Slaying the Enemies of Good Writing

Self-editing your work is an essential component of the writing and publishing process. It can help improve your manuscript, while creating a cleaner version for your editor. If your manuscript is riddled with easy-to-catch errors, the editing timeline can be significantly longer and costlier. But do not despair, there are numerous ways to you improve your manuscript, and get rid of those pesky errors before you hand it over to a professional. And, because I love you, I have a special offer for you!  {This post contains affiliate links.}

Lose the Crutch Words. Grammarly is a great resource to catch grammatical errors and also point out your crutch and overused words in your manuscript. The free option finds basic grammar and punctuation errors and provides detailed explanations that will help teach you along the way. The paid version focuses on usage and basic sentence structure, in addition to grammatical corrections.

Avoid Clichés and Buzzwords. Whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction, clichés and buzzwords can easily render your writing meaningless and uninteresting. A great way to identify the clichés and buzzwords you use and eliminating them from your manuscript, is to research your genre online and identify the list of words or phrases to avoid using—a simple Google search can be very insightful.

Eliminate Unnecessary Words. There are many reasons our writing becomes muddled and confusing by the use of excessive words. Using passive voice instead of active, and introductory and transition statement are common perpetrators of clear, concise and impactful writing. Being aware of how often you rely on these perpetrators, and having the ability to self-edit and eliminate will only strengthen your writing and your writing skills.

Evaluate Necessary Words. Adjectives, Adverbs and Prepositions are necessary elements in all writing. Although eliminating them is not possible if you want to have complete and coherent sentences, you can evaluate the ones you choose to use to ensure your writing is unique, bold, clear, and interesting. Keeping a list of overused and non-descriptive adjectives and adverbs, as well as a list of prepositions that could be eliminated or reworded, can help you write a manuscript using words that will make your true voice shine.

A special offer for you! If these four self-editing hacks resonate with you, I have a new course in Skillshare titled ‘Slaying the Enemies of Good Writing’ where I address these tips in more detail and ways you can improve your writing through smart and easy self-editing methods. In the course, you will have access to an exclusive workbook with techniques and practice activities you can use over and over again in your manuscripts. You will also have one-on-one access to work with me where I will help you perfect your self-editing skills by completing your final class project. Get your exclusive access here: http://skl.sh/2ldo2XK