Getting Lucky: Top 7 Editing Tips for 2022

Editing is a way to help make a manuscript pretty and appealing to readers. (Photo by Shelley Widhalm/Shell’s Ink Services)

By SHELLEY WIDHALM

Good writing stops with bad editing.

If there are errors in grammar, punctuation or syntax, reading is more difficult, attention gets pulled to the wrong place, and the writer comes across as unprofessional.

Especially if the book is self-published, I’m inclined to stop reading even if the plot is exciting. I’ve lost trust the writer cares.

Writing can’t be a one-and-done draft. It takes layers of editing, and it takes time, precision and repetition. To be most effective, editing is best done on multiple levels and in several rounds, since not every error can be caught in a single pass and there are several things to pay attention to all at once.

What Editing Involves

Editing involves a close read and making large- and small-scale changes. Small changes are at the line level, or each line of text, and the large at the structural level from the overall story to the plot and character arcs. Proofreading is the final edit to give a final review of everything.

At the line level, editing involves fixing sentences and paragraphs for errors in grammar, syntax and mechanics, as well as spelling and punctuation. At the structural level, editing looks at the entire story content as well as adherence to the main story and flow from beginning to end. The focus is on the main and secondary characters, setting, dialog, theme, pacing, conflict, tension, logistics and consistency in things like character and setting descriptions.

To edit in layers, do a first read-through for missing details or areas that give too much description or story information. Look for too much back story up front or an ending that ends the story before the plot strands make sense.

Top 7 Editing Tips

• Determine if there are boring parts or parts that are over-explained.
• Look for unnecessary scenes that repeat other scenes or do not move the story along.

• Cut unnecessary words and sentences that do not keep the pacing at the right speed.
• Use the active voice whenever possible.
• Look for any elements that don’t carry through, such as a dropped character or a setting detail that doesn’t matter.
• Vary the sentence structures, so that not every sentence reads subject-verb-object.
• Get rid of clichés, unless used for a specific purpose, because they demonstrate a lack of creativity.

One Final Thought

Editing moves a rough draft into a polished product that people will want to read. It gets rid of errors and unnecessary words and descriptions to get to the core or heart of the story.

Happy Valentine’s Day! (and goodbye chocolate)

Candy and chocolate are a big part of some holidays like Valentine’s Day, but do we really need all those carbs? (Photo by Shelley Widhalm/Shell’s Ink Services)

By SHELLEY WIDHALM

Valentine’s Day is the key chocolate-related holiday, but really chocolate and candy get extra promotion from Halloween through Easter.

Then there’s a lull from April to September, though there are a couple of holidays during those months, including May Day and Independence Day. Those holidays get their own attention, but it has nothing to do with candy—instead it’s about delivering baskets, lighting fireworks and getting together over hotdogs and other American faire.

Back to Valentine’s Day and chocolate—I’m on the keto diet for health reasons and within two weeks have seen a decline in my need for chocolate. I still believe I need espresso drinks and have found the sugar-free versions are okay enough. My cutback on sugar and carbs has also resulted in a reduction in my desiring unhealthy foods, though dark chocolate has been shown to be rich in nutrients—flavanols may help improve blood flow, lower blood pressure and protect the heart.

Essentially, I’ve edited out sugar and reduced carbs from my diet and, at first, felt a low level of energy. Now my energy is back to what it was, and at least mentally I feel better about not relying on sugar for a mood/love boost.

That’s what Valentine’s Day is about—messages of love, which really shouldn’t have to do with candy, though they are sweet. The sweetness should come from the delivering and the receiving of the love message, not in the actual sweet (and unhealthy) ingredients.

I wish you on February 14: Happy writing. Happy editing. Happy Valentine’s Day.

And happy cutting out the unnecessary, whether it is food or extra words.

Lucky in Love (with Writing) on Valentine’s Day

Sure, I like my boyfriend, but my other love is writing!

By SHELLEY WIDHALM

When it comes to a romantic holiday like Valentine’s Day, do you think about your other love?

I do, though I’m not cheating on my boyfriend—I happen to love him and writing both. Valentine’s Day is about declaring your love for your love as in “Be Mine,” giving valentines to friends and enjoying all the different presentations and forms of chocolate. And it’s about the other loves—passions, hobbies and jobs.

This year, I’m showing my love for writing by setting aside at least a half hour a day, now that I got rid of a heavy burden on my schedule. I think of this time as a gift.

The Valentine’s Day tradition of giving gifts and exchanging cards developed out of Saint Valentines. Several Saints called Valentine are honored on Feb. 14, a day that became associated with romantic love during the Middle Ages. Traditionally, lovers exchanged handwritten notes and later greeting cards when they became available in the mid-19^th century.

Today, greeting cards and notes are a way to share sweet thoughts with friends and lovers. The written messages in them can be saved, reread and kept as physical proof someone is thinking about you. They’re also a way to spread love.

Here are 7 Things to Love about Writing

• Writing is a way to figure out what you really think or feel about something.
• It’s a way to play around with words and language.
• It’s a way to improve your understanding of words and the best ways to get your message across.
• It’s a way to express yourself, using your intelligent and creative minds at the same time.
• It’s a way to make connections with text, memory or experiences that you might not otherwise make by thinking or talking.
• It’s a way to tell stories and disappear into another world, where you don’t see the page and can’t tell you’re writing.
• It’s a way to be whoever you want to be and do whatever you want to do, going places and doing things you might not do otherwise.

Writing is a Perfect Match

It’s interesting to find out what it is you created after spending a few minutes or hours on a story or essay. It’s a process of discovery from seeing your thoughts written out. It’s a sense of accomplishment from meeting a word or time goal. And it’s reciprocal, because when you give your time and energy, you get back notes, then a rough draft and finally more as you keep working. In other words, you’ve found your match.