An Author’s Special Touch: Top 10 Edits for Writers

Essays and reports are a common occurrence in all professions and being prepared with a list of do’s and don’t’s can make the difference in a class or job. While these work for everyone, this list of 10 edits are special for writers. As the designation suggests, a writer’s entire job rests on books, articles, anthologies. Even blogs! It’s important to ace the grammar and incorporate the previous tips. To go more in-depth with content, here’s ten things writers need to look at. Again, the order doesn’t matter; they’re all important.

I. Description

A moment ago I said these edits weren’t in order of importance. This one is the exception. Through many years of writing, I have found description to be the number one story killer. At least, for me.

My first book took place in a fog. Not a creepy fog in the cemetery or a humid fog by the lake. Just “The Fog.” When the setting is vague and the direction of movement is unclear, the story has detoured into “The Fog.” Only way to combat the dreaded “Fog” is to describe everything. I started by describing every setting down to the limestone tile with a crack in the foundation. From there, my editor condensed and I slowly learned how to incorporate details seamlessly. You need more than enough in order to have enough.

II. Show, Not Tell

This phrase is common in the writing community and can be daunting. What’s showing? What’s telling? It’s important to know the difference and why one is better than the other. Eva Marie Everson, a published writer, stated:

“Showing” the action, setting, and such is placing the reader in the character’s shoes. The idea is to immerse the reader into your fictional world or scenario. “Telling” is anything that removes the reader from the story. Words like “look,” “see/saw,” “hear,” and others are telling. Use the five senses to build your world around the reader.

Now, there are moments when you have to tell and that’s okay. Not all edits works for every situation. If you can show, show. If there’s no good way to show the scene, tell. You won’t get bashed for using “look.”

III. POV – Point of View

Point of view, or POV, refers to how the story is portrayed. First person is through the character’s eyes and uses “I” and “me” frequently. Second person is an adjacent character and “you” is more common. Third person is an omnipresent narrator and the names of characters are used.

First and third person are more common for books, but all are appropriate as long as the chosen POV is maintained. Select the perspective and use it throughout the book. Clues that you’ve left first person are knowing what someone else is thinking or seeing something that’s not in the character’s line of view. These things are common for third person, but try to keep the “head hopping” to a minimum and make it very clear who’s speaking.

IV. Wordy

I didn’t find this out until later, but books have word counts. It varies between genres and submissions are even shorter. It’s important to obey word counts, especially when starting out. And even if you get super famous, paying attention to the word count will always give your readers a concise, clear book.

A while back, I posted about words that can be easily cut. Something I’ve found very handy is Rayne Hall’s book The Word-loss Diet, which is what the list is based on. It’s thin, cheap ($5 for paperback), and super informative. I got it for editing purposes and though not all her points apply to me, going through the book helped me realize places where I could cut words. This not me helping a sponsor (though that’d be awesome), just a writer who appreciates some backup with cutting words.

With or without those tools, cutting words and scenes is a judgement call. Every word is important, so ask if each section moves the story forward or offers a clue. If so, keep it. If not, cut it.

V. Dialogue

I love dialogue. It’s a lot of fun to make my characters speak and there’s a ton of ways to show how they feel in the moment with speech. The problem with dialogue is when it gets too lengthy or repetitive. Unneeded information or the realistic “uh” take space and usually get skipped.

Keep the talking focused. Remove irrelevant info and don’t use breaks like “uh” or “um.” If your character is nervous and that’s normal, do it once and maybe refresh the reader’s memory later in the book. Same with stuttering or other vocal challenges. I personally would take out cursing because it’s unnecessary and muddies the dialogue, but that’s a judgement call.

VI. Weasel Words

A weasel word is a default word that isn’t descriptive or strong. Why you need to look for them? They’re default words, words used all the time and vanish on a page. “A bit,” “absolutely,” “basically,” “could,” “decided,” and “so” to name a few. But beyond the list I have, each person has an individual set of weasel words that they can’t shake. In speech, “basically” is my default. In writing, any -ly word, “push,” and “pull” are usually the trouble makers until I go back and change them.

The more you look and are aware, the better you’ll be at catching them and changing them to something stronger or removing them completely. Look for what phrases come up all the time during edits and take note.

VII. Exclamations

Everyone loves a good exclamation point. Perfect for kid’s books. Not so much for other genres. This is nit-picky, but take it from someone who used exclamation points and all caps liberally in her first book. Don’t do it.

There’s never a need to use all caps. Describe anger through the character’s pacing or boiling skin. Exclamation points are allowed, but in small quantities. The power comes from the words, not the punctuation.

VIII. First Paragraph

The very first paragraph is the make or break moment for a book. Someone lifts a book off the shelf and casually flips through to the summary. Even if they don’t, everyone ends up on page 1 and reads the first paragraph. If they’re interested, they keep going. If not, no sale.

The entire book needs to be a winner, but the first paragraph is the bait. To get a reader to bite, you need an irresistible hook. Best hook is starting in the middle of the action. There’s an immediate desire to know what happened before and how the event is going to end. Others have gotten away with more subtle beginnings, but the key is to give a small hint in the first paragraph so the reader continues in order to find the pot of gold.

IX. Names

Another nit-picky tip, but I’ve learned the hard way that it’s important. Characters are the backbone of any book. They move through the plot, connect with the reader, and grow within the story. But it’s difficult to connect and move forward if the names are Ghurkal and Fertandy. That first one isn’t too bad, but complicated names can throw off a reader and cause confusion in pronunciation (and irritate writers when the name isn’t said correctly).

If you have an interesting name, make the spelling as easy as possible. I went from Maquila to Maquilla for my first character. One letter, but it makes a world of difference. Another point to make; if you have a lot of characters, give each of them a letter. Unless they’re twins, don’t give two characters names with J’s and three names with R. You’ll quickly confuse a reader and send them backward trying to figure out who’s who rather than forward.

X. Critiques

Ending with the most important and most hated point for all writers: the critique. I despised critiques, mainly because I thought I was being judged rather than my work. All my effort and someone was tearing it apart after one read.

Important thing to note from Eva Everson:

It might feel like criticism, but it’s really not. A critique is information gathering. Does the scene work? Is the character likeable? Does the setting need to change? Critiques cover all these edits and more, but only if you listen.

I’ve heard of a few people who hear critiques but continue doing the same thing. The only way to get better is to listen to someone who’s written longer. Or the same amount of time. Or even someone who doesn’t write. Hand off a few pages to someone and ask about the characters. Take a chapter to a writer friend and talk about POV and grammar. Friends help friends, meaning free advice on how to take your writing to the next level. Writer’s groups are an awesome choice. Whatever it takes to get more eyes and new perspectives on your work.

Final Thoughts

All writers have special things they need to work on. Some need more grammar help. Others need to work on description. This is a basic list of what I look for and consider while writing. Feel free to snag a few of these and start your own list of edits. What do you need to work on? Use these as a warm-up and you’ll find the edits that take you from level 1 to level 10.

Citation:
Everson, Eva Marie. Common Mistakes Writers Make. Raleigh: Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, 2014. Print