Writers in the Storm

by Dr. Diana Stout

Over the years, I’ve heard writers say, “I don’t need to learn grammar and punctuation. That’s why I have an editor.” When one student discovered he’d be editing his writing, he said, “I’ll be handing my correspondence to my secretary. She can fix my mistakes.” While he got a laugh from his peers, the problem with these kinds of responses is that these individuals don’t understand how they’re handicapping themselves by having to rely on others for a skill they could easily learn.

Before the internet and indie publishing, publishing houses had staff editors who would perform both developmental and line-editing, then submit galley (printed typeset) pages to the author who would perform a last read and approve the pages.

Today, the publishing landscape is entirely different. Because of rising costs, publishing houses are reducing staff numbers. Consequently, publishers want polished manuscripts, not drafts that require a hefty fix.

Publishing houses want polished manuscripts.

Recently, I heard an agent tell a group of writers that writers need to learn how to become self-editors or hire someone to do their editing before submitting to an agent or publisher. The explanation was that publishing houses don’t have editors to do the line editing anymore; they’re hiring it out. That a book could be rejected based on how much editing is required before it becomes publishable—meaning how much money will the house have to invest?

Should a writer go the indie route of self-publishing, they will still want to learn self-editing skills or hire the editing out. Many readers won't read books that have errors throughout.

Self-editing is a skill that today’s authors should want to master.

So, why do writers balk at learning how to become better self-editors? The reasons I’ve heard are:

• There are too many rules. I can’t remember them all.
• I didn’t learn how in high school. How is it going to be any different now?
• It’s too hard.

First, you want to know the why behind these rules. If you don't know the why, the rules will make little sense and won't be remembered.

Second, the rules don’t apply to all writings, something we were not taught in high school. In school, we learned basic grammar and punctuation rules, which prepared us for business writing in the workforce and for academic writing in college.

Third, the rules for any writing depend on its genre, point of view, style, audience, and author voice. While some definitive rules cross all these thresholds, there aren't that many, truthfully.

Rules for Business writing VS Nonfiction and Fiction writing

Business writing is as different from nonfiction as is from fiction, where rules are frequently broken. The problem is that those broken rules shouldn't be applied to most nonfiction and not in business writing to agents, editors, and publishers.

Business writing is about query letters, résumés, business letters, and other business correspondence, such as synopses, proposals, and treatments. Often, these documents can receive a yes or no based on how polished they are.

Nonfiction rules depend on the genre: memoir, how-to, newspaper, white paper, academic paper… Each type of nonfiction has its own rules, style, and standards.

In fiction, rules are broken all the time. Some authors don’t use quotation marks. Others use short, choppy sentences. Others use long, flowery paragraphs without commas that can be a page long. In fiction, it’s about the author’s style choice and their voice. That said, if the author is being traditionally published, they are obligated to follow the publishing house’s style standard, even if the house is incorrect regarding a traditionally known rule.

You don't have to learn hard-to-remember terminology.

It isn’t necessary to recite the terminology as you did in high school; it’s more important to know the why behind the rules. To be honest, I’ve forgotten some of the terminology, but I know where to find the correct term if needed: in my old high school English book or any pocket-style handbook assigned to most college freshman composition classes.

My favorite handbook was authored by Diana Hacker. If there’s a local college near you, check out its bookstore. You don’t have to be a student to buy books there. If you buy used online, be sure to get a recent edition. While most grammar and punctuation rules haven't changed over time, the style guides (APA, MLA, and Chicago) do.

Two important punctuation changes that have occurred:

• Periods and commas always go inside the quotation marks. ALWAYS.
• There are no longer two spaces after end punctuation (period, question mark, exclamation). There is only one space.

One of the best online sites is Purdue's OWL's online writing center. Here's their site map: https://owl.purdue.edu/site_map.html

If you're interested in self-editing, you'll want to understand basic grammar and punctuation, which includes helping verbs, the timeline of tenses, the difference between telling and showing, the difference between passive and active writing, how to eliminate wordiness, and a few other key elements.

You should know, for example:

• the 7 basic commas, when to use and how to use them
• when and how to use a colon versus a semicolon
• how to clean up wordiness easily
• tenses and when to use which tense
• when you need to use helping verbs
• the difference between active and passive writing, and how to fix it with a simple rewrite
• how to easily turn telling into showing
• when to use italics instead of quote marks
• how to fix dangling modifiers

I discovered the more tricks I created for various rules, the easier it became to apply them. I’m all about sharing and teaching these tricks and shortcuts with other writers.

Learning how to become a better self-editor is a key element in learning the craft of writing. I used to tell my students that if they could master just those few rules I listed above, they'd become better writers. By mid-semester, they were amazed at what a difference learning a few self-editing rules made in their writing.

Yes, learning and applying the rules will feel hard at first. Writing is hard, just like when one first learns how to play ball or play a musical instrument. Over time and with practiced learning, self-editing skills become easy and automatic.

Writing is All About the Rewriting

Writing that first draft is like throwing clay (words) on the wheel (page). It’s the spinning (rewriting) of the wheel as the potter’s (writer’s) hands turn the clay (manuscript) into a worthy finished product where craft shines.

So, the earlier statement of Why you should want to become a self-editor becomes a question of Why wouldn’t you want to become a better writer?

The best way to learn self-editing skills is to:

• Read how-to books
• Take a class
• Apply what you learn
• Apply, apply, apply… practice, practice, practice

Do you struggle with self-editing, especially with grammar and punctuation? If not, how did you learn that skill?

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About Diana

Dr. Stout is teaching a Master Class, Punctuation and Grammar Made Easy, in January 2024, with limited seating. If interested, sign up now!

She's an award-winning writer in multiple genres as a screenwriter and author. Also, she's a blogger, writing coach, and former English professor of writing classes who enjoys helping other writers. Learn more about Dr. Stout via her website, Sharpened Pencils Productions.

Top Image from Diana Stout, purchased via Depositphotos.

by Eldred “Bob” Bird

November is here and we all know what that means. It's NaNoWriMo time. As we're jogging past the one-week mark, I'm sure that some of you are starting to notice a blackhole forming in your brain. The dreaded mid-November slump is on the horizon.

This is the time when our brains go on tilt, and we start to lose the drive we had on day one. Even if you’re not participating in the annual writing marathon, it’s something every writer will eventually face. So, how do we chase away the darkness and get back into the light? Here are a few of my favorite tips to get you back into the race.

1. Freewriting

Sometimes the creative pipeline between our brain and the keyboard stops working. When the well runs dry, I often find that freewriting is a good way to prime the pump and restore the flow. