4/12/2023 0 Comments Elucidate writing and editing![]() ![]() Then, I listen back to this recording and mark up the manuscript. ![]() I sometimes read my pieces aloud and record myself using the voice memo app on my phone. Unless you have access to a writing center or some eagle-eyed friends who can write and edit, read your pieces aloud. Your markups don’t have to make sense to anyone but you, and if you’re in doubt about a change, circle the sentence or word with your pen and decide on this edit later. To get the most out of this self-editing technique, strike through words with your pen, use arrows to indicate where you want to move your sentences and write in the spaces between each sentence. The American editor Sol Stein likens the process of reviewing the first draft to performing triage on a patient, and that’s what you’re about to do with a red pen. Please don’t feel disheartened if your first read-through disappoints. This editing process is the same, except you are combing through your pieces to find and fix common writing mistakes. Remember using peer checklists in school? You’d ravage a classmate’s essay and rip apart their thesis statement until the paper covered in red ink. Marking Up Your Manuscript Let the Ink Run This revised version of the Courier font looks better on larger screens and has all the benefits of its older brother.įont choice aside, print out your work, sit down at a quiet table and read your first draft in one go.Ĭonfession: I feel guilty about the paper I use while editing, and I have great intentions to plant a small forest one day. It also gives you plenty of space for writing on your manuscript.īetter, yet download the font Courier Prime. This simplifies spotting mistakes in sentence structure and punctuation. ![]() Many professional journalists and sub-editors format their work this way because it’s easy on the eye and takes approximately one minute to read a page. Now, change the line spacing of your work to double-spaced, change the font to Courier New and the size to 12. Later, when you open up that messy first draft, you’ll look at it and think ‘Oh yeah, I remember this.’ Change the Format Your ideas will cool, and your memory fade. This is essential to any creative process. ![]() Do something that has nothing to do with writing. When you finish your first draft, let it sit in your computer for a few days (or longer depending on the length of your work). Getting Ready to Edit Your First Draft Take Time OffĪfter spending weeks or months writing about a topic or story, the work becomes too hot to touch, let alone edit. If you want to get the most out of your time spent editing, consider the following two tips.Īdd them to your usual editing process, and you are guaranteed to see a monumental difference in the effectiveness of your editing. It’s also what most writers do before they send their work to a professional for review. Separating both tasks will help you write first drafts faster. So, allocate one portion of your day to writing ( I like to wake up early) and another part for revising your work with the right editing tools (I like the afternoons). To engage both parts of the brain at once is to indulge in the myth of multitasking. The right side of your brain that takes your first draft and turns it into something that shines – your internal editor – does its best work when you have a complete first draft. The left side of your brain that needs to write and get ideas out of your head and onto the blank page – your internal writer – shies away from your inner editor. When you try writing and editing at the same time, you’re doing TWO different activities.
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