How do you edit your writing?

Question

I still find that I enjoy going over a print out of my writing as opposed to editing on screen. What do you prefer and why? Are there tricks or methods that make on better than the other?

Answer 1

First, I think it's helpful to examine the differences between proofreading, editing, and revising.

Proofreading is the simplest level of examining your work. You look for grammatical mistakes, misspellings, and consistency of usage. Proofreading is structural only. You follow the rules of a given language without passion or prejudice.

Editing is a higher level where you engage your passion and prejudice. You look at word choice, word order, and the overall meaning of your work. You aren't looking for grammar when you edit, but rather the message behind the text.

Revising is the hardest thing to do when it comes to writing. It means to organize sentences, paragraphs, pages, and chapters in the most artistic and/or logical way. It sometimes means throwing out good lines and good ideas, because they are not helping out the entire project.

Whether I am proofreading, editing, or revising my work, I tend to print off each paragraph (only if I'm writing an essay). It's easier to see mistakes when you make your writing unfamiliar. It's familiarity that makes you lose objectivity, and mistakes get by you. Also, it's much easier to organize your work when you have all of the paragraphs in front of you. You can mix and match, toss things out, and so on.

Good luck!

Answer 2

When I finish a manuscript, I put it away for a week or two and then come back to it. This allows me to look at it with a fresh set of eyes. if you try to edit it too soon, you tend to miss things. You, as the writer, KNOW what it is suppose to say, so your eyes will tend to skip over common mistakes such as "there" and "their" , "brake" and "break", "its" and "it's", etc.

Print it out and read it. Things look different on a screen. Particularly for me, reading too much from a monitor is painful because I am photosensitive.

No matter what, remember that no writer is so talented that he can properly edit his own work. What you are doing is proofreading and revising, not true editing. Writers tend to see their work as perfect the first time. We get enamoured with our sentences and word choices. WE KNOW THE STORY, so everything makes sense to us.

A true editor is trained to see all of the things the writer will not pick up. The editor will flag when you are using passive voice over active voice. An editor will be able to spot when your pacing is off. An editor will help correct issues with the overall tone of the story. It doesn't mean the writer did something wrong, or the editor is smarter. It simply means that the editor, because he has no vested emotional interest in the work, can be much more objective.

Answer 3

Hi Andy,

Like you, I work on my papers at the computer, and then do a print out. Having done that, I make myself comfortable on the sofa, I have a log fire in that room, one must be comfortable.

I have some soft classical music playing in the background. There is always a box of Turkish delight a my side, and a hot drink, that makes the sweet nice and gooey.
Then, and not until then, am I ready to edit my papers.

I make notes, always with a pencil, so that I can rub it out if I'm not happy with how it reads.
I find that if I do it all on the computer, and check it back , when I read it later, it doesn't flow...
I like to reread it a couple of days later when my head has cleared from editing.

Cassandra xxx

Answer 4

I'm like you--I still like to get a cold print-out and go over it in colored pen. The best trick for editing, though, is to read your work aloud (alone, if you're embarassed.) You'll hear all the errors that you've made and find sentences that are awkward, instead of just staring at the screen and wondering about them.

Answer 5

For me it is always easier to edit on paper then on screen. The thing that works the best for me is to print it and walk away from it for at least a few days, then go back and look at it with fresh eyes.

However, it is almost impossible to correctly and completely edit your own work (in my experience). So maybe finding someone else with editing experience would help as well.

Answer 6

I always print out a hard copy and edit that way because I find it much easier to spot errors if I've actually got the paper in hand. Also, by making my corrections on paper, I have a record of what was originally written and what corrections and changes I have made.

Besides, it's just so much fun to be able to use that red pen!

Answer 7

I prefer to go over it in print, too.

First I bring my chapters to my critique group (if you can even find just one critique partner, it's wonderful to get an objective viewpoint. And by critique partner, I don't mean a friend or relative. They cannot be objective - they'll most likely give you false praise, which is not helpful.) At our critique meetings, we read aloud our chapters, then our partners write critique notes. We discuss what worked and what didn't work.

I take the critiqued chapter home and implement their suggestions IF I agree with them. As I'm editing in my critique partners suggestions, I also find flaws that bother me and edit them as I go.

The most helpful suggestion I can offer, other than getting a critique partner or group, is to read your work out loud. Errors in spelling, grammar and continuity will jump out at you.

It also helps if you take time off from your work, step back and get some perspective and objectivity. I set my stories aside for a couple weeks or as long as several months before I come back to then and continue editing. Stephen King recommends doing this, taking as long as six months away from his work!

Hope this was helpful.

Answer 8

i type it all up and then read over it carefully, i send it to my friends because they haven't read it and will see the typos better than i can because i already kno what it's supposed to see. then i keep editing on the computer. i would prefer a print because then you can highlight problem areas and you can take it with you everywhere if you wanna add something in out of pure inspiration, but i don't wanna waste ink or the paper
i would actually recommend a laptop because it incorporates both of my ideas in one. try to get a tablet, the ones where you can write on the screen if you like to do it longhand or if you wanna avoid carpel tunnel or whatever it's called
good luck!!!

Answer 9

I see it beter on paper as well. The best way I know to edit on the computer is read it out loud word for word. This makes it slower but helps you catch errors. Also having someone else read it can help. Folks will miss or even edit as they read...
Best of luck.

Answer 10

One of the best ways to edit is to read it out loud. Even better, if you have someone you trust to read your stuff, have them read it out loud. We tend to fill in or overlook our own mistakes.

I also make sure to have on my grammar check on Word. Sometimes I ignore it because of my writing style and sometimes it is just stupid, but it does find a lot of mistakes.