Thursday Ten, Writing 101

Thursday Ten: editing checklist

After NaNo comes editing!

I am in no way a professional author or an expert in anything writing, but I write and that means I also have to edit. For NaNoWriMo this year, I wrote Dangerous Obsession, and although it’s not completely finished, I am going through the first draft and editing as I go along. I’ve compiled a small editing checklist.

Image result for gif editing

1. Strike needless words

This pretty much explains itself. Look for redundancies and get rid of them.

2. Quotation marks 

Add quotation marks where necessary, especially when your character is speaking.

Image result for gif quotation marks

3. Similar character names

This can be confusing for both the writer and reader sometimes, so make sure the characters’ names are easy to recall individually.

4. CAPITALIZE!

Capitalize names, places, months, the beginning of a sentence, etc.

5. One voice or two voices?

Writers are told that is better that they stick to one voice (POV), but if you’re working with two or more characters, make sure that you include whose POV they’re speaking from.

Image result for gif talking

6. Avoid using ‘literally’

Like literally!

7. Spelling

Does it look right?

8. Dialogue game

Make sure that the dialogue serves the story in every case.

9. Read aloud

Gotta make sure what you’ve written is making sense.

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10. Double check everything

A writer can never go wrong with this technique. After all, we want the reader to be satisfied with what they’re reading.

***GIFs via Google Search

Are there any editing tips that you’ll like to share?

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Musings

Getting around to editing

am editing

I know I promise to share several raw unedited excerpts from A Slim Chance at Love, which I’ll eventually get around to posting, but I’ll be editing my first attempt on a novel I’ve been working on since 2010, and yes, I did the right writer thing and found myself an editor. But no rush. I’m reading the second draft with fresh new eyes (haven’t picked the story up for a couple of months), and I’m not the best at correcting grammatical errors, but I’m looking forward to working on the story with my editor.

And to all the writers currently pouring over their work, working on their first or second or even third draft, happy editing!