Forum: Author Hangout

editing technique

rustyken 🚫

My change in editing technique is due primarily due to a readers comment on a story I had just edited and reposted. The comment noted significant missing words.

Editing my writings has in the past been a challenge as I tended to get caught up in the adventure. This often results in reading through the errors. I think I've found a solution for me and thought I would share it.

My new approach is to read the story while looking for missing words. In doing so I allow myself to get caught up in the adventure as usual. Then a day or two later I reread the story, but avoid getting caught up in the story line. It seems to be easier to avoid getting caught up in the adventure, but still follow the storyline.

Well I have three more books to edits, so we will see whether my revised approach works.

Replies: redthumb FantasyLover NC-Retired DBActive richardshagrin KimLittle

redthumb 🚫

@rustyken

IF that doesn't work for you, you might try a test to speech program.

Replies: Pixy

Pixy 🚫

@redthumb

Was that a Freudian slip? LOL

Replies: redthumb

redthumb 🚫

@Pixy

No, a finger slip slip. I get my tongue tangled in my eye teeth and can't see what I an typing (or saying).

Replies: awnlee jawking Dicrostonyx

awnlee jawking 🚫

@redthumb

Not a good advert for Apple dentistry if you're unhappy with your iTeeth ;-)

AJ

Dicrostonyx 🚫

@redthumb

As a friend of mine likes to say: "It's hard to lap with a type on your cat."

FantasyLover 🚫

@rustyken

Any chance you use Word?

Replies: rustyken

rustyken 🚫

@FantasyLover

No. I use Libre Office.

NC-Retired 🚫
Updated:

@rustyken

The last 15 years of my working career I did technical writing for complex medical instruments, both user instruction and technical repair manuals.

It was only the last 5 years that I enjoyed the help of a dedicated editor shared among the 9 writers employed by the company.

Before that I had to edit my own writing and it was a tough slog.

I landed on reading the text out loud to myself. Not so fast as to skip words, but at a reasonable pace.

Using this technique I think I caught 95% of the grammar, punctuation and misspelling errors.

Give it a try and see if it works for you.

Cheers!

Replies: REP

REP 🚫

@NC-Retired

I clicked the wrong thing last night and lost my post, which described the technique I use. Reading out loud works great at identifying errors, and is part of my technique.

In that technique I start by reading the last paragraph in a story/chapter. I then move toward the start of the story/chapter one paragraph at a time.

I found that reading a story/chapter from start to end results in me focusing on the storyline, which distracts me from focusing on the words I wrote. My technique breaks my focus on the storyline and focuses my attention on what I actually wrote, instead of what I think I wrote.

Replies: NC-Retired

NC-Retired 🚫

@REP

I did similar with my technical writing.

Since I was in a cubicle farm, I read each step or procedure sub-vocally from the last to the first.

As I was writing the words, when the step or paragraph was finished, I'd read it and the previous two for continuity.

Worked for me.

Replies: Quasirandom

Quasirandom 🚫

@NC-Retired

When I'm tech writing, I usually have to finish the whole section/task before doing that — otherwise I'm too close and see the words that are supposed to be there.

Replies: NC-Retired

NC-Retired 🚫

@Quasirandom

Different technique, same result.

I still use the read out loud editing technique when I'm composing emails to family & friends.

I'm constantly amazed at my fumble finger typing errors.

DBActive 🚫

@rustyken

For 40+ years I have been typing "you" for "your" and "tot he" for "to the". I search every document for "you" and "tot" and they happen at least a couple of times a day.

Replies: Switch Blayde

Switch Blayde 🚫

@DBActive

When I want to type "to do," I often type "do do."There are other combinations like that for me as well. I guess when I'm typing the first word, I'm thinking ahead to the second word.

richardshagrin 🚫

@rustyken

The doodoo that you do so well is due.

KimLittle 🚫

@rustyken

I write in Google Docs. I use the built in grammar/spell checker.

Then I take the entire document into MS Word. I don't write in Word because I keep everything on my Google Drive. I use the Word proofing tools.

Then, in an ideal world, I would print everything out, but instead I take the whole word document and change to a monotype font and subvocalise/mutter insanely to myself as I slowly read through it.

In that way, I have caught almost every error in my work. Almost.

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Forum: Author Hangout

editing technique

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