The Art of Self-Editing, Part 1
By Henry McLaughlin
Part of my call as a writer is to help others through
coaching, mentoring, teaching, and editing. One thing I’ve learned in my
writing and in helping other writers is the vital importance of learning to
self-edit. Someone said, and I can’t remember whom, “The heart of writing is
re-writing.” I’m not saying all you have to do is self-edit your work and
you’re ready for publication. But knowing how to effectively self-edit your
work goes a long way to getting you there. At some point, you will need
to submit your work to an outside editor or go through the process of
editing through the publishing house. Being able to self-edit helps these next
steps go smoothly. My self-editing process comes from years of classes and
workshops and applying and refining the principles I learned.
Let Your Manuscript Cool Off
As you compose your first draft, backup your project to a
flash drive or other external source. When you’ve finished, let it sit. How
long varies, depending on who you’re listening to. Some recommend a week;
others recommend three months.
I believe the longer you can let it sit, the better. When
working with a mentee, I recommend three months. If a client can’t wait that
long, I ask them to wait at least one month.
We need to have an emotional distance between finishing the
first draft and starting the editing process. The sooner we start, the more
likely our emotions will be in control. We’ll miss things that need to be
corrected. We need to let our ardor, our love, for our story, ease up so we can
approach it with a calm eye to see flaws or areas that are fine but could be
better.
While you’re waiting, start another project. This will keep
your creative juices flowing while keeping your hands off that first draft that
keeps calling your name. You can work on your next story: plotting, developing
characters, building the story world, and research. Explore new story ideas.
Read books and articles on the craft.
Read your manuscript
Print it out and read it. You’ll see things on the printed
page you won’t see on the computer screen. Some recommend reading it aloud. I
haven’t found this helpful. I add or replace words without realizing it.
I read silently with highlighters and pens close at hand. I
mark whatever jumps out at me: missing words, awkward sentences, plot holes,
inconsistencies in timelines, story world, character description, or portrayal.
I’ll identify grammar uses. I don’t fix them on this step. I just note
them. I want to read the entire manuscript before making changes. My printed
copy ends up with notes, possible changes, and a slew of other possible
revisions. Sometimes, the manuscript looks like a stack of Post-it notes
exploded inside. I’ll mark scenes or chapters to cut, revise, or move to some
other place in the book. And I’ve identified places were an additional scene or
a new chapter would be appropriate.
But we’re not done yet.
In my next post, we’ll explore more steps in doing an effective
self-edit of the first draft.
(Photos courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Stuart Miles.)
TWEETABLE
Tagged
as “one to watch” by Publishers Weekly,
award-winning author Henry McLaughlin takes his readers on adventures into the
hearts and souls of his characters as they battle inner conflicts while seeking
to bring restoration and justice in a dark world. His writing explores these
themes of restoration, reconciliation and redemption.
Besides
his writing, Henry treasures working with other writers and helping them on
their own writing journeys. He is a member of American Christian Fiction
Writers. He regularly teaches at conferences and workshops, leads writing
groups, edits, and mentors and coaches.
Visit
him at http://www.henrymclaughlin.org.
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him on Facebook.
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