her stand from the couch, walk to the kitchen, open the cabinet, look for a cup, grab the cup, bring the cup to the sink… etc unless there's something important in this scene that you need the reader to know, cut it down to size or even just cut it out completely. 

Remove Really and Very 

Go ahead and use the available feature through almost all writing processors, or hit CTRL F on your keyboard and search for any time you used the words really or very.

Now get rid of them. 

You can rewrite these sentences to show what you want without using these ugly words in your fiction as this is one of those times when show vs tell comes into play. 

It was very rainy can become:

The rain was relentless 

or

The drops fell with such force that they stung against her skin like needles, and her clothes quickly became drenched.

Best Practices for Self-Editing 

Editing can be one of the more difficult parts when it comes to writing your novel, but there are a few things you can do to make it simpler.

Take a Break 

Always put some time between when you write and when you edit that way you're approaching it with a clear focus and a fresh perspective. Putting some time between writing and editing will help you be more objective when it comes to eliminating certain words, phrases, or even characters that you might be too attached to if you edit too early. 

Read It Out loud 

Sometimes a phrase makes perfect sense when you're reading it in your head, but when you read it out loud you can come across things you missed or catch any awkward phrasing you might have not noticed otherwise.

Reading your work out loud is also a great way to catch any mistakes in dialogue or hear whether it sounds natural and realistic. 

Print it out 

Printing out your work to edit it is much better than scrolling through what you've written on your computer.  

It's easier to focus since there will be no notifications or other tabs to pull you away as well as giving you a reader's perspective by having it in your hand.

Also don't underestimate the power of a red pen when it comes to your printed copy. It may hurt at first when you need to cross things out, but as you get into the swing of things that pen will have done a number on your novel making it better which each stroke. 

In my most recent editing escapade, I circled almost everything on the page before just drawing a big X through the entire page with a note of What the heck was I thinking here!? 

Just like writing a novel is never truly easy, self-editing can be one big pain in the side but is a necessary companion to writing. Even so, you can go through weeks of edits just to send your manuscript off to an editor to be returned with even more red ink than all the pens on your desk combined. 

Don't take this as you didn't do a good enough job, instead see this as the editor just being even better at theirs. 

Keep writing and keep editing. 

With love, 

B.K. xo xo

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