What comes after "The End" (Part 2)

“The End” has been written in my current project, with revisions aplenty to get through. Through my prior revisions, I have focused on big picture content editing—from plot to scene structure, not forgetting character description and dialogue. Equally important are the beta readers who have helped advance my developing story. My story; a thematic, issue driven and high concept life story at 140,000+ words.

Zooming in to the finer details of spelling, grammar, and the mechanics of its readability, line editing is equally important to the big picture content editing.

That means cutting, rewording, applying rules of grammar, spelling, and vocabulary. It means coming up with something to be enjoyed by our readers.

Art by Angelii-D

 

(Quote) “Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step into the new story you are willing to create.” (unquote) —Oprah Winfrey, Media Host and philanthropist.

For starters, delete unnecessary, or otherwise, useless words. Those are usually modifiers: allegedly, extremely, kind of, mostly, possibly, practically, probably, really, simply, sort of, supposedly, totally, usually, and utterly.

If you are like me, cutting words can at first, seem heart breaking. The word, just, is a doozy for me. Every well-respected editor and writer I trust, emphatically say to get rid of that word. Sometimes, to delete it leaves the sentence lacking in my intended meaning. But, I’m told to delete it, so I compromise by revising the whole sentence. Here’s one example:

(Original sentence) …. because I just couldn’t let go of her.

(Revised) …. because I didn’t dare let go of her.  

More about the word, just: Sometimes, replacing the word with another word, which shows a truer meaning can work. Possible replacement words are exactly, merely, and only.

Against the advice of my trusted peers, there were a few places I couldn’t part with “just” and left them in—but I restricted its use, and no more than two in an average chapter.  In a 7000-word chapter, I went from 14 (14!) times to only two times of using just. One was a direct quote from a passage in a book. The other was in dialogue, with intent to show the character rambling.  

Then, there’s the word, very. Why does this word even exist in our English dictionary? (I ask, sarcastically). It should never ever be kept. Nearly always, a simple delete will work wonders. On rare occasions (very rare, pun intended), another word can replace it.

Now, let’s talk about the word, the. That word has its place—sometimes, but not always. Any time, the word, the, appears, read the sentence aloud. If you don’t need it, cut it. If something has to stay, read it again to determine if the word the is the right word to use. Sometimes, a pronoun is best used.

In one chapter, I went from 83 times (ouch) to 40 times, in which I use the word, the. I’m not sure how ideal 40 is, but it’s better than 83. All those “the”s add up in word count. Our goal is a tightly well-read piece. Thinking ahead to submission requirements; where limited word count is put on us, trust me, this is one darn good way to cut, cut, cut.       

Another thing I’m learning in this revision is when to use that and when to use which. In summary, the word, which has an all-inclusive intent. Whereas, the word, that, singles out the idea or thing. And of course, sometimes, neither word is needed. Example:

The magazines, which have glossy covers, are new.

(All magazines are new and glossy.)

The magazines that have glossy covers are new.

(Only new magazines are glossy.)  

Of the resources I found to guide me through this learning curve, I especially like the Better Writing Skills website.

Regarding word choice, another thing to watch out for is our use of tense. Is it past tense? Or present tense? Don’t confuse the two.

Another tricky spot is when it comes to numbers. Perhaps, I’ll do a full post some time. For now, I’ve printed a full reference sheet--Freelance fiction editor, Beth Hill, gives a fine explanation of writing with numbers in her blog post, Numbers in Fiction.

For punctuation, rules exist for comma usage. Purdue OWL, of Purdue University, has always been my go-to-resource, when in doubt.

I hope you find the nuts and bolts to mechanical line editing, as I’ve shared, useful. This is not meant to replace any professional editing. However, by implementing our painstaking task, we show an editor we care about our work. By doing my own editing, before handing it off to someone else—along with payment for services—I remain in control. Each time I fix a problem word, it's an indescribable “ah, yes, perfect, that’s what I meant to say, anyway.”

Photoby Ray Hennessy

 -Elle-