What I Learned From All That Editing

Over the past 18 months, I have worked through three major editing projects. Last year I edited two books; and this year I edited one of them again; so this week I thought I would share with you some of the things I have learned in the process.

Possibly the most important thing I learned is that, for me, editing isn't something that can be completed in a single read-through. I am not slap-dash; I don't cut corners; but the second read-through showed me things I hadn't picked up on in the previous read. That's a sobering thought because, as I say, I'm not slap-dash. And the third read-through showed me a complete howler of a mistake, as follows...

Earlier in the year, I was asked by my writing friend Jan Baynham (visit her blog here) to contribute to a series she was running about editing and I included this example. It obviously rang a few bells with other writers, so I'm repeating it here. I had written a scene for my MC and during the editing I decided it would benefit from being chopped into two scenes, with another scene in the middle, so as to ramp up the tension. Fine. That's what I did.

But my MC's one-scene-now-made-into-two-scenes happened all on the same day.... whereas the scene I moved into the middle started that day but finished the following day. Oops. The scary thing here was that not only did I not notice this at the time, but I didn't notice it in the first editing read-through. In fact, I think it was in the third read-through that it finally jumped out at me. The third! So my advice is: when you make a significant change, such as moving scenes around, check and double-check your continuity.

I edit on paper. I know there are many people who do all their writing straight onto the screen, and presumably they do their editing in the same way, but that wouldn't work for me. I'm strictly a pen and paper girl. But one instance in which I would urge the computer brigade to hit the print button is when there is a scene in which there is a lot of what actors call "business," which simply means characters doing things. It's partly a continuity issue, but also a matter of making sure your characters behave in a way that feels normal and natural.

Here's an example. I did a lot of work on a scene in which three characters had just received an emotional blow and they were sitting together, trying to get to the bottom of what had happened. At the same time, accusations were flying between them. One of them remained seated but the other two each stood up and sat down again - twice. I wrote "stage-directions" in the margin to highlight each change of position. This helped me decide what was a feasible amount of standing time and when would be a natural time for sitting down again. I also had to make sure that, having got a character on her feet, I didn't simply forget she was standing and leave her like that.

Editing has made me more critical as a reader. I am now far more aware of, and more irritated by, slip-ups in published books. I'm thinking of a novel in which two characters were sitting together by the fire and suddenly one of them was at the window watching someone approach the house. Hang on a minute - how did she get there? I knew I hadn't read a bit where she got up and went to the window, but even so, I went back and checked - and I was right. She hadn't moved. An error like that jolts the reader out of the story, which is the last thing the writer wants to happen.

Finally, I find it helps to read work aloud. The act of reading aloud requires greater concentration than reading silently, so the necessary edits become more obvious. Moreover, reading aloud shows how well the writing flows.

Those are some of the things I've learned from editing. Is there anything that rings a bell with you? Or anything you disagree with? Perhaps you have a tip you would like to share. Do leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you.