The Power of Ediitng Your Writing

 I often write about the importance of good editing. Our poster today tells us to write without fear and to edit without mercy. 

That second piece of advice is golden. Slash! Cut! Revise! All the things we must do to those precious words we wrote in the first draft. Stephen King is oft quoted, and one of his that fits our topic today is “Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler's heart, kill your darlings.” This successful writer knows the importance of good editing. He also knows that it is a difficult thing to do.

What to change. What to cut. What to rework. All questions we must ask ourselves through the editing process. The reason we edit is to make what we have written stronger, more interesting, and more clear. 

We must check that we used the right tense throughout. We need to replace as many passive verbs with active ones as is possible. Sometimes, to do that, you must revise the order of your sentence rather than merely substitute one verb for another. 

We should check for overuse of adverbs which are often unnecessary. We must look for too many  adjectives. One or two works, adding more than that to describe a noun is overkill. 

When we edit, mechanical things like spelling and punctuation are important. No argument there.

Something else that is of prime importance is clarity. Be sure that your reader will understand what you've written. The writer knows what is happening, but she/he doesn't always write so that the reader is sure of what is occurring. 

When we edit, we must look for redundancy. Repeating words or even ideas does not make for strong writing. Some writers fear that the reader doesn't 'get it' the first time, so he/she repeats the thought, maybe using different words, but still the same thought. This is where we writers must give a little credit to our readers. Say it once, and they'll know what you're talking about. Say it again, and they may get a little bored. Repetition of words in a sentence or in two or three successive sentences also becomes boring for the reader. Watch for this problem when you edit. 

Maybe we should turn a well-known quote into one for writers. Editing isn't for sissies. It's a tough job. Do it well, and you're quite likely to find success. Skip through it or don't do it at all, and you'll probably receive a rejection. 

Don't ever underestimate the power of a good editing job. Do it once, twice, or three times--whatever it takes to turn your draft into a marketable piece of writing.