Writing Tip: Editing Your Writing
It is crucial to read through what we have written in order to review it, correct spelling or grammar mistakes, and ensure fluency. Common fixtures can include something as minor as removing repeated words or phrases or correcting tenses, and something as major as rewriting whole chapters of work. If you don’t have an editor or you’re just writing as a hobby, then editing can quickly become a monotonous task. It is tedious, especially so if you are used to correcting the same mistakes over and over. It can also be very daunting if you’re not sure how to deal with the problem. Not everyone is a grammar expert! Going through your writing with your eyes narrowed to spot even the smallest of errors can be exhausting.
Nevertheless, there are many things that you can do in order to make editing an easier experience. If you’re writing in a notebook, try typing what you’ve written up on a computer so that you can go through the mistakes one by one as you write, or scan them onto a machine to view them in a different light. If you’re using a computer, print out what you’ve written and go over it with a pen or (if printing is too expensive and time consuming), change the size and font of the text before you go through it. If you’re preparing a post online, preview it first on your website. By reading your creation in a different format, it should be easier for you to spot mistakes and errors that you might otherwise have missed. After all, you’ve probably been staring at that text for a long time.
Try not to get worked up about grammar when you’re editing. If you’ve produced something great that really captures the attention of your audience, then a few grammar mistakes aren’t going to matter. Most importantly, take your time, If you dislike editing as much as I do, then don’t try to tackle massive chunks of text one after the other. You will not enjoy it.
Written By: Laura Clark
* Laura is a 23 year old English woman with a history degree residing in the UK. She has been writing for many years and enjoys writing horror/fantasy stories, as well as poetry. You can view her work at: https://inspiredstoriesandpoems.wordpress.com/
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Thank you so much for sharing these helpful suggestions. I will keep them in mind, and try to apply these tips in my own writing in the future.