Self-editing for authors

[TheAlphabetGirl]

Australia is swamped by US movies and TV shows. We get used to the terminology and sensitivities. I have to smile to myself whenever I hear reference to someone's need to go to the bathroom. Do they need to have a bath? That's what bathrooms are for. If you need to pee then you need to find a toilet. Yeah, I know, bathrooms sometimes have a toilet fitted.

But I was getting sidetracked. No doubt there are a lot of country specific quirks. The term fuck is pretty universal, probably in most countries. As is screw. Universal meaning. A very Australian term is root. Slang for fuck. ("How's the new girl friend?" "Great! We spent the whole weekend rooting.")

So when I hear someone (usually) on a US movie saying they've been rooting for the team I just about explode in laughter. Rooting for the team is not something an Aussie would ever say. Unless you're doing some gardening, rooting is not a word that's generally used in polite company, so to speak.

Rooting for the team....could be a new story!!

 

[Jamie6977]

Great thread idea.

I'll start with a simple one: "... and then..."

Pick one. Never both.

While the rules can get fuzzy sometimes, "and" works best for things that can happen simultaneously...

"He looked at her and smiled."

While "then" would confer the idea of one thing happened, then another:

"He looked at her, then smiled."

Using "Then" would require a comma.

Great point. I just reviewed one of my shorter stories that I'm preparing to submit after the Summer Lovin contest is over and found several places where I'd done this.

 

[SinderellaSin]

Thank for this thread. I've had a story edited and pieces taken out that I knew were heavily part of the story. Yes, the editor was older, user and managed to get it through scrutinering. I then looked at my version wanted it reclassified to a different category, so I had a go myself. Who knows what I'm really meaning with my words, me of course.

The problem when I read back, I know what I think I wrote and still read those words in my head. I will read the punctuation/grammer for conversation fully one day. Lit tells me im naughty every time I submit (led to a couple of my poems). So i hit on grammerly to help with my corrections. Yes these help to extent.

One problem I have is auto correct. I dont work on a laptop but write on a phone. My big titted milf always became my big fitted milf. This is where I took advantage of the read aloud function on my writing app. Yes its not fluidly read but I can hear mistakes as its read and find them. Just one of my ideas for you all.

I look forward to reading the rest of the thread, I'm sure your suggestions will help me become a better editor and a better writer.

Sin xx

 

[RagnarHairyBreeches]

Stop using your phone. It's not helping you. If this post is typical then that's one of your problems.

 

[WeShallUnclench]

A trick I have been playing around with:

It's important not to lose sight of who is your pov character. It may happen from time to time that I slip and am tempted to write something about the inner thoughts and feelings of another character.

So, my go-to solution is, I rephrase.
I use appropriate mirror descriptions, making it clear that the other characters are visibly blushing, but the pov character feels their face growing hot.
Whenever I wanna add something insightful about the feelings of another character, I frame it as the pov character speculating about it. In one story, I danced around this by having my protagonist being able to read "auras" with some accuracy, making it easier for her to guess what exactly her victim mark counterpart was thinking, but the other member helping me with the story was sceptical, and thanks to their feedback I worked to make it more explicit and plausible in-universe.

 

[WeShallUnclench]

A thing I picked up with erotic writing is that sex scenes must in a way be stories of their own.

While it rarely got too bad, I was at times tempted to write basically-instant orgasms, figuring people would be happy about pleasure that comes easily. Especially since I know many people who struggle to even cum at all.
Thing is, though, that is just as likely to be off-putting.
I have gotten the feedback, and I agree, that an orgasm, like many good things, is more fun the more it is earned. The harder the characters are working to get it done.
So while I am still figuring out how to write good stimulation and orgasm, one guiding idea is conflict, and overcoming a challenge.

 

[WeShallUnclench]

Also a thing I started doing is, I check where the middle point of my story is, length-wise, and then decide if I am happy about where I land.

