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What are some editing best practices for your novel?

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You've finished your first draft of your novel and you're ready to polish it into a masterpiece. But editing can be a daunting and overwhelming task, especially if you don't have a clear plan or strategy. How do you know what to focus on, what to cut, what to add, and what to change? How do you avoid common pitfalls and mistakes that can ruin your story? How do you make sure your novel is engaging, coherent, and consistent? In this article, we'll share some editing best practices for your novel that can help you improve your writing and craft a better story.

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Richard Nyikwagh ????

Building bridges across Banking, Data Analytics and Writing with an eye for Sustainable Development
Natasha V Broodie

Author | Wordsmith | Communications Advisor, Foreign Affairs
Luz Rodrigo Martorell

Comunicación Interna ‖ Narrativa ‖ Mentoring

1 Read your novel aloud

One of the best ways to spot errors, awkward sentences, and unclear passages in your novel is to read it aloud. Reading aloud forces you to slow down and pay attention to every word, punctuation, and dialogue. It also helps you hear how your novel sounds, how your voice and tone come across, and how your characters speak and interact. You can use a voice recorder or an app to record yourself reading your novel and then listen back to it. You'll be surprised how much you can catch and improve by reading your novel aloud.

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Richard Nyikwagh ????

Building bridges across Banking, Data Analytics and Writing with an eye for Sustainable Development
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Read your novel overtime and give to multiple persons to read as well. This will help you identify some things that can be removed, better placed or added.

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Natasha V Broodie

Author | Wordsmith | Communications Advisor, Foreign Affairs
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At the moment I'm recording an audiobook (a painful experience) of my second book being release for 1 Nov. Yes, the reading aloud part has helped, but not as much as having the audiobook narrate my words back to me as I read along with my book. All sorts of errors are detected that hadn't been before. I would say that method is one time-consuming yet effective poor-man's way of doing edits when you simply cannot afford a pro.

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2 Get feedback from others

Another essential editing practice for your novel is to get feedback from others. You can't edit your novel in a vacuum, because you're too close to your own work and you might miss some flaws or gaps that are obvious to others. You need fresh and honest opinions from people who can tell you what works and what doesn't in your novel, what they liked and disliked, and what they found confusing or boring. You can ask for feedback from beta readers, critique partners, writing groups, or professional editors. Just make sure you choose people who are familiar with your genre, target audience, and goals, and who can give you constructive and respectful criticism.

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Natasha V Broodie

Author | Wordsmith | Communications Advisor, Foreign Affairs
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As I always say: find someone who you know without doubt is ?? better than you are and ask for their feedback. Best way to improve is to set the benchmark high and fly toward it.

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3 Use editing tools and resources

Editing your novel can be easier and more effective if you use some editing tools and resources that can help you check and improve various aspects of your writing. For example, you can use grammar and spelling checkers, such as Grammarly or ProWritingAid, to catch typos, errors, and inconsistencies in your novel. You can also use style and readability tools, such as Hemingway or Flesch-Kincaid, to measure and enhance how clear, concise, and engaging your writing is. You can also use plot and structure tools, such as Story Grid or Save the Cat, to analyze and refine your story arc, scenes, and beats. These tools and resources are not substitutes for your own judgment and creativity, but they can be helpful guides and supports for your editing process.

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4 Cut the fluff and filler

One of the most important editing practices for your novel is to cut the fluff and filler that can drag down your story and bore your readers. Fluff and filler are any words, sentences, paragraphs, or scenes that don't add value, meaning, or interest to your novel. They can be redundant, irrelevant, or excessive information, descriptions, explanations, or dialogue that don't advance your plot, develop your characters, or enhance your theme. To cut the fluff and filler, you need to be ruthless and objective, and ask yourself if every element in your novel is necessary, relevant, and engaging. If not, delete it or rewrite it.

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Luz Rodrigo Martorell

Comunicación Interna ‖ Narrativa ‖ Mentoring
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La pelusa y el relleno se trabajan frase a frase, no sólo como estructura global. Es un ejercicio muy útil eliminar nominalizaciones, locuciones prepositivas...Tachar, revisar y volver a tachar.

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5 Vary your sentence structure and length

Another editing practice for your novel that can improve your writing style and readability is to vary your sentence structure and length. Using the same sentence structure and length throughout your novel can make your writing monotonous, predictable, and dull. It can also affect your pace, tone, and mood. To vary your sentence structure and length, you need to mix simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences, and use different connectors, transitions, and modifiers. You also need to match your sentence length to your purpose, context, and emotion. For example, you can use short sentences to create tension, urgency, or impact, and long sentences to create flow, detail, or suspense.

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6 Check your consistency and continuity

The final editing practice for your novel that we'll discuss is to check your consistency and continuity. Consistency and continuity are the aspects of your novel that ensure that everything is logical, coherent, and aligned throughout your story. They include your plot, characters, setting, timeline, point of view, tense, voice, tone, and style. To check your consistency and continuity, you need to pay attention to the details and the big picture, and make sure that nothing contradicts, confuses, or distracts from your story. You can use a spreadsheet, a timeline, a map, or a storyboard to keep track of your consistency and continuity, and avoid any errors or gaps that can ruin your credibility and immersion.

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Abha Sharma

Author, Life Coach, Speaker. Books: Vediquant - Vedantic Truth in Quantum Science; The Night of Fear; The Making of the Greatest series. @ Rupa Publications India.
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You cannot afford to take the timeline of your story lightly. Check and cross-check a number of times to ensure that the sequence is not confusing to the reader. Often, writers are too focused on grammar editing to pay attention to this aspect. It was in the final draft of my novel, when everything else was in place, that I discovered one such error. Since the events in the novel were tied to the phases of the moon, this error would have been a blunder.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Abha Sharma

Author, Life Coach, Speaker. Books: Vediquant - Vedantic Truth in Quantum Science; The Night of Fear; The Making of the Greatest series. @ Rupa Publications India.
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One aspect of fiction writing is research – a vital part, but often ignored under the misconception that fiction writing does not require as much research as non-fiction. I was shocked to read a bestselling book in which the description of the type of vegetation in the Himalayas was out of place. The kind of trees and flowers mentioned in the book, which the characters seemed to enjoy, are nowhere to be found at that high an altitude. Research meticulously because wrong information destroys credibility.

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What are some editing best practices for your novel?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Read your novel aloud

2 Get feedback from others

3 Use editing tools and resources

4 Cut the fluff and filler

5 Vary your sentence structure and length

6 Check your consistency and continuity

7 Here’s what else to consider

Writing

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What are some editing best practices for your novel?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Read your novel aloud

2 Get feedback from others

3 Use editing tools and resources

4 Cut the fluff and filler

5 Vary your sentence structure and length

6 Check your consistency and continuity

7 Here’s what else to consider

Writing

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