Editing creative writing

Joanna pennthis is a continuation of the editing q&a with my fiction editor, jen blood, based on questions submitted to me in a recent can read the first half of the interview here. It covers the different types of editing, how to find the right editor, price range and dealing with feedback. There may be times you’ll need to go back to rework sticky plot points or address other major structural issues, but the goal of the first draft should be to get the bones of your novel down on there, there are several editing, revising, and rewriting cycles you’ll go through, ideally including beta readers, an editor, and a final proofreader in the process. Every revised draft should feel a little bit better than the last, until eventually you have a complete, polished a more complete analysis on the subject, read from conception to publication, my blog post breaking the writing, editing, and revision process down into ten unique do i do structural revisions for fiction quickly and well? Every scene in your novel, regardless of the genre, should be active and should move your story you find yourself stumped during the self-editing phase, i’m a big believer in beta readers. You can find more information on how to effectively utilize beta readers in this blog members of my critique group are trying to write our own books and/or short stories while learning the craft at the same every time we study something new, we feel that our previous works are wrong… so every week is like starting would you recommend to new authors about learning and writing at the same time? First off, i recommend picking up a copy of self-editing for fiction writers, by renni browne and dave king. It’s an excellent resource for writers at every level, and if you’re hoping to make a living one day at this whole writing business, it’s terms of concrete advice i can give here and now, there are a few things you can three most common issues i see as an editor are:(1) structural issues like plot holes, wandering timelines, and lagging pacing,(2) excessive exposition or lengthy chunks of narrative (telling versus showing). Follow the steps outlined in question two of this post to help guide yourself through the editing process. Trust me, your editor will tell you when it’s time to stop editing and just publish already.

Even a partial edit from a qualified professional should give you an idea whether or not you need to continue rewrites or you can realistically start planning for at the creative penn, joanna has taken a stand against the term “self-publishing,” arguing that there are actually many, many people involved in the independent author’s journey. To joanna for asking me to answer these excellent questions on the art (and business) of editing! Image: flickr creative commons editing a paper from nic 528 share427 pin544 share30 stumble21 +153 share email buffer79shares advice, jen. Having learnt a lot about what it’s like being edited when writing my own books, i would add that, while it’s not essential and not all editors are also writers, having an editor who also writes in the genre in which you’re working can add an extra dimension to your work, as they will have a deeper understanding of what you’re going through in the writing and editing tely agreed, liz! What advice would you give to someone who wants to go into the editing business? There are a number of inexpensive online courses out there that you can take on proofreading and editing, and i highly recommend starting there. In general, those classes obviously aren’t going to tell you everything you need to know, but they’re a great way to get the basics down and get an overview of what it means to run an editing business. Simon — giving yourself and your manuscript time to breathe before you try self-editing is crucial! Say, if an author sends 3,000 words or even half of that and pay for the editing of the whole manuscript, how often should she get the job done? I am an experienced editor, but i’m talking with a first-time author about editing my first crime novel.

I think i’ll pass along the many good self-editing points you’ve made here. I’m only thirteen, and i doubt i will be publishing a book anytime soon, but i did write one and i’m having a little trouble editing it. I did get “self-editing for fiction writers” at your recommendation and have started to go through it to help polish my manuscript to the best of my always, thanks for all your help, your creatives appreciate it! All rights the creative ation and information every monday in the creative penn for visiting the creative of the information on this site is free for you to read, watch or listen to, but the creative penn is also a business and my please expect hyperlinks to be affiliate links in many cases, when i receive a small percentage of sales if you wish to purchase. Simple edits that make your writing 100% more updated oct 17, are some bloggers who seem to have a natural gift when it comes to writing. Every new blog post attracts dozens of comments and hundreds of would be great to be as successful as they are, but you don’t know what you need to do to make your writing better. Fortunately for you, a simple secret can transform your writing ad a free pdf cheatsheet with seven questions that make it easy to edit your writing like a pro. The end product is better, but the first draft is just as clumsy, flabby, and downright difficult to read as any of your own writing popular bloggers know that many people don’t know (or don’t want to believe) is that a post isn’t finished simply because they’ve said everything they want to say. And even those bloggers who don’t use an editor have simply learned how to edit their own posts like a ately, editing isn’t rocket science. When it, here, and there refer to nouns later in the sentence or – worse – to something unnamed, they weaken your writing by shifting emphasis away from the true drivers of your sentences.

Before-and-after examples:It’s fun to edit – editing is takes time to write – writing takes are many people who write – many people ’s nothing better than blogging – nothing’s better than are some things to consider: – some things to consider are:Caveat: if you previously described an object using there, here, and it, you’re not guilty of an expletive infraction. Take a look:Really bad – beautiful – if you don’t have a telltale really or very preceding an adjective, you can often give your writing more impact by using stronger alternatives:Even worse than using weak adjectives is using weak adjectives to tell your readers what something isn’t as opposed to telling them what something is:It’s not that good – it’s ’s not a bore – he’s ’s not very smart – he’s ignorant. To the fact that editing takes time, some people avoid it – because editing takes time, some people avoid single person should love editing – every person should love editing (single is redundant; and shouldn’t married people love editing too? Like expletives, nominals usually introduce other unnecessary words when the number of words in the before-and-after examples below, and you will witness how badly nominals weaken your writing:Give your post a proofread – proofread your post (verb form). My philosophy on commas is simple:Use commas sparingly if you prefer, but if excluding a comma makes your reader stop reading, add another bleepin’ comma – regardless of what any comma police may ’s look at an example:You can ignore editing and people reading your post may not notice but your ideas will get not including a comma between editing and and, i read this sentence and asked myself, “i can ignore editing and people reading my post? I like them because they hack the flab from our writing by shortening our sentences. Let’s review some examples:Tips on editing – editing advice on how to boost traffic – great traffic-boosting advice (traffic-boosting is a compound noun here). Whenever you spot this construction, try to implement this noun-modifying ad a free pdf cheatsheet with seven questions that make it easy to edit your writing like a pro. In fact, you could consider them downright boring, plain, and applying smart editing rules is what separates your heroes from the masses, catapults them to success, and makes readers say, “i don’t know what it is about their writing, but it’s absolutely fantastic. Well, you might be surprised by just how many of these crimes against clarity you’re one of your posts right now and see how many of these editing rules you can each word of your post.

And your writing will be 100% more powerful as a e the search for perfection never your writing is never too , proofreading and editing take yes, you’re already busy your writing heroes edit, and they land the guest posts, book deals, and exposure you only wish you , take a break from #amwriting and start #amediting right success will thank the author: shane arthur is a former copyeditor for jon morrow’s kick-butt guest blogging certification program (affiliate link) which teaches writers just like you how to get their work featured on the world’s biggest blogs and online share pin +1 to write a blog post – the ultimate guide. Me, it was the perfect material to break down into bite-size chunks – with something new to look forward to every you, that’s seven whole new attention-grabbing headlines to : writing one editing post is stressful enough! Do you know of an actual more comprehensive checklist for editing that we can use? As an extra assignment to all the readers here wanting to test their editing skills, buy this book (a book on cutting the clutter and writing well, after all) and try to see if you can spot any instances where zinsser could have cut his own flab. It makes me wish i were still teaching writing, because these are all such great ways of explaining why the edits are better and how to apply them to different is why you remain my favorite editor, shane. I know i geek out with editing — to the point it drives my writer-brain crazy. Beth: you’d be surprised at how many professional writers and publishing houses are guilty of proofing and editing errors. Some times i detect the use of extraneous words but most of the time they escape and creep into my writing. Ultimately, we can list guidelines, but you know your writing and your audience post is so good i can’t share it enough! The more i write, the easier it is to look at my posts for editing and clarity.

I run an online writing group and will be adding this to our editing though i know the things on this list, i’m still guilty of bloating my writing with extras. Leigh: “it’s always tood to have a reminder,” … and another set of editing eyes! Cory: i’ve learned a ton from reading obscure academic websites specializing in writing and editing. Am a creative writer as well, have been studying creative writing for years, and i have never seen a better explanation of these rules anywhere else. I work in a university writing center, and i’ll be referring students to this post. Most of them could clean my clock in editing/proofing skills, so i try to learn as much as possible from post shane. You will be the best judge of what is best for your own writing and audience. We see this with every post that goes through jon’s tipwhen proofreading or editing your post, read each word as if you are a robot. I wonder if writing all those “500 word” essay assignments through the childhood years of schooling, trains one to come up with all the “filler words”. Donna: i”m not a fan of making students write a specific amount of words, but i did love my creative writing class in middle school that let us write for 15 minutes at the beginning of the class.

We didn’t have a word-count goal; we just had to think of something creative to write. Usually, i’d think of something so creative, i couldn’t even finish the idea in time. The emphasis should be on the love of the writing itself and not the constraint of word , to steal one of mark twain’s terms, this one’s a corker. Once these editing tips are under your belt, you can get back to enjoying the good things in life. Which is why it’s propounded by every good yet as an editor i’ve found these interminable lists often intimate the tyro into inaction — and, if that’s not enough, we further confuse the tyro by finding countless examples of good literature that breaks every rule mentioned here and orwell wrote the best and most timeless essay on the subject that i’ve ever come across, but even he has the good sense to note that in his very essay readers will no doubt find him guilty of many literary crimes he’s railing point is, don’t ignore these and all other sensible writing rules, but do realize that these rules will not, in the end, make or break your literature biggest rule of all? The overly proscriptive:There is a formula (of sorts) to writing, but that formula should always be framed in terms of principles, and not , if i may, are some actual examples of do’s-and-do-not’s that i’ve recently read, all of which were taken from real-life editors and writers:“do no begin your story with weather. The fear comes because they’ve not learned the nature of writing, though they have polished their writing in large part by memorizing a great many do’s and do not’s. If you have longer to work on a post, you’ll have more time to find that perfect word you’re looking you jon, this article will help my writing a lot!!! Always thought my editing was okay, but you have some tricks here that will make it shine even brighter. Our drafts should be a creative flow free from the constraints of our editor brains.

Now i need to edit everything i’ve every written, or simply start writing better. Post for writers seeking to be better writers – i should know :-] editing is more important than writing just as playing music is more important than writing it down. Editing, i call it trimming (mostly), is also a page out of nature’s teachings: pruning and trimming are not an end to growth, but redirecting the way of . In order to” is one filler that always rubs me the wrong way – in writing and in speaking. That’s how i feel when glen, jon’s structural editor, gets hold of my writing. I took an editing course in college and believe i was the only one with a big smile on my face because i love editing! In my own writing, i’ve found that trying to keep my posts to a certain word count (250-400) helps me to be more concise and lose some of the expletives. That, in a nutshell, is the secret to writing powerful the first instance, the man was stating the fact [stated] that he was “blind” and needed help, but his words failed to move passersby because blindness was an abstract concept to them. Seeing the editing process is such a help for writers who are in the learning stages of how to tighten their prose/ i taught writing, i came up with a few tips for my students. The first was having them ask this question as they edited someone else’s writing: “can you make one strong word do the work of two or three weak words?

Your eyes “read” individual words out of sequence, forcing any spelling errors to stand i may, one last comment: writing poetry, even bad poetry, is a great exercise for cleaning up prose; it heightens your awareness for the power of individual words on a for allowing me this trip down memory lane. Your edits in the guestblogging forum have had such a huge impact on my writing. Ve spent my career speaking and writing, and i still need to take time with every thing i write to edit it down, remove the fluff and make it tight. I’d say, “editing is where the good become great and the best get even better. But i loved this both creative and serious way of showing how to keep it is no doubt that this is a valuable post. Work out best for those who make the best of how things work ebeau diary of a the 100s of ‘how to blog’ articles i’ve read, this is the first post that’s actually about editing. This is a sight for sore eyes – i’m a total perfectionist and am constantly editing, refining, trying to remove those useless filler words, to the point where i only publish a fraction of what i actually start to write! I’ll still waffle though it’s my style and writing style is good right??! Thank you in advance for your r book on my personal list is the little, brown blog sucks and so does your writing. Other than your own opinion, is there some verifiable data supporting the contention that the suggested edits will make one’s “writing more powerful”?

Thanks so much for sharing specific the again amazing and you for unveiling the secret behind the editing process of popular bloggers. Like your suggestions on how to improve the effectiveness of your writing, by simply editing some words (leaving the same meaning). Postshow to write a blog post – the ultimate guide the epic content cycle: 10 steps to 10x content [infographic] 297 flabby words and phrases that rob your writing of all its power 21 dumb mistakes to avoid when writing your first e-book how to make money blogging: how this blog makes $100k per month 7 simple edits that make your writing 100% more powerful 317 power words that’ll instantly make you a better writer 6 seo mistakes that’ll make google hate you forever top categories share pin +1 ing and editing your creative writing to write authentic dialogue for fictional g fiction for dummies cheat ve writing for dummies cheat iting for dummies cheat ionlanguage artscreative writingrewriting and editing your creative writing ing and editing your creative writing ve writing for dummies, uk maggie hamand part of creative writing for dummies cheat sheet rewriting and editing helps to tighten up your work. Better opening or closing may need to move:Dramatic sections to make a stronger information to where the reader really needs to know ial information nearer the beginning of the ptive passages to add tension and suspense to , phrases and sentences to make a better for grammar, punctuation and spelling you have no continuity particular attention to the first and last lines of any section or out any awkward words and y anything that isn’t video is queuequeuewatch next video is g for creative cribe from eric buffington? Please try again rd youtube autoplay is enabled, a suggested video will automatically play ve writing lessons: creative writing tips, more advice and lessons from stephen write channel with nicola to write descriptively - nalo for self-editing with harry editors know if your writing is centre for arts and ve writing - how i improved my writing ue in creative saunders on writing and his tactics for ruthless editing - the new yorker festival. Tips on proofreading and editing your ve writing lessons: creative writing tips, advice and lessons from bestseller stephen write channel with nicola editor of the new yorker on helping writers find their ve writing dialogue punctuation. Editing for to build a fictional world - kate to edit your own writing: trimming needless words from your ve writing lessons: lesson 1 - five top tips to get started (creative writing). Write channel with nicola raja - 9-step editing system to improve your ve writing five top tips - school of gham city g more suggestions... In to add this to watch video is queuequeuewatch next video is g for creative cribe from eric buffington? Please try again rd youtube autoplay is enabled, a suggested video will automatically play to write descriptively - nalo ve writing lessons: creative writing tips, more advice and lessons from stephen write channel with nicola for self-editing with harry editors know if your writing is centre for arts and ue in creative ve writing - how i improved my writing skills.

Editor of the new yorker on helping writers find their saunders on writing and his tactics for ruthless editing - the new yorker festival. Tips on proofreading and editing your ve writing lessons: creative writing tips, advice and lessons from bestseller stephen write channel with nicola ve writing dialogue raja - 9-step editing system to improve your to edit your own writing: trimming needless words from your to creative to improve your creative writing to build a fictional world - kate messner.