Friday, December 28, 2018

Finished edit #2 today! Stuff I look for . . .

I finished edit #2 today! Due to Christmas, it took a few extra days. Here are some of the things I look for when editing:


  • Missing words: to, the.
  • Missing grammar marks: commas, periods, quotes, question marks.
  • Extra grammar marks.
  • Misused words: homophones (their, there, they're).
  • Word choice: using an active verb instead of a more sedate sounding one (use yanking instead of pulling).
  • Sentence and paragraph structure.
  • Ways to enhance or clarify the scene: add action, dialog or description.
  • Continuity with preceding references or description of people, places or things. Does Dunn always have brown eyes?
  • Dialog: does it sound real? Does it match the speaker's country of origin? Dunn would never say "bloody hell." 
  • Are characters true to their backgrounds and previous appearances in the book(s).
  • Chapter headers' location, date and time info (especially time and date since there are several time zones involved in most of my books).
  • Double check
    • math calculations.
    • map references and distances.
    • weapon information
  • Ensure action sequences are as clear as possible. Who's where and doing what?
Here are the things I do before starting the first edit:
  • delete adverbs like really and very unless they are in dialogue. 
  • when I am writing the first draft, I often use a placeholder (*) for things or names I don't want to stop and look up right then. For this book, there were 102. I find the right name or item and put it in.
  • Spell check and grammar check (at the same time). I always check the percentage of passive sentences. My writing is very consistent at 3%.

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