Monday, January 4, 2016

Editing Tips

Thanks to Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh, I met a new Twitter Buddy the other day ... Nicole Singer.

That day, Alex posted several of Nicole's links. Some of them were round ups of helpful links, and there was one about editing tips entitled My Favourite Editing Exercises. I'm always looking for Editing tips so I clicked over.

Great tips! The one I put to use immediately was Nicole's suggestion to write
Goal:
Conflict:
Stakes:
at the top of each chapter to let you see at a glance what the chapter is all about.

I never print anything out, so I wondered how to do this effectively. I use Scrivener and I realized I've never used the small Synopsis box in the top right hand corner of the screen for much. The box is there for every single scene, so in each one I plunked in the above with a small alteration...

Goal:
Conflict:
     Heroine:
     Hero:
Stakes:

I used this as I was doing a revising round of my latest story and it really helped me eliminate some extraneous stuff that was bogging down the story. With Scrivener, that synopsis screen is always visible, even as you're scrolling through the screen, so I wasn't able to ignore it!

I'm thinking for the next story I write, I'll use it as a plan for the scene before I write. Who knows? It might even turn me into a plotter! (Don't hold your breath!)

Thanks again, Nicole for the tips, and Alex for the intro!!

How about you? Do you do anything similar with your chapters? What's one of your favourite editing tips?

33 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That's awesome! Wow, I tweeted something of value. Glad you met Nicole and were able to use one of her tips.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

That's a good idea. I'm going to write that down and use it for the story I'm editing right now.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Nice template for editing! Happy New Year, Jemi!

Misha Gerrick said...

I don't really do that for every chapter, but I keep the plot-wide goal, conflict and stakes in mind in order to keep the story moving forward.

Have a wonderful new year! :-)

cleemckenzie said...

Scrivener is there to nudge you into plotting. Tell us all about this transition. It will be very interesting. Happy 2016!

Jemi Fraser said...

It's been a great help! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

I'm thrilled with how it's helping me focus :)

Jemi Fraser said...

I'm liking it!
Same to you Elizabeth :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Same to you, Misha!
My brain tends to veer off in weird and wacky directions without some guidance :)

Jemi Fraser said...

I love Scrivener! Even with my wing-it brain! Helps that I write romance because I know the basic end goal :)

Heather R. Holden said...

Ooh, that's a great editing tip of Nicole's. I may have to find a way to utilize this while plotting future webcomics. Thanks for sharing!

JeffO said...

Considering some of the flaws in my writing, it might be worth trying out. Thanks for sharing!

Jemi Fraser said...

You're welcome! It's working well for me so far! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

I find conflict HARD so it's definitely helping me! :)

klahanie said...

Hey Jemi,

How's it goin', eh? Welcome to 2016! :)

What's this? You have a new twitter buddy! Okay, seems like she has some good tips.

One of my favourite editing tips is not edit. Instead, let the dog look at my writing, watch her shake her head as she grabs the peeboard, um, keyboard and kindly edits my feeble attempts at writing. There you go, eh!

Of course, a paw, um, as per usual, I shall twit, um, tweet your pawst, um post. #Arf! #Eh!

Penny's alleged human,

Gary :)

Jemi Fraser said...

2016! Who would have thought it would come so quickly!!

I need me a Penny! For Pawesome Pediting! :)

Natalie Aguirre said...

That's such a great tip. You can just think about it as you finish and go back to edit each chapter. Thanks so much and Happy New Year!

Jemi Fraser said...

I'm loving it - keeps the overall goal right in my line of sight! :)

Kelly Steel said...

Awesome tip Jemi. Thanks for sharing.

Kelly Polark said...

Great idea! I'm getting ready to edit my first draft on my newest mg. Will try this!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Ha, I never thought I'd be a plotter either, but once I tried it, I never went back. Glad it seems to be working for you.

T. Powell Coltrin said...

I do something like that. Since my writing is mostly short fiction I put something like that at the beginning of each and when the time comes--it's there to ponder.

Romance Book Haven said...

It is a good idea to plan it out before writing starts.

Jemi Fraser said...

Hope it helps you, too! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

It's working really well for me! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

I'm hoping it helps! I'm making baby steps into the plotter world, but they're really tiny baby steps! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

That's a good plan, Teresa! I need to have the goals right up in my face, or I get caught up and forget! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Yeah, I wish I was better at that! :)

DMS said...

Sounds like a great tip! I don't do anything like that- except maybe a basic outline before I start writing. Good luck! :)
~Jess

Jemi Fraser said...

That's always been my style as well - but I'd love to be more of a plotter!

cleemckenzie said...

Ah, yes. Those lovers entwined always leave you with a sigh and a smile.

Kelly Steel said...

All the best with plotting, Jemi!

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Kelly :)