You’ve written a first draft of your novel or short story, but reading it over, it feels like a mess! Even worse, you’re a little overwhelmed about exactly how to fix it. Here are seven great tips to help you get started on revising your manuscript. Click the linked title for the full article:
• You cannot improve as a writer until actually revising something you wrote
As writers, often we are our own worst critics. We’re typically either too ruthless or not critical enough of our own stories and articles! Worse, we sometimes even hate the good parts of our manuscript and love the poorly written sections.
• What to look for when revising your manuscript
As writers, often we are our own worst critics. We’re typically either too ruthless or not critical enough of our own stories and articles! Worse, we sometimes even hate the good parts of our manuscript and love the poorly written sections.
• Fix scene by employing black box analysis
One question a number of writers have when editing their novel or short story is if a scene succeeds or not. Sometimes they feel the scene lacks importance, yet they hesitate to cut or revise as it’s tightly written with crisp dialogue or rib-splitting humor. A solution for evaluating a scene’s importance is to employ a black box analysis.
• Don’t smother writing with your red pen
Sometimes writers sabotage their own stories by ensuring every sentence is grammatically correct, as if they were turning it in to their middle school English teacher.
• ‘Murder your darlings’ to better engage readers
To engage your readers – whether writing fiction or nonfiction – you’ll need to be utterly ruthless with your own words. In short, you’ll need to “murder your darlings.”
• ‘Show, don’t tell’ when writing fiction
Want to slow your story to a glacial grind and get readers to quit reading your story? Then load it with lots of exposition. Problems arising with exposition often (and rightfully) elicit cries of “Show, don’t tell!” from editors.
• Editing tip: Don’t worry about being satisfied
Having trouble with a passage? Simply write something different in the spot that bothers you.
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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 400 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the Storytelling 101 writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.
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