You can edit your story like a Publisher!

 

You can edit your story like a Publisher! 

Although every publisher believes that every writer needs a good editor, that’s not really true, if you can write a book, you can learn to edit your own work before it is published.  Why do you need to edit your work once you’ve finished writing your best work? The reason why you need to do editing of your work is because you want your readers to be able to comprehend what your story is all about and want to promote your work to their friends.

 So you’ve written a novel and now it’s time to begin the editing process. Fist off be sure to run your manuscript through your spell check to ensure everything is spelt correctly. Secondly be sure to find all the word “That” and delete them all. Third print off your manuscript and make sure it’s double spaced with 1- 1 ½ inch boarders so you can make notes accordingly. When I edit one of my finished manuscripts, I punch holes in the copy so I can place it into a three-ring binder. Then I leave it for a day or two so that when I am ready to reread the manuscript my mind is clear. I grab a red pen and begin to read making notes on changes as I read.

I read the story out loud and in some cases I record my voice as I read the story. If a word or phrase/sentence doesn’t make sense, I circle it so I can go back late and change accordingly. After every chapter, I stop and rewind the audio and listen to it as I read it over again while listening to my words out loud. This helps to make sense of the story. Never try to do a complete edit during the first reading, it will take at least 5 readings before your editing is completed.  Tom Clancy once told me not to worry about grammar while writing the story, just get the story out of your head, grammar issues is for the editor to worry about. Just get that story out of your head.

Always remember that your story structure must have a beginning, middle and end and if you can’t see that in your read, note it in the margin to ensure you fix that problem after your final read. In the beginning of your reading, you should be able to define the inciting incident, then determine the turning point and crisis questions that require your protagonist to make a choice between two negatives before reconciling the problem before the final climax commences to a final resolution.  Remember your protagonist must act as a result of the inciting incident in the story. Remember there must also be a conflict in the middle of the storyline, if you don’t have a conflict, you have no story. Also, the storyline must have a resolution to the middle conflict. Your reader wants to know the resolution to the conflict so make sure you don’t leave them hanging in the end.

The best way to understand how to revise your story structure if needed is to use this hint given to me by my mentor many years ago. As you read each chapter, note in the margin what the chapter is about in as few words as possible and what that chapter is supposed to tell. In other words, how does that chapter advance the storyline and help your protagonist tell their story within the story structure. If the chapter doesn’t move the story at that point, take it out of the manuscript or move it to another part of the manuscript that it can enhance the storyline. I always design my novels before I start to write to ensure that my story structure makes sense. I write a paragraph for each chapter outlines what happens in that chapter, which characters are in that chapter and how that chapter enhances the overall story structure. It helps me stay on track. I never worry about word count for chapters because I find that my characters determine that when they speak. I know that a novel should be about 125,000 words and if I go over that by 100,000 words, then I will split the story into two books instead of deleting half the book. But I do go by the golden rule of 25/50/25. The beginning (inciting incident or the hook is the first 25%), the middle conflict storyline will be 50% and the end or climax, resolution will be the last 25% of the story.

Once you’ve finished reading over your first draft, let it sit for a day. Then go through it a second time and take out the boring stuff you threw into the story to take up space or just to add words, especially if they are redundant. Just take out that boring stuff and move on. Remember this golden rule, if you can’t be bothered reading it out loud, your readers don’t want to read it either, therefore, it doesn’t need to be in your novel.

What I find helpful when reading my manuscript into a audio is it gives me clarity as to which character is speaking and telling their part of the story. Does the dialogue sound confusing or does it even make sense to the story overall?  If I can’t summarize the story, that means it’s not the story I’m trying to tell, so I need to revise it once and for all. It might mean that the scene doesn’t work and needs to be revised to produce a better scene and potentially better dialogue between my characters in order for the story to make sense and sound right.

Once the storyline, the structure, the settings and dialogue sound like the story you wanted to tell, it’s time to work on the grammar and punctuation part of the story. Look for sentences that sound passive or are they in the active phrasing. If you’re in the middle of an action in the storyline, then you need to use active voice verbs, but if the character is in the receiving end of the action, then use a passive verb. If you can’t figure this out. Then you need to hire an editor to do this for you, or choose a friend who is supportive of your work and ask them to read the manuscript and help you edit for grammar and punctuation. Also ask that same person to note any dialogue that needs to be changed. For example, don’t be using words like exclaimed to express a character’s adjective for action and emotion. Just say it straight up, he said or she said then explain the action being used, like he threw a book at her head and struck her on the cheek causing a bruise to form immediately and she screamed in pain.

If you notice any clichés within your writing, change them immediately because your reader has read it before and will think you are not a good writer and put you work in the garbage can immediately. The way I stay away from cliché’s is I write the movie script first so that I can set the scene’s and create the dialogue upfront, then once that screenplay is completed, I print it out and then begin to write the novel. It helps me stay away from those corny phrases that have been over used throughout the years in other novels and stories. How can I explain this so you’ll understand clearly? Your character is depressed don’t just say he’s depressed, you’re not a shrink writing an appointment report for an insurance company, you’re painting a picture for your reader to visualize and understand what your character is going through. Describe his attitude, his demeanor, his lack of energy to do anything, even to answer the door in his apartment, or even to clean up the coffee table where he’s been saving his empty food cartons while he sleeps on the sofa and doesn’t want to take a shower and he’s beginning to smell. Does that make sense, I hope so. Now go write and read your own work, edit your own work, and make me proud. Let me know when your novel has been picked up and about to be published and never allow anyone to discourage you from following your dream of writing that first novel.

 

Author Elizabeth Kilbride is a former political operative, author, scriptwriter, historian, journalist. business professional, creative artist, and life coach consultant. Ms. Kilbride holds a Masters in Criminology and a BS in Business Management who stepped out of the loop for a while, but who is now back with a powerful opinion and voice in the direction of this country and our economy. As a life coach, she is available to counsel individuals to enjoy their dreams and a better life. Ms. Kilbride loves to travel, photograph her surroundings and is also a gourmet cook who loves to garden and preserve food for the winter months.