How To Edit Your Own Work

Today we will be talking about EDITING!

Editing is a vital part of any writing project.  There is no getting around it. Remember that teacher in school who forced you to do outlines, mind-maps, plans, drafts and edits?  Well it turns out that, although the process is tedious, it was actually  meant to teach us the various skills we need if we want  to write well.   And the one we will be covering today is editing.

I am a firm believer in external editing.  I think that if you have written a piece, it may be very difficult to pick up on small changes that are needed.  This is mainly because when you write, you have an internal voice that says, rather than reads, the words you are expressing.  And as a stream of thought, it can and often does, overlook a word here and there as you know what you want to be saying, not necessarily what you have put down.  An external editor will look at your work from the outside and read it, word for word, with fresh eyes.  That makes it easier to pick up on errors.

HOWEVER it is not always possible to hire an editor.  The experience can get quite pricey, depending on the work, length, topic and level of difficulty.  Or you may just prefer the idea of editing your own work.  So if you find yourself needing to do your own editing, here is a list of things to remember so that you can do an amazing job!1. Don’t edit as you write.  Editing as you write is detrimental to your writing process and will interrupt the flow of your piece.  Rather write a full first draft as well as you can, and then go back and make changes and edits to your heart’s content.  You will probably make a few edits to  your second draft too, as you realise your tone and correct more errors as you go.2. Sleep on it.  Once you have written your piece, let it rest for a day or so.  Once your eyes and mind have had a rest, it will be easier to spot mistakes.3. Find the awkward.  As you read your piece, look for what stands out as awkward.  If you struggle to read it, change it.4. Read aloud.  Read your piece to yourself, out loud.  It will help eliminate that phenomenon of following your thoughts instead of your words that I mentioned earlier.  Read each word and you will pick up on errors.5. Watch your punctuation.  We often use excessive punctuation in serious pieces, because we use it in messaging and social media.  Go through your work to weed out any overused punctuation marks.  (my biggest offender is the exclamation mark!!!)6. Tense.  It is so easy to get lost with tenses as we write.  As you edit, be sure that you have chosen one tense to use and stick to it throughout. 7. Tone.  Keep your target audience in mind.  As you edit, check the tone to see that it matches the type of person who will be reading it.  One way to do this is to imagine a person from your target audience reading it aloud.  If anything doesn’t fit, change it to the correct tone.8. Believe in yourself.  The biggest barrier to achieving your goals is doubt in your abilities.  Know your limits and use them to improve your skills.  Keep going and trust that you will produce something great.

“In pretty much any area of human endeavour, people have a tremendous capacity to improve their performance, as long as they train in the right way.”  Anders Ericsson

Share this content on

Share on email
Share on facebook
Share on linkedin
Share on print
Share on reddit
Share on skype
Share on twitter
Share on whatsapp

The Art of Crafting Engaging Blog Introductions

Picture this. You are standing, paintbrush in hand, canvas in front of you… and nothing to paint. Knowing how to …

2024 Is The Year Of The Blog!

Welcome to 2024, the year of the blog! (I made it up… tell everyone!) I may be just a little …

Human Writers Are Better Than AI

I know AI is all the rage at the moment, but I stand by my opinion. Human writers are better …