5 Tips for Editing with Efficiency

I have focused this newsletter on writing--but what about editing? It is a critical component of the writing process, yet it goes underappreciated and overlooked. Here are 5 tips for editing with efficiency.

1) Grab your highlighter and pen.

You are going to need these two things if you want to edit. Everyone has their own system, but this will speed along the process. Highlight your verbs. Are they in active or passive voice? Pay attention to diction, the type of words you're using. Now, go ahead and highlight adverbs. Try your best to eliminate them, if possible. You don't want to use more than necessary.

With your pen, mark off your prepositional phrases. These are phrases beginning with words such as "of," "beneath," and "beside." Make sure to only have two of these per sentence. You can use more on occasion.

2) Pay attention to syntax.

Syntax is another word for "sentence structure." Are your lines varied in size and shape? Do you mix between simple, compound, and compound-complex sentences, or are they generally the same? Writers such as Virginia Woolf and Ray Bradbury master syntactical variety, so they are key models for developing your own writing. Watch as their sentences build into flowing paragraphs--and how these paragraphs relay the overall story.

3) Give it some time.

Don't start editing as soon as you finish writing. Relax. Go for a walk or hang out with the dog. If you finished writing a manuscript, you should expect a few weeks--or months--to pass before editing. Put it in your desk drawer, and don't look at it. If you are writing an article, you should at least let a few hours pass before editing.

This assures that you have a fresh perspective.

4) Watch out for clichés.

Whether you are writing creatively or academically, it does not matter: you should avoid clichés at all costs. My writing professor in college told us that clichés prevent you from doing the work yourself. In other words, they are a lazy way out, because they fill the text with common phrases, rather than your own words.

At first, it was difficult to remove these clichés, but it became easier.

5) Read the text aloud.

How can you pick out wordy phrases unless you read the work aloud? I promise, you will have an enlightening experience, or at least an informative one. This is my go-to technique, especially when I am struggling to write. By reading your work aloud, you will be able to identify what doesn't make sense, or at least what doesn't sound "right." If it sounds jumbled or confusing to you, rest assured that it will be to the reader, as well. Maybe even worse.

I hope these tips were useful to you as you navigate the writing process. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!