You’ve finished your project and hit send. Then you notice an error. It’s the worst feeling when you find the mistake after submission. Those tiny errors haunt writers, which is why proofreading is an essential step for everyone. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve written an email, presentation or novel. It needs to be error-free.
Editing can be fun, but it also can be tough. It’s an emotional phase of the writing process that can batter a writer’s spirit. Not all of the time. There will be projects that are easy to write and edit, but I’m not talking about those projects today. Today I’m talking about those larger beasts that tear at a writer’s soul. The projects that make us question whether we can write and why we want to do this in the first place. Those projects are the ones that test our resolve to write.
I am often asked to critique my friends’ work. I consider it an occupational hazard. Of course, I also offer manuscript critiques as part of my business. I enjoy doing them, but recognize they can present a few challenges and always proceed with caution.
In part one of this series, we talked about how and why film editor Walter Murch’s famous Rule of Six works equally well for novelists. Now let’s break down each of the six rules:
The Rule of Six is a list of the six most important types of cuts a film editor should make, according to famed film editor Walter Murch in his book, In the Blink of an Eye. Though written for film editors, his suggestions make sense for novelists too.
NaNoWriMo is finished, but you aren’t. This four-part series covers what you need to do next. The first blog tackled the initial steps of revision. The second focused on editing on a larger scale. Now we’re going small, moving on to the sentence level.
Sentence Level:
There are a host of elements to check at the sentence level.
NaNoWriMo is over. So what now? This series lays out a game plan for revising your manuscript. The first blog covered the initial steps to take. Now we’re moving on to editing, starting large and moving toward the smaller details as we go. The final blog will cover the final steps of manuscript preparation.
Editing can be fun, but it also can be tough. It’s an emotional phase of the writing process that can batter a writer’s spirit. Not all of the time. There will be projects that are easy to write and edit, but I’m not talking about those projects today. Today I’m talking about those larger beasts that tear at a writer’s soul. The projects that make us question whether we can write and why we want to do this in the first place. Those projects are the ones that test our resolve to write.
Editing someone else’s work is always easier than editing your own. When I review someone’s manuscript, I can always see the flaws, the errors in grammar, the leaps in story logic, the stalled through line. It jumps out at me demanding attention and comment.
The same thing does not always happen in my own writing.
In my business, I am not always the first call and I like it that way. Call me weird, but I love being called in to fix writing that isn’t working. Luckily, there always will be those clients who think they can write their own scripts, speeches and manuscripts. They think taking English classes in high school and college means is enough preparation, and sometimes it is. Then again, sometimes it is not.