Sunday, December 29, 2013

There's Always a Better Word



By: Stephanie Burkhart

Self-Editing Tips

I've heart it said writing is 10% writing and 90% editing. I can honestly say that's the case. Self-editing is truly a talent that has to be developed over time. There are some great books with self-editing pointers including characters, plot, and dialogue, but today I'm going to keep it easy – there's always a stronger word.

Example:  Annie got the book she wanted.

There's a better verb for the sentence above and a great "place" to find what you're looking for is a thesaurus. You can discover a ton of alternative words to "punch up" your sentence. My thesaurus is never far from my laptop.

New Example: Annie received the book she wanted.

Fresher Example: Annie received the novel she wanted.

Freshest Example: The book Annie wanted fell into her lap.

Reinvigorated Example: Annie's tattered and threadbare novel offered her happiness.

Self-editing takes time so be sure to dedicate the time for it. Things to look for: verb use (weak versus strong) and "punchier" descriptors. I just finished reading Janet Evanovich's "One for the Money," and I loved it. She's mastered the use of better/strong words to create an entertaining novel with a great economy of words. She paints graphic visuals with just a stroke.

Here's another self-editing tip: Be a reader, too. The more you read, the more you can give to your own writing.

Question: Do you have any self-editing tips that work for you that you'd like to share?

Have a blessed and happy new year!


Author Bio: Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. She's also a cub scout den leader and a frazzled taxi mom. Her books with 4RV Publishing include: The Giving Meadow and First Flag of New Hampshire.

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4 comments:

  1. Dear Stephanie,
    Thank you for your ideas for revising our manuscripts.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Joan. My therasaures accompanies me everywhere I go.
    Smiles
    Steph

    ReplyDelete
  3. Stephanie, great post. I too keep my thesauruses handy when writing. One self-editing tip I find helps is to change the font and reread it and/or to print the ms. I hate to waste paper, but for some reason with a printed version errors that weren't seen before become visible.

    Oh, use that printed ms paper for scrap or give to your kids or grandkids to write/draw on back, when you're done with it.

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