You’ve accomplished what seemed impossible! The first draft
of your manuscript is finished. Now
what?
Let Your Draft Breathe
*
Wait a couple of weeks before tackling editing. You’ll
be more objective and better able to find mistakes. Otherwise, you brain will discern
what you intended to write versus what you wrote.
Be a Reader Not an
Author
*
Read your manuscript from a reader’s point of view
to check pacing, tone, writing voice, and story flow. It can be helpful to read aloud or convert
your document to a PDF and utilize the ‘read aloud mode’ found at the ‘View’
tab.
Edit in Steps and Ask
Yourself These Questions
*
Does your first chapter confirm the book’s
genre?
*
Is the setting alluring?
*
Do your characters have a purpose? Are they
memorable? Is their dialogue appropriate? Are names easy to pronounce and
spelled correctly?
*
Point of view is whose head you’re in during a
scene. Draw readers into the emotion of your story by writing in deep POV.
Eliminate excessive dialogue tags.
*
Filter words weaken your writing by taking
readers out of the character’s head. Reduce as many as possible, words such as:
wondered, very, then, felt,
realized, just
*
Delete repetition of words and details. Use
MS-Word’s ‘Find and Replace’ feature.
*
If a sentence doesn’t advance the plot or add to
character development – axe it.
*
As a general rule, you should use active voice
whenever possible to engage your readers. Active voice is bold, e.g., “Jordan
stubbed her toe.” Versus “The toe was
stubbed by Jordan.
*
The Show -- Don’t Tell writing tip is a
challenge for many seasoned and novice writers. SHOWING with vivid description
makes a reader feel that they are experiencing a scene. Whereas, TELLING them
what is occurring, is reporting or narrative, which tends to distance them from
the action. To further complicate things, some writers do both. TELL and in the
following sentence, SHOW. This can frustrate readers who don’t feel the need to
be fed details twice.
*
Have you used powerful sentences for chapter
beginnings and endings to hook readers to read on? Is there conflict, tension,
and plot originality? Have all plot questions been answered? Does your story
have a satisfactory conclusion?
*
Proofread on-line; then print off your manuscript
to edit with a pen for: spelling, grammar and punctuation errors, excess
wordiness, and awkward phrasing. A Style Guide is helpful for checking
mechanical errors.
Seek Feedback and Develop a Thick Skin
·
Request constructive input from people who agree
to be your beta readers. Consider their suggestions carefully, especially if
more than one voices a similar concern. It’s
difficult to identify your own writing mistakes even if you have editing
skills.
·
If your goal is to indie publish, hire an
editorial consultant to polish your manuscript to publication quality.
Donna J. Warner
Freelance Editor and Author of
the Blair & Piermont Crime Thriller Series:
Book #1
Targeted
Book #2 Death’s Footprint
www.djwarnerconsulting.blogspot.ca
No comments:
Post a Comment