20 Editing Tips For Fiction Writers

Editing is vital for any piece of writing - be it a short story or full size novel. Here's my 'go to' list of aspects to concentrate on in edits. It's not necessarily in any particular order - usually I'll go with what's most needed for that manuscript first, for example.

Because it would drive you insane to do one single pass over the manuscript for each of these things, I usually try to do two to three each pass, but sometimes do less, if the focus required for one aspect is greater. There's no point rushing - a good manuscript takes (lots of) time, care and effort.

Regardless of whether you engage the services of editors or not, regardless of whether you aim for traditional, hybrid or self publishing, you still need to edit your work to the best of your abilities. I hope this checklist will help!

Let the going insane editing begin!

1. Tense

Pick your tense and stick to it. Will you be using past or present tense (the most commonly used)? Unless you've got a really good reason for switching - don't. Jump on this like a hawk!

It's one of those things a reader will find exceptionally distracting, for example if your character 'jumped' onto a table and then 'dances'. Pick jumps/dances or jumped/danced.

2. Person

Pick your person and stick to it! Will you be using first (I), second (you) or third person (he/she/it)? Again, unless you've got a really good reason for switching - perhaps you're in third person but part of the tale is a memoir, a letter, an interview, or a really gripping first person account (for example) - stick to your person.

This is also a very distracting mistake for readers, who are jolted from the text every time the person shifts.

3. Punctuation

Check your punctuation thoroughly. A missing comma here and there is understandable, but be confident in your use of commas, semi-colons, hyphens, colons, full stops (etc). Punctuation isn't just a tool for separating clauses and sentences, it's a tool for pacing too. Your use of punctuation will (or should!) skillfully draw your reader through your text, neither too quickly or slowly.

Do you use short sentences to increase pace and tension where needed? Do you use longer descriptive sentences to slow your reader down and draw them into the setting/character? Do you add commas and other pausing marks, so that your readers can breathe (physically or mentally) whilst reading?

4. Grammar

Grammar is a tricky one, but its proper use can add a lot to your text. It can refine awkward phrases, sentences and passages, but equally it can be awkward and tricky to use depending on the language you write in. English, for example... is a pain!

One thing to beware of with grammar is to be careful when editing speech for grammar. Real people often don't speak grammatically correctly (and that's fine - it's life!). So, make sure that your own characters have natural speech. You can even use grammar to your advantage here to differentiate between characters - some characters may speak more grammatically correctly than others.

5. Spelling

Spelling is another must-check. Again, one or two mistakes might (and probably will) slip through the cracks. But if your manuscript is poorly edited for spelling, good story or not, it will be put down by a reader.

Ensure that the manuscript is well edited for spelling generally, but also take extra care to spell character names/places/technical vocabulary correctly. Some authors recommend use of a style sheet (a list of all key names, places and technical vocabulary) to refer to with ease for this purpose.

6. Sense check

This ties in with many of the other points - spelling, grammar, punctuation, tense person - but is just as crucial. Did you mean to say, "sand trickled through her fingers," but instead said, "sad trickled through her fingers"?

This is an edit where your brain really need to engage when re-reading your text. Don't just decode the text, concentrate on understanding it, translating it. Does it say what you think it says? Does it say what you want it to say?

7. Plot

This is a story development related issue. Sometimes you can fix this before you draft, by well plotting your story beforehand, finding and ironing out the mistakes. However, if you're a seat-of-the-pants type writer, you might prefer to write your first draft and then fix that. Both approaches are fine - it's whatever works for you, as long as you address it somewhere.

Your plot needs to make sense. There shouldn't be any gaps where characters, places, events or time are missing or out of sync. A timeline is a really useful way to ensure you have control over your plot and you can coordinate all your characters well. If they're anything like my characters, they need to be shepherded with stern looks and prods to make sure they're where they should be, when they should be.

