a tip or two for self editing.

[DHerbert]

Another effective editing technique is to read your work aloud. It's surprising how many errors you pick up using this method. It slows down your mind and adds another sensory device to the editing process.

I do that and find it very helpful - it is amazing what gets through the previous stages but that you find here.

 

[dmallord]

I don't think anyone's disagreeing. It's just that 100 words is more focussed on the edit while 750 words blends edit with story.

I'm not disagreeing either. I see and understand Marie's intent; as do you it seems. I just favor using it as a writing tool as you noted blending edit and story. Like cake and ice cream I want both! Not one or the other!

 

[KeithD]

I don't think anyone's disagreeing. It's just that 100 words is more focussed on the edit while 750 words blends edit with story.

No, sorry, I don't understand what this means. The difference I see is that each word is more important in what it will convey in the 100-word story than the 750-word story, but if you want to be at all expansive with one element of writing or more (you don't have to cover them all in a short story), you need to write carefully at either of these lengths. I don't see where "edit" is involved differently by length.

A good exercise would be to write a story at the 100-word length and then expand it to 750 words, playing with how much richer, but still succinct, the story can be made. Or maybe go the other direction and see what could be done. (I once edited for the President's Daily Brief, and my mantra when an entry was sent to me was to return it it, saying, give me just the 250 most significant words while still being readable.)

I just expanded a 1,000-word-limit story I'd written for a mainstream contest that didn't happen to enter it into a 3,500-word-limit contest, and it was amazing to see that the whole central theme of the story changed at the longer length.

 

[AlinaX]

I feel you're making my point for me.

 

[Athalia]

(A note here-- don't worry about fixing every typo as you go along. If you have a thought, write it out, then you can go back and fix the typos the system highlights. Don't lose your rhythm of a story line for typos).

If I hit a snag like this, I just insert something like $$$$$ in the text, and move on. Later, when I'm in the review mode, that insertion will flag something that needs attention.

Period. -- see my note at the end on writing better with less words...

Even professional editors like myself make mistakes in responding to thread forums. (I'm sure you meant "fewer words...") That's the difference between posting in forums and writing stories. In the forum here, I write what comes to me without regard for proper syntax. But in my stories, I pay more attention.

I think you've covered most of the important stuff. My only suggestion to self-editors is that after they write the piece, they file it away so that, a month or three later, they can read with fresher eyes. That often works for me.

 

[MarieWriter]

Yep- typing in too big of a hurry, and I often do that in my writings as well, then discover it when I do my first pass-through edit. And yes letting it sit for a few weeks was mentioned in my original post, because it can be a helpful method. It is almost like visiting the chat side of the site and realizing I ignore all proper punctuation - even for contractions !

 

[Dearelliot]

I looked at my story and as suggested thought about deleting of 8 to 10 percent...I think that was good advice for me, I haven't managed 8 or 10% but I'm working on it.

 

[MarieWriter]

That is ok.. the fact that you are doing it will tighten it up. Good work- good luck

 

[MetaBob]

Another effective editing technique is to read your work aloud. It's surprising how many errors you pick up using this method. It slows down your mind and adds another sensory device to the editing process.

Yes.

Once you think you are finished. PRINT THE STORY. Then sit down someplace and read it. This is actually huge. By printing it, and getting away from the computer, you can read it almost as if you are seeing it for the first time. Have a pen or pencil with you, or highlighter, and mark up the errors you see and jot down the changes you need to make. This is almost the single biggest way you can help yourself when doing a self-edit.

That's one way, but what's actually necessary is to see your story with new eyes, however that happens. Change the font. Use a different text editor on a different computer, or, yes, print it out. Once my first novel was published, I noticed two typos after reviewing the printed, bound book. Argh!

My favorite practice is to agonize over every freakin' word, pass after pass, until I feel like no more changes are needed. That's not for everyone, obviously. When you're done, give Grammarly a shot. 90% of what it gives me is crap (because I've already agonized over every word), but sometimes it finds stuff that I didn't.

None of this "write a 100-word story"; write Poetry, where not only does every word count, every word has to add something! None of this "cut by 8-10%" stuff ... go for the jugular!

Here's how I do it: https://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?p=92166492

 

[jsmiam]

I’m a fan of the “change where the lines break” approach, whic is achievable by… printing. Changing font size. Changing the app’s window size. Changing programs. Changing what you read on. Changing window sizes or fonts is my favorite. You can change it up multiple times.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

One of the best tricks I use for my stories is to finish one and then not look at it for a week or two. Returning to it is to some extent like seeing it through somebody else's eyes; mistakes and omissions tend to jump out.

 

[ColinPiper]

Somewhat reviving an old thread, but this is one of the best "how to write" books I've read - I'd even rate it above Stephen King's On Writing:

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers - Renni Browne & Dave King

It's what you do after you've finished your manuscript and done your base-level spelling and grammar checks. It goes into show vs tell, point of view, dialogue, beats, proportion, and so on.

By all means use an editor if you're serious, but the above will make everyone's job easier if the lessons are considered and (maybe) applied first.

In the chapter on Sophistication, they call out the following sentence construct as indicative of a hack:

"Seeing another sentence start with an -ing word, the reader smacked their palm against their forehead and wished the writer had read 'Self-Editing for Fiction Writers' ".

The main action verb of the sentence (smacked) is diminished by a preceding dependent clause or action (seeing). Now I'm aware of it I tend to avoid it, and I always notice it in other stories. It's the overuse that's jarring to me. Of course writers are free to use whatever constructs they wish, but if professional editors call this one out I would say it's worthy of consideration.