Self-editing

[spark]

What methods do people use to edit and fix their drafts when writing?  FTR- I teach, and I think the way we traditionally teach the writing process is BS.  It's somebody's idea how to write, but you lose your voice.

I outline my stories in my head, and it typically happens while I'm walking, showering, or sleeping.   I get a basically get a general idea where I want to go.  When I'm putting my words to paper it's a verbal process.  I'm literally talking to myself (out loud) while typing the words.  But my issue is that I can't type as fast as my words.   I frequently miss words.  And I don't read word for word.  I read by phrases- so I won't catch missing articles or missing words.   I know what I wanted to write, and I read what I though I wanted to write.  

I started using the read aloud feature on WORD, and it seems to work form me.  The robot reads the words and I get the pace and catch when I need to add an article.  It misses on the tone, because it reads every thing the same.

If you are self-editing, are able to read your text and fix those type of errors, or do you use something to edit.  BTW- Grammarly misses that at times

[BabySofia]

8 hours ago, spark said:

What methods do people use to edit and fix their drafts when writing?  FTR- I teach, and I think the way we traditionally teach the writing process is BS.  It's somebody's idea how to write, but you lose your voice.

I outline my stories in my head, and it typically happens while I'm walking, showering, or sleeping.   I get a basically get a general idea where I want to go.  When I'm putting my words to paper it's a verbal process.  I'm literally talking to myself (out loud) while typing the words.  But my issue is that I can't type as fast as my words.   I frequently miss words.  And I don't read word for word.  I read by phrases- so I won't catch missing articles or missing words.   I know what I wanted to write, and I read what I though I wanted to write.  

I started using the read aloud feature on WORD, and it seems to work form me.  The robot reads the words and I get the pace and catch when I need to add an article.  It misses on the tone, because it reads every thing the same.

If you are self-editing, are able to read your text and fix those type of errors, or do you use something to edit.  BTW- Grammarly misses that at times

My process tends to be to get the first draft done, then go back through it with the features in Word or Google Docs enabled to mark as I read through it again. I usually then do a full scan. On my last work I used Grammarly next as it catches some things better. My issue with it is often it does go with corrections in dialog where vernacular and grammatical inaccuracies are common place and give character to many of those. If it's not a spelling error a lot of times I'll ignore those there. After that I usually read through it again before publishing it. Occasionally on works I have a helpful editor who will join in around these steps as well. 

[WBDaddy]

I'm such a perfectionist (3 years of medical transcription will do that to you) that I generally don't need to revise.  Not saying I'm perfect; I do miss stuff because I don't go back and re-read, but the errors are so rare I don't worry about it unless I decide I want to publish something (which hasn't happened yet).

 

[InkuHime]

I write things out. These days I prefer to complete stories in their entirety rather than writing and posting a piece at a time. As I am writing I let spell and grammar checkers do their thing and fix as writing. As required I'll go back and rewrite earlier parts if I realize that the story gets better with those changes. Once done I have started used Grammarly as a tool for the next edit and rewrite. Grammarly is not always right, but at the very least is makes me think about why I have decided to break the rules of grammar and if it really makes the story better.

I also like to leave stories alone for a while, a week at minimum (a month is better, I mean, as long as you are not on a deadline, the longer the better, especially if you continue to write other things because a month plus later you will be - at least a little - a better writer), and then go back and read through them start to finish. The longer it has been since I wrote it the more likely I am to actually notice mistakes and not auto edit them without noticing them. It also provides another opportunity to see if changes in the story will improve things or if contradictions crept in during the editing process.

If I am in a bit of a rush and can't afford to leave the story sit, I can read it backwards which makes mistakes pretty glaring. Reading out loud, especially for dialogue, helps improve the flow.

And no matter what I do, if I look at a story a few years later I realize that there were better ways to do things. One of the ways I deal with writers block is to rewrite past stories. I trick myself into thinking that it is easy, but in truth the rewrite versions are actually just as much work as something completely new.

[BoTox]

Like others, I write as much as I can while my mind is engaged. I see it in my head as a movie where I'm writing the dialog as I hear it in my mind. I write in Google Docs to get the basic errors found and corrected. It is far from readable by anyone but me in this form. I often leave out big chunks that get filled in on an additional pass.

Once I get a story or at least a good section committed to the page, I tend to leave it alone for at least a day or more. If I think of more dialog or a new scene, I will add that to the end. That's not where it goes but I rearrange sections to meet the needs and pacing of the story.

Once the story is fully written in what I call a first draft, I will re-read it and improve what I see, fluff up dialog, add descriptive language where I feel it could use it.

Next, I run a search for words I know I over use, "just" and "like" to name a few.

At this point, I will drop it into ProWritingAid to see what it kicks out. It isn't everything it needs to be after this but it is pretty close to where I think it is getting ready.

Unless I'm a hurry with a deadline, I will let it sit a bit and read it again. I usually do a few tweaks here but if it went well, I consider it ready to publish. Then the readers get to decide how well I did.

[DiaperedPrince]

On 1/9/2022 at 10:10 AM, BabySofia said:

Occasionally on works I have a helpful editor who will join in around these steps as well. 

*giggles*

On 1/9/2022 at 4:08 PM, WBDaddy said:

I'm such a perfectionist (3 years of medical transcription will do that to you) that I generally don't need to revise.  Not saying I'm perfect; I do miss stuff because I don't go back and re-read, but the errors are so rare I don't worry about it unless I decide I want to publish something (which hasn't happened yet).

I'm the same most of the time, except when I write at 2am half-asleep and the words make sense in my head but fail to transfer onto paper. However I do tend to start hating the way I wrote things after a while, so I'll go back and reword sentences before I publish them.

[spark]

On 1/9/2022 at 1:08 PM, WBDaddy said:

I'm such a perfectionist (3 years of medical transcription will do that to you) that I generally don't need to revise.  Not saying I'm perfect; I do miss stuff because I don't go back and re-read, but the errors are so rare I don't worry about it unless I decide I want to publish something (which hasn't happened yet).

 

I wish I could be that way, but I'm just not.   Partly I'm ADHD, and I tend to stammer, which comes out in my writing as well.   The last piece I posted took 4 read throughs before I stopped making changes.

[crono]

It's not perfect but I usually use the word check in Microsoft word. 

In the end, we are our own worst critic