Line Editing in 10 Steps

Posted on August 7th, 2009 in Grammar by Emma Cunningham

How to self-edit your short story or novel.

Avoid repetition Don’t have characters thinking about what they’re about to do… and then show them doing it… and then show them reflecting back. Choose one, and choose wisely. Which instance will better develop your character? Which one will best push the story forward? If you dealt with Clara’s drinking problem in Chapter Two, you don’t need a second scene in Chapter Eight where she tells her new boyfriend Bill about her alcoholism. Choose one.
Show, don’t tell. Instead of Clara telling Bill about her drinking problem, have him find out for himself. Maybe he walks in on her, drunk, three nights in a row. Maybe it’s only once, but Clara still feels ashamed and humiliated. This way, Clara has a compelling reason to give up alcohol – and the reader gets a far more interesting story.
Resist over-explaining. Ever met somebody who ruined a joke by explaining the punch line? Yeah, the joke wasn’t funny any more. Don’t ruin it for your readers. They’ll get it.
Check for consistency. Does Clara become Clare by Chapter Three? Does Bill’s eye colour change? In Hollywood films, these types of errors are called “Easter Eggs” and they’re the kinds of errors readers will constantly laugh at. Make sure you don’t leave any behind!
Eliminate cliches. It’s been done before. It doesn’t need to be done again. Don’t do it.
Keep the language clear. Flowery prose might be great in poetry, but very few modern authors can pull it off successfully. Your readers don’t want to grab a dictionary every three lines, nor do they want to roll their eyes at a constant stream of imagery, metaphors, and alliterations.
Avoid redundancy. Does each chapter or section push either the main plot or subplot forward? Does it help develop character? Great. No? Hit the delete key. It’s dragging your story down. If you really love the scene and can’t bear to remove it, then re-work it until it promotes the plot.
Check the dictionary. Don’t use big words just to make yourself look intelligent. If you use one incorrectly, you’ll be ridiculed. If you’re anything less than 100% positive about what a word means, look it up.
Re-write, re-phrase and delete. Give the entire manuscript a run-through with a red pen and re-write, re-phrase, and delete as necessary.
Avoid over-polishing. Make sure the reader will be focusing on your story, not your writing.

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Tags: avoid redundancy, avoid repetition, check for consistency, check the dictionary, Cliches, editing, eliminate cliches, fiction, keep the language clear, line editing, Novel, over-explaining, publishing, redundancy, resist over-explaining, show don't tell

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One Response to “Line Editing in 10 Steps”

Jay Tee
August 8th, 2009 at 12:46 am

Great tips. The only thing I’d add is to recommend using the AutoCrit Editing Wizard. It’s great at finding the editing problems that need to be fixed.