5 Methods for "Little Picture" Editing

As I said last week (and at other times), a problem with self-editing is that you as author know what you intended to say, which means you have to trick yourself into forgetting that so you see what's actually on the page.

(Note: This works for school essays, too.)

Writers have different writing techniques and learning styles, too, so one writer's best method might be another's worst. You'll have to practice and test yourself, to figure out the best methods for tricking yourself—and, when you encounter stories that you wrote differently than usual, you'll have to keep practicing and testing to figure out the best route for usual.

For example, someone who writes a quick rough draft to spew words out on the page won't remember what's there as well as someone who edits while they write. That makes it easier for the former type to trick themselves—but the latter type's more likely to know how to edit.

Because writing and editing are two different skills.

And revision/rewriting (whichever you want to call fixing what you've written) is yet another one.

(And remember: it's always far easier to edit others' work than to edit your own.)

So, last week we went over some methods to trick yourself for "big picture" (macro) editing. How do you trick yourself for "little picture" (micro) editing.

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5 Methods for "Little Picture" (Micro) Editing:

• Wait before re-reading.

Wait between writing and editing, preferably writing something else in the meantime.

When used properly, this method helps everyone. (Though it helps folks who write quickly more than it does those who write slowly.) Time gives you distance to see what's actually on the page—which makes it helpful for both catching problems and for taking a deep breath when you're panicking and convinced your book is the worst thing ever.

(Oh, and that "Ah! This is terrible! How can I inflict this on the public!" feeling is normal—it's even a good sign…)

But you can also cripple yourself with this method, constantly waiting "just a little longer." So put a cap on how long you'll wait before tackling an edit. My personal cap's a month, though I'm an edit-as-I-go type of writer.

(Note: If writing is your business, you'll want to figure out writing methods that let you only need to wait for a day or week. Clients generally won't give you an extra year on a deadline.)

(And it's best to work on something else while you wait, to help you forget.)

• Change the format.

If it's handwritten, start by typing it; if it's typed, start by changing the font (if not font size or margins) between every pass.

Why? It'll move things around, so you have to focus on what you're reading. You won't subconsciously remember the last word on the third page as on; instead, it might show up in the middle of the fourth page and therefore reveal itself as an of.

Now, when you get down to the final pass, it's best to work on a printed page. A printed page will make it easier to find errors, but it'll take more time to fix those errors. You can print it yourself or set up a POD version on CreateSpace and use that for the final proof.

• Check your writing against checklists.

Everyone has "pet" words and techniques and problems, things they're prone to in their writing.

So as you learn what your weak points are, take notes. And make checklists.

Maybe you often confuse lay and lie. Maybe you like sentence fragments too much. Maybe you often find yourself using said or –ly words.

• Make use of Find & Replace.

Every Word Processor these days has a Find & Replace function—take advantage of it!

Say there's a word that you find yourself spelling differently while you edit. Make a note of it, then search for it at the end.

Also make a note to double-check capitalization and punctuation of things you have trouble with. For example, in "Say hi to Mom" and "Say hi to my mom"

• Read aloud.

This is another one that helps everyone; either you read it aloud (mumbling to yourself) or you let your computer or Kindle or something read it to you. This'll help you hear problem areas.

It's also a bit harder to misread that on as of when a computerized voice says it.

Hint #1: Anything that's a tongue-twister to day is confusing to read.

Hint #2: Get out of breath? Your line's too long and it'll lose readers.

Enjoy those 5 methods to help you micro-edit!

(You might've noticed that I didn't mention using a beta reader for this stage. There's a reason for it, and let me tell you: If you don't already know my reason, you aren't an exception to my avoidance of mentioning it. ^_^)

What methods do you use? Any here sound like something you'd like to try?

—Misti

5 Methods for "Big Picture" Editing

One of the banes of self-editing is that you, the author, know what you intended to say, and therefore you have to trick yourself to see what's actually on the page. Every writer's different, so figuring out the best methods for tricking yourself takes practice.)

(And that's in addition to knowing how to edit and being able to edit your own writing, not just others'—because it's always far easier to edit others' work than to edit your own.)

But how on earth can you trick yourself into seeing what's actually on the page rather than what you think is there?

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5 Methods for "Big Picture" (Macro) Editing:

• Outline your writing arcs.

For a novel, that's character arcs, your relationship arcs, your plot arcs, etc. For non-fiction, that might be your themes throughout the piece.

An "outline" can be anything that charts it out. That might be conventional outline like you used to hand to your teacher, a bullet list like this one, a stack of 3x5 notecards (with one point per card), a mind map (AKA "snowflake"), the keywords in Scrivener… Whatever works best for you to see and verify that your arcs fit how they should.

Each arc must get a new outline, and it's often best to color-code them. Also, each point on the outline needs to indicate where that item is found in the story. (Personally, I like using the keywords in Scrivener for checking my characters, to make sure nobody vanishes for most of the book—like Lallie did in an earlier draft of A Fistful of Fire.)

• Wait before re-reading.

The wait might be a day, a week, a month, a year—whatever works best for you. (But if writing is your business, you'll want to figure out writing methods that let you only need to wait for a day or week. Clients generally won't give you an extra year deadline.)

The wait will help you forget what you intended to write, so you see what's actually there.

This works really well when you write quickly, so the writing gets ditched from your short-term memory, rather than getting etched in your long-term memory. (The problem comes if your rough draft is so rough that you can't understand what you intended to say.)

• Check your writing beats against a formula (like Save the Cat).

Plotting naturally follows particular event or emotional arcs, and even non-fiction has its flow.

There are exceptions and variations, so figuring out where your particular piece of writing fits—or even what formula to use for it—can take work. And then you have to get the mental distance from your work to be able to identify those major events that fit the formula.

If you go this route, spreadsheets with automatic calculations are your friend for tracking down where those events should be—and if you're an avid reader, you've probably internalized plot structure and have hit it more-or-less instinctually.

• Color code everything.

Assign colors to different aspects of the story. If characters are blue, maybe main characters (and their description) are dark blue, and minor characters are light blue.

You could also (or as well) do it also for marking dialogue/description/action.

This doesn't have to be printed out (and is probably better if you don't). MS Word (and other word processing documents, Scrivener included) have highlighter functions. Another benefit to doing it on computer is that you can change the text color, rather than just the highlighter color. Be sure to make a key for what each color means.

• Use a beta reader.

When you can use one (and there's no contract or anything like that blocking you), a beta reader can offer a great second set of eyes.

However, you'll want to start by making sure you find the best beta reader for what you need checked. This may mean using more than one—and different projects might need different types of beta readers. (See my post on how to find beta readers.)

Also, bear in mind that you don't want to take advantage of or abuse folks as beta readers. If you try to get folks to volunteer too much of their time or if you're too pushy, you'll drive your beta readers away and not have any for the next time you need them. Show your appreciation for your beta reader by attempting to match the reader up with a story they'll like.

So there we go: a brief run-down of 5 methods to help you macro-edit.

Do you have any other methods to share? What's your favorite—or which do you think you'd like to try?

—Misti