Editing Tips

1. Get a fresh perspective. Don't edit something as soon as you've written it, basically. If you do it immediately, you'll still be thinking, "Oh, I need to change that around" or "I should have put that instead of this", and so you won't be thinking as much, "Well, would it work out like the way I have it?" If you wait a little, you might forget what the problem is, but that's not really a big deal. If the problem was major, you would notice it once you re-read your book. Then, if it still sounds bad or conflicts with the plot, you can change it all you want.

2. While we're on it, get an even fresher perspective. Have a family member or friend read your book and edit it for you. They will notice things (especially plot contradictions) that you have missed because they are getting all of their information from your writing. You, on the other hand, already have it dancing around in your head, so even if you left out something in the book you won't notice because it was really supposed to be there in your brain.

3. Print your story out and edit it non-electronically. You don't even have to print it out all at one time. You don't even have to edit it by hand. However, I do it that way because I seriously get tired of staring at a computer screen and trying to nitpick my work. Plus, while you can't take your computer everywhere you go, you can take a chapter of your book to edit. I write in corrections with a pen (a green pen, to be exact. A good deal of people use red pens, though) in the margins.

4. Write character information down. It really helps. There are points in my story where one character, Thea, has red hair, and other points when she has blond hair. That was because I didn't write her description down, so that whenever I forgot I could just look at that. Also comes in handy when trying to remember the names of cities ( etc.) that you made up.

5. Be specific in your corrections. If you just go through the book and put post-it notes where you see a problem, you probably won't remember exactly what was wrong. Instead of circling the sentence, "Her blue eyes sparkled as they caught the light," write next to it, "Character has green eyes, takes place in dark room" or something like that. Basically, write so you can remember. This also should be in consideration when you're editing a book that someone else wrote. They can't read your mind, and just seeing a sentence circled will make them wonder, "What on earth? Looks fine to me!"

Hope these help anyone who needs them!

Yours without wax,

Izori