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http://thtwzjustadream.livejournal.com/ ([identity profile] thtwzjustadream.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] 1_million_words2013-06-11 07:31 pm
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Tuesday Tips: Editing fics

Tips and thoughts - and please share yours. Do you enjoy editing your fics?


Hey! Am keeping the Tuesday Tip short this week, partly because the only writing device I have handy requires 'hunt and peck' typing and it is driving me bonkers.

Anyhow, thought I'd share a thought and some links on editing fics.

A quote attributed to Stephen King says your second draft should equal your first draft minus ten percent. I've trimmed as much as 500 words from a 2,500 word story. In other cases I find I have little trimming to do.

Some find editing a chore. I enjoy it about 85% as much as the actual story composition process. Sometimes I wait until a fic is done to edit, but I'm far more likely to edit as I go along-- I.e. write about 500 -1,000 words and then rework them all, then repeat.

Editing is, for me, mostly about making a fic less wordy and looking for places where the dialogue needs to flow better or be made more in character. I'll still look back later and see where I could have done better-- but it helps.

What's your self-editing process? Have any tips? Would love to hear them.


editing fiction

Tips for self-editing

why I'm not going to read your fan fiction (didn't agree with all of this article, but enjoyed it and it made some good points)


[identity profile] witchyemerald.livejournal.com 2013-06-12 10:19 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you for the tips.

I edit both while I am an writing, and after the story is done. Take a brake. Then I read it again, out loud, to look for comma errors and if the dialog flows. THEN, I send it off to my beta, so she can point out all the places I didn't catch the commas and still missed a their instead of a there.

[identity profile] witchyemerald.livejournal.com 2013-06-12 05:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Yep unless I am up against a dead line or it's just a quick drabble, I find looking at it even after a few hours helps so much.