If the exact middle of my story is a description without much excitement, I try to rebalance, so that the middle part is one of the most interesting scenes, ideally at least the beginning of a sex scene.

 

[Andreas_Kreuz]

Really write the ending first. It is hard. But it will keep you on track. And it prevents the stories that just stop and have no ending.

 

[Eiranne]

Well, when I write, its normally on paper. Sort of when inspiration moves I'll just write my mind and imagine it up, maybe over a night or so...

My spelling is off due to inglis' being taught not native toungue or of other languages, idk....
then there is cursive or print...

so typeing something up always goes on awkward.

I'm thinking to write on paper, then transcribe again before anything.

first draft second

 

[dirk2024]

Well, when I write, its normally on paper. Sort of when inspiration moves I'll just write my mind and imagine it up, maybe over a night or so...

My spelling is off due to inglis' being taught not native toungue or of other languages, idk....
then there is cursive or print...

so typeing something up always goes on awkward.

I'm thinking to write on paper, then transcribe again before anything.

first draft second

Practice makes perfect. Keep it up.

 

[RagnarHairyBreeches]

I find it useful to always have paper and pen nearby. Particularly in the car.

I used to do a lot of driving. Long trips on country roads. Boring. I'd think about my story as I drove. If anything struck me as a good idea I'd stop immediately and make a few notes before I forgot.

 

[Nightaelf]

1. I use Google Docs. Each chapter gets its own tab, which makes going back and forth much easier.
2. I keep paragraphs short and try to limit dialogue, or keep it very brief.
3. If a sentence feels off, I read back a bit more. Sometimes it’s the whole paragraph that’s clumsy, so I just rewrite it.
4. I reread in rounds, each time with a different focus. One round for grammar, another for rhythm, another for repetition. After each round I also switch the font, so it looks new to my eyes.
5. If something still feels awkward, I read it out loud. Hearing it often shows me what doesn’t work.
6. Because I work in Google Docs, my work is synced to my phone. Reading it there shows me right away if my paragraphs are too long for mobile screens.
7. Each time I reread, I change the color of the text. That way I can see at a glance how many times I’ve gone over it.
8. I use the search function to track down words or phrases I might overuse, like then or and then.
9. Before publishing I reread a lot. Coming back to a chapter after a week almost always shows me mistakes I missed before.

 

[RagnarHairyBreeches]

I use the search function to track down words or phrases I might overuse, like then or and then.

Something to consider. Rather than searching for these words, use find & replace. You'll have to be careful with it, but if I have a target word I think I may have over used, I do a global find & replace on it. I replace it for exactly the same word, but change an attribute. Usually font colour. That way the words stand out clearly in the text. Now need to go searching for them. Now, I see you use colour to show versions, but you might be able to change it to bold, or underline, etc. I don't know if you can do it with Docs but you can with Word.

 

[iwatchus]

I have been using a variation of a tip Matt Bell suggested in his book on writing. One of reading passes, I change the size after each paragraph to 100 points. You get like half a page of white space between each paragraph, which forces you to read it in isolation. Just changes the way you see it. I think it did help me.

I also get an occasional shift return instead of return as one or both of the breaks between paragraphs. This makes those obvious as well for a second win for me.

 

[SookieHaze7]

Something to consider. Rather than searching for these words, use find & replace. You'll have to be careful with it, but if I have a target word I think I may have over used, I do a global find & replace on it. I replace it for exactly the same word, but change an attribute. Usually font colour. That way the words stand out clearly in the text. Now need to go searching for them. Now, I see you use colour to show versions, but you might be able to change it to bold, or underline, etc. I don't know if you can do it with Docs but you can with Word.

I do the same thing with overused words, but I really just concentrate on one group of words- is, are, was, and were. By highlighting those words, I can easily find where I got lazy with my writing as I tried to get my ideas and plot down. I can usually find a more interesting and less passive way to say something than using one of those words. Of course, sometimes they're exactly the right word to use.