Hey, guys!
I'm sure that all you writers out there know that editing is an important part of being a writer, whether it be creative or academic writing. I just figured that I would list a few tips about effective editing for writers of all kinds.
1) Get it all down first.
First of all, you need to write what you need to write. It does not have to be perfect. It's a rough draft; it can be as horrible as you want it to be. Editing and revising is when you go back and fix what you wrote to make it all nice and pretty.
2) Give it some time.
After you write, take a break from it. And I don't mean take five. I mean take at least a few days to a week and probably even longer before you so much as look at it again. This is necessary for you to be able to read your work with new eyes. After spending some time away from it, you'll see it for what it really is, and if it is a rough draft, then most of the time it's a piece of crap. Now you're ready to start editing!
3) Mark it up.
When you go back and read your work, do it with a red or blue (or purple or orange or green) pen in hand so that you can note some problem areas and fix grammatical/spelling errors. Maybe you decide that one paragraph in particular would flow better in a different place - draw an arrow. Maybe you decide that this character isn't really important - goodbye!
4) Make the changes.
After you mark up the hard copy of your rough draft, get back on the computer (or use a fresh piece of paper) to fix what you want to fix (or rewrite it).
5) Lather, rinse, repeat.
Repeat steps 2-4 several times as needed. You're not going to fix every little detail the first time around and your work is not going to be perfect after only one revision. Remember: writing is fun, but it's also a lot of hard work, so keep it up!
Hope this was helpful, guys. Until next time.
Happy writing!!
I'm sure that all you writers out there know that editing is an important part of being a writer, whether it be creative or academic writing. I just figured that I would list a few tips about effective editing for writers of all kinds.
1) Get it all down first.
First of all, you need to write what you need to write. It does not have to be perfect. It's a rough draft; it can be as horrible as you want it to be. Editing and revising is when you go back and fix what you wrote to make it all nice and pretty.
2) Give it some time.
After you write, take a break from it. And I don't mean take five. I mean take at least a few days to a week and probably even longer before you so much as look at it again. This is necessary for you to be able to read your work with new eyes. After spending some time away from it, you'll see it for what it really is, and if it is a rough draft, then most of the time it's a piece of crap. Now you're ready to start editing!
3) Mark it up.
When you go back and read your work, do it with a red or blue (or purple or orange or green) pen in hand so that you can note some problem areas and fix grammatical/spelling errors. Maybe you decide that one paragraph in particular would flow better in a different place - draw an arrow. Maybe you decide that this character isn't really important - goodbye!
4) Make the changes.
After you mark up the hard copy of your rough draft, get back on the computer (or use a fresh piece of paper) to fix what you want to fix (or rewrite it).
5) Lather, rinse, repeat.
Repeat steps 2-4 several times as needed. You're not going to fix every little detail the first time around and your work is not going to be perfect after only one revision. Remember: writing is fun, but it's also a lot of hard work, so keep it up!
Hope this was helpful, guys. Until next time.
Happy writing!!
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