I’m going to give you nine solid techniques that dramatically improve your writing. These are the same techniques I’ve taught to students in the best MFA programs in the country.
Thank you! The control F function is so handy. I can't believe how many times I write the word and. I'm also shocked to see that I use gerund phrases all the time.
Ben! That means so much to me. I'm so happy to have you.
Let's just pause and acknowledge that you wrote a 90,000 word fantasy/sci-fi-but-different novel. That's something many,many people talk about doing but never do. Fantastic! It's so important to pause and take stock. Be sure to celebrate a little tonight.
I know what you mean about being excited to look at the little things. The nine editing techniques are little miracles. (I wrote 'are really little miracles' and cut the 'really.') Sometimes the -ly's work, especially to get at voice, but questioning them and using the other editing techniques can create strong prose. It's almost eerie.
I like what you said about not wanting to hire an editor. Did you read the revision post? Do you separate the revision and editing stages?
I do a lot of editing as I go along. I don't like leaving obvious things hanging. So when I finished the first draft it was pretty clean to start with. When I go in and do the revision, I layer things. One of the things I found on the Mac is that I can highlight sections and hold them off to the side to remind me of important points. I like to layer in things, feelings, opinions. It's easier with this story because it's First Person. You can make the voice stand out more. I will be reading the revision post right after I finish the last four chapters. Because I know I'm just going to have to go right back to the beginning and start again.
I had to break down and buy a subscription; I think it might be the best thing I could've done for myself. I work on a Mac. I just write on it, but I can see now that I have a lot more to learn. Let me explain. I decided to write something for the NaNoWriMo last November. I made the 50,000 words with no problem, only to discover that I'd need more than that if I wanted to tell my story properly. I brought it in at somewhere close to 90,000 words. It's a fantasy/adventure, like most fantasies, I guess. But I wanted it to be different, so I decided I had to change the story dramatically. I did. So now I'm in the revising part of the story. I didn't know what the FIND and REPLACE were, until you explained that is was one of the functions on the Mac. So I thought I'd give it a try. I typed in LY, and found there were 598 words with LY. Not bad for the amount of words I have, but I scrolled through the first page and thought I'd see how it changed the flow of the story. Well, it certainly did. I think when we write we put those little things in that we don't really need. I'm guilty of that. I'll finish the revision I'm working on and then go back to the beginning and go through the whole thing all over again, tightening things up. I've been serializing it in its first iteration (I just used that word there because I like it, and don't get to use it often enough.) I'm excited at the idea of going through it again and taking all the little things out. I don't want to have to pay for editing. Some of the things an editor will want to take out, I might not want to. Thanks for the insight, and know that I'll be reading you faithfully. If you want to look at what I'm working on, here's the link: https://benwoestenburg.substack.com/p/a-beginners-guide-to-time-travel
such good advice - I prefer clean and lean writing myself - it is also an extension of show dont tell - trust your readers too - less is more etc
Thank you! The control F function is so handy. I can't believe how many times I write the word and. I'm also shocked to see that I use gerund phrases all the time.
That’s great. You’re a constant reviser/reviser-as-you-go. That’s its own process. And the layering—perfect. Very advanced.
Ben! That means so much to me. I'm so happy to have you.
Let's just pause and acknowledge that you wrote a 90,000 word fantasy/sci-fi-but-different novel. That's something many,many people talk about doing but never do. Fantastic! It's so important to pause and take stock. Be sure to celebrate a little tonight.
I know what you mean about being excited to look at the little things. The nine editing techniques are little miracles. (I wrote 'are really little miracles' and cut the 'really.') Sometimes the -ly's work, especially to get at voice, but questioning them and using the other editing techniques can create strong prose. It's almost eerie.
I like what you said about not wanting to hire an editor. Did you read the revision post? Do you separate the revision and editing stages?
I do a lot of editing as I go along. I don't like leaving obvious things hanging. So when I finished the first draft it was pretty clean to start with. When I go in and do the revision, I layer things. One of the things I found on the Mac is that I can highlight sections and hold them off to the side to remind me of important points. I like to layer in things, feelings, opinions. It's easier with this story because it's First Person. You can make the voice stand out more. I will be reading the revision post right after I finish the last four chapters. Because I know I'm just going to have to go right back to the beginning and start again.
I had to break down and buy a subscription; I think it might be the best thing I could've done for myself. I work on a Mac. I just write on it, but I can see now that I have a lot more to learn. Let me explain. I decided to write something for the NaNoWriMo last November. I made the 50,000 words with no problem, only to discover that I'd need more than that if I wanted to tell my story properly. I brought it in at somewhere close to 90,000 words. It's a fantasy/adventure, like most fantasies, I guess. But I wanted it to be different, so I decided I had to change the story dramatically. I did. So now I'm in the revising part of the story. I didn't know what the FIND and REPLACE were, until you explained that is was one of the functions on the Mac. So I thought I'd give it a try. I typed in LY, and found there were 598 words with LY. Not bad for the amount of words I have, but I scrolled through the first page and thought I'd see how it changed the flow of the story. Well, it certainly did. I think when we write we put those little things in that we don't really need. I'm guilty of that. I'll finish the revision I'm working on and then go back to the beginning and go through the whole thing all over again, tightening things up. I've been serializing it in its first iteration (I just used that word there because I like it, and don't get to use it often enough.) I'm excited at the idea of going through it again and taking all the little things out. I don't want to have to pay for editing. Some of the things an editor will want to take out, I might not want to. Thanks for the insight, and know that I'll be reading you faithfully. If you want to look at what I'm working on, here's the link: https://benwoestenburg.substack.com/p/a-beginners-guide-to-time-travel