For this post, I am assuming you have written a story. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It has one or more characters whose stories play out on the pages of your story, with conflict, a resolution, and an ending. Now what?
Here are three tips to help as you fine-tune your work.
1. Set it aside for a while and let it rest
If it is a short fiction piece, don’t look at it for at least a few days; much longer, for a novel. The reason is that you simply can’t have perspective on it after working so closely with it. You won’t recognize what needs to be edited or reworked, and even well-written prose will sound stale. You will have a much clearer view of your work when you return to it after time away.
2. Go in with a scalpel and refine
Once you have fresh perspective, go back in. First, consider reading through once just to hear the sound of it. Listen for words and phrases that sound jarring, and where you might shift things around for a better flow.
Now, pick up the scalpel. Don’t be afraid to cut out things that clang, or move scenes and sentences around so that the sequence of events and the wording are more powerful and more seamless. This is the time to smooth all the rough edges and tighten the wording so that the writing really sings. Remove any sentences that you know in your heart are slowing your story down.
This is your copyediting phase.
3. Make one or two final editing passes
It may be very tempting to read through your work and look for flow, clunky passages, grammar and typos all at the same time. But that is extremely tough to do. Instead, separate your final proofreading phase from the copyediting phase.
Look through for grammatical errors, looking closely at every sentence. I personally find that I have to do this phase twice because I’m too close to my own work and I still miss things!
And a bonus tip
Even better than doing all of the assessment and fine tuning of your work on your own, have someone else read your story–preferably someone with an excellent editing eye and a willingness to tell you what is working well and what isn’t. And then really listen, and be brave about changing even things that you love, if they are acting like burrs in the saddle. Because that is when the real magic happens.
If you haven’t done so already, check out The Writers’ Block on Discord where you can get help from a community of writers and editors.
Thank you for reading. I hope these tips help you to edit and refine your fiction work.