8. Pacing

You need to ensure your story is well paced throughout. Are there bits where you cant be bothered reading? Why is that? They probably need cutting/fixing. Is your entire book action packed and your heart hammers all the way through? You might need to work in some downtime from all that drama. Even an exciting plot can become dull/too much if not well paced with some slower parts to ease tension and let the reader catch their breath.

One way to approach it is to imagine your story as a movie - can you imagine the entire thing without skipping over bits? If you find any part boring, your readers probably will too. Give them a reason to continue reading by making every word count.

9. Character development

Your characters should develop naturally over the course of the book. They should be recognisable as the same character by the end of the book, but they should change in some way, for example emotional/physical development, relating to whatever your main plot concerned.

10. Character voice

Character voice should also be easily discernable and consistent throughout. Does your character speak/sound the same at the start and end of the book? Unless that's part of the character development you've included, then the answer should probably be yes.

For example, some characters might use contractions (I'm, don't, can't) or slang (Innit man! Ey up?), some characters might not. By skillfully combining elements of realistic speech you can give your characters each a distinct spoken voice that will allow you to create dialogue scenes where you don't even need to label which character says what (which can then helps the flow of the scene for your reader).

11. More spelling, punctuation, grammar and sense checks

Sadly, one pass rarely picks up all the mistakes! (Wouldn't that be nice and easy...) This is one you really need to keep going over, with either an eye in the background during other edits (if you see a mistake, fix it, don't wait - you might forget), or as several edits where these are the primary focus.

12. Chapter/scene length

You may already have a clear idea of how long you prefer your scenes and chapters to be. It's worth flicking through your manuscript and seeing how consistent your chapter length is (or not). Variance can be good, however, if one chapter is 100 pages or 20,000 words long... you might want to consider shortening it!

This ties in with pacing and plotting, as you can use your chapters and secenes to keep enticing the reader to carry on reading. Your chapter ends shouldn't fall flat/answer all the readers questions - make sure they intruigue the reader enough to continue with some suspense, mystery, danger, conflict, dilemma (etc).

13. Entry hook

The book needs to start with a hook. Simple. Most readers judge a book (once they've picked it up having already judged and liked the cover/blurb enough to give it a try) on the first paragraph, or the first page at most. If you don't hook that reader then and there, they won't read the rest of the book, unfortunately. A killer opening is key. Rewrite this as many times as you need!

14. Plot resolved

This is a basic thing, but one not to overlook. Is your main plot resolved? Do you give the reader a positive or negative ending? Perhaps a twist? Perhaps a bit of a resolution, but you also end on a cliffhanger? (Aka write a sequel or angry readers will hunt you down!)

Readers will be so immensely annoyed if they've read your entire book, become emotionally entangled with your lead character and their crisis, only to never find out what happened. This doesn't have to dominate the story - I've seen advice to spend anywhere from a paragraph, a page, right up to the last 10% of the novel resolving the main plot. But resolve your plot and resolve it well. Leave a reader satisfied, even if it's not a happy ending.

15. Subplots resolved

Similarly to plot resolution is subplot resolution. Have you left any loose ends? If so, they should be purposeful (aka write a sequel or angry readers will hunt you down) or so minor that your reader doesn't care (although if your reader won't care, it's worth asking whether the subplot is important enough to include in the first place).

An unresolved plot is a surefire way to annoy a reader bigtime, but unresolved subplots will also be of great frustration.

16. Telling vs showing

This. Is. HARD. Only practice (and lots of it) will help you with this! Readers should be shown, not told how characters feel. Readers are clever; they understand subtle undertones without needing each character's feelings clearly labelled. Instead of expressing that a character is fearful, perhaps instead describe their body language, or use description to paint a particular scene.

A fearful character might have wide eyes, folded arms and crossed legs (closed body language), shaking/shivering/tremors, pounding heart, rushing adrenaline, a dry mouth, be shrinking into themself/cowering (etc). The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman is an excellent compilation of emotions and body language examples to help you if you're stuck.

17. Description 

Description can be a blessing and a curse. Too little and the story is bare. Too much and the story is cloyingly, sickeningly, overwhelmingly full of descriptions to an offputting level.

In a first draft, write what you think. Feel free to go overboard it can always be cut later (or more can be added if needed). This ties in with pacing - does the description slow down the pace too much? If so, it may be getting in the way of a great story and need some pruning.

18.  Speech tags
 "Dialogue can be tricky," she moaned. Often, simple is best with dialogue. Bizaarrely, despite there being so many good speech tags you could use - shouted, screamed, whispered, sobbed (etc etc etc), often the best to use is simple, old 'said'.

The reader's eye glances over this; it's invisible, effectively. Use of other words only makes the reader's eye pause/catch, disrupting the flow of reading. So, use other tags sparingly, when they are most effective.

"Dialogue can be your best friend, though," she smiled. Another trick to learn is that words cannot be smiled/frowned/cried/and so on. Words can only be said with the action of the mouth and voice combined.

So, this sentence should instead be two: ' "Dialogue can be your best friend, though." She smiled.' It's worth going over your manuscript with an eye focusing on this. I guarantee one character at some point will be trying to smile/frown/nod their words!


19. Senses
Engage your characters' senses to bring scenes to life. What do your characters smell, hear, see, touch, taste? Are your characters sitting down for a meal? Boring!

Make the pungent, tangy smell of mushrooms rise into your character's nose, causing them to salivate as they eagerly take a bite from the dish, their eyes closing in delight as it melts upon their tongue. Much more enticing! (Warning: This may make you hungry!)


20. Did you enjoy the story?
This sounds silly, but ultimately, even though you've been through your story so many times by the time it's finished that you really want to tear your eyes out or at least never see your manuscript again EVER... You should still enjoy your story. It should still consume you.

This is the time to go with your gut instinct. Is it as good as you can make it? Does it all feel right? If you have a little niggle that something is wrong, don't ignore it. Identify the problem, and address it. It's your story - only you can make it the best it can be. Make sure you're telling the story you wanted to tell.


Further reading
I would highly recommend the following books to help with fiction writing:
Orscon Scott Card - Characters & Viewpoint
Orson Scott Card - How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy
James Scott Bell - Plot & Structure
Renni Browne - Self Editing for Fiction Writers
Stephen King - On Writing


Thanks for reading!
I sincerely hope this was a useful post! If you have any feedback, I'd love to hear from you. Is there anything you'd add to the editing process? Anything you'd take away? Any recommendations for fiction writing books?

~Meg

Why timelines are vital for writing stories

I've been busy plotting book two of the Books of Caledan series in my spare time this past few weeks. 

It was easy to begin with; I already had lots of ideas recorded in bullet point lists for each main thread of the plot, which I transferred onto Scrivener's corkboard feature (each thread being one corkboard).

I compiled the three main threads (each made of a group of closely linked character viewpoints) and then... promptly hit that brick wall we call writers' block.

I scratched my head whenever I returned to the project for a few days until it hit me. I'd been putting it off, but really it was time.

It was time for a timeline!

This is exactly the same process I went through with book one; with exactly the same results. The hardest thing was making the first pen stroke on the page. After that, it flowed beautifully! (Frankly, I should have started a timeline sooner... Oh, hindsight!)

First, I drafted it roughly on paper. I found that, over the ten viewpoints I listed, I could group a large bulk of the ideas together in time as characters met, separated, or as certain plot events had to meet at the same time.

That made things much easier. I now knew which characters were chronologically behind/in front at any given point. I could marry up those events that had to tie in together and work backwards to link up the beginning of book two's timeline with the end of The Tainted Crown (book one)'s timeline and forwards to meet book three.

Importantly, the timeline was pinned down on paper; it's much harder to visualise mentally!

Today I typed it up in Excel, which allowed me to play around with rearranging things as needed. There's no dragging or dropping on a piece of paper; alas! But that was, for me, a useful "first draft" if you like. Get anything down, and then it can be revised. (That reminds me of an Anne Lamott quote regarding crappy first drafts! It's the second one from the top.)

The main advantage of a timeline for is that it allows the threads of the story to be plaited together and connecting the ideas brings them to life. Suddenly, by looking at the bigger picture, the sequencing problems I'd been having vanished.

I can see the next steps. As it is, I just found the convenient point to stop book two and start book three that had totally escaped me 24 hours ago!

If I'd tried to carry on without a timeline, I would have failed. I genuinely don't know of any more valuable tool when it comes to sequencing and arranging your stories than a timeline.

I hope this pursuades you to try a timeline approach if you haven't before.

Ciao for now,

Meg

Why reading a book you dislike can be useful for your writing

I've read in many a place that to be a good writer you also have to be an avid reader.

Luckily, I'm a complete bookworm (if I could have been Hermione Granger I would have!). Only time restricts how much I can read these days.

Lately, I've picked up two new fiction works, one by an author I've previously read (and enjoyed), one by an unfamiliar author. Both have put me way outside my comfort zone. I won't disclose which authors or books I'm reading (it's unfair and irrelevant), only use them to illustrate the point I'm making.

In any case, I realised that not enjoying reading a book is as good for my own writing as enjoying a book.

The first book was written in first person/present tense. Given that most books I read are written in third person/past tense, this was incredibly distracting. Nevertheless, it's a historical fiction set in a time I'm particularly interested in, so I persevered.

This became less of a distraction when compared with what I felt was a lack of compelling story telling and instead, simply a recount of slightly embellished historical detail. Now I'm faced with the choice of not finishing the story - frustrating to any reader - or forcing myself through the second half in the hope it improves.

The second book is gripping - I can't put it down - but also darker. It goes beyond the typical realm of fantasy battles that I usually encounter and continues into grim and gruesome murders to an unnerving depth. The plot in this one is thankfully very more-ish, but I do sometimes shiver as I read the darkness within.

So why are these experiences valuable?

By reading lots - and enjoying and disliking what you read - you can learn to recognise and understand what/how you enjoy writing and use this knowledge to make your own writing more efficient and better.

For example, I now won't use first person, present tense any time soon; to me it feels unnatural and distracts from the story. If, as a reader I feel that way, I'm sure others would too.

Additionally, I'll carefully consider what detail I add to my characters/settings - too little makes for an uncompelling read. Characters and settings must feel believable, 3-dimensional and real.

I also know my own tolerance for gory details; a.k.a. what I can handle writing and reading before I get nightmares! I think that's important to understand. 

Knowing my preferences will save me the time of re-writing to change tense and person, rewriting to axe or add detail retrospectively and also the worry of how much "gore" to add in my work - I'll push my boundaries but stop short of Game of Throne's Red Wedding for now, for example.

I hope that's a useful thought to share; it's certainly offered me a new perspective and way of linking reading and writing.

Ciao for now!

Meg

Perils of writing in the digital age: back everything up, everywhere!

Writing digitally is great!

For the purpose of writing, I couldn't go back to the days of hand cramp and blotting paper. (Yes, I used to write in fountain pen and have blotting paper; a quaint and terribly ink-stained situation.)

Yet there's perils lurking here too.

Guess who typed out all smart and neat the plot for books 2 and 3 of Caledan a few months ago? Yes, me!

....Guess who now can't find the files anywhere. Yep. Me.

I could have sworn they'd be on my usual hard drive, or the myriad of USBs I keep for backups and working files, or even on the cloud (that darn awesome thing), given that I always back up stuff to at least two places. Apparently not! 

Guess who wants to kick herself really hard right about now, because she knows better than to not back up files or to delete them like a complete idiot. Yep, me. What. An. Idiot.

*     *     *

Guess what I just found in the deleted files on my cloud? ... Yep, the file I was looking for. What on earth possessed me to delete it? Heaven knows. Am I glad I found it? You have no idea!

So unlike an essay a few months back (deleted by mistake and as it turns out, unrecoverable... oh the pain!), this tale has a happy ending.

The moral of the story?

Back stuff up EVERYWHERE!

And then some other places!

Chances are you'll get immensely annoyed about tripping over the same files over and over again, but goodness it's worth it just not to lose anything.

Phew.

Off to make a celebratory cup of tea...

Ciao for now,

Meg

How to be a productive writer in 3 simple steps

Until I read a blog post by a certain Rachel Aaron, my writing was a vague hope of eventually getting a novel together. I was struggling to keep up pace and motivation. And then, I saw this amazing blog post.

Here. Click it, go on! Reeeeeeead it!

It changed my life!

Long story short, it's about how to be more productive and better in your writing and enjoy it (rather than feeling like you're flogging a dead horse...).

It's the story of how Rachel Aaron went from writing 2k a day (which was me on a very good day) to 10k a day. (Yes, you read that correctly. No I did not mistype that!)

It changed my entire approach. In 2011, I wrote about 40,000 words for The Tainted Crown.  Most of those were after September 2011 when Christopher Paolini had inspired me and after I had seen Rachel's blog post. By summer 2012 I'd finished draft one on 101,269 words.

It helped me decide where I was going, fine tune the details, and charge out of the starting gate with all the information and motivation I needed to reach the finish line. The nice side effect was the increased word count that Rachel also saw in her own work.

I was able to make much faster and better progress (because writing is about quality not quantity) by following Rachel's advice;

• planning my writing (the fewer gaps/more you know, the better your flow)
• being enthusiastic about writing (boring scenes must die! Great scenes are a joy to write and arguably write themselves!)
• using my time well (pick your most effective time of day - for me, the evening)

I quite literally have had this written/drawn on a post-it note stuck to my desk for the past 2 years+ to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Recommended reading:
I would highly recommend you read the blog post above, but also look at Rachel Aaron's e-book "2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love" which covers this in much more depth. It's a text I refer back to regularly to keep on track!

Check out Rachel's website and blog if you get a chance - I hope they provide you with the same inspiration they gave me!

Ciao for now,

Meg

The simplest writer's epiphany: writers write!

This sounds like the most obvious statement in the world, but it’s one of the most important things I’ve learned about writing. If I had a writing bible, this would be in it right at the front!

If you unpick it, it’s harder than it seems. A mental block is a very easy companion when you’re faced with a blank page, for instance. Or with the self-doubt and fears that your character/ idea/ book/ etc will be terrible and/or ridiculed. The human brain annoyingly contains the perfect tools for maximum self-destruction.

But if the niggle keeps returning; the thought “I want to write”, or that great idea you just can’t stop thinking about pops up again... then listen to it and write! 

Put words on paper!

Put anything down – you can always redraft and refine if you haven’t said quite what you mean on the first attempt – who’s judging you? No one.

Thanks to Christopher Paolini (author of the Inheritance Cycle), I found my inspiration on 29th September 2011. That was the night my life changed. He stood and spoke at a book signing about precisely this. That night I decided to actually write this story that had lived in my head for years.

This is the lesson that stayed with me from this experience.

You can’t be a writer unless you WRITE!

It’s easy to be discouraged. Yes, your characters/ideas/story never will be anything... unless you actually write them. 

You might just have something amazing to share with the world.

You might not want to publish or share it. Or, you might want to be the next #1 on the bestseller lists. The simple act of writing in itself is so cathartic, therapeutic and fulfilling, before you consider any of that.

I don’t claim to be as inspiring as Christopher Paolini, but I hope this motivates you as it did me. Now I'm editing my first novel ready for self publishing this summer, with two sequels sketched out. If I can do it, you can too.

Ciao for now!

Meg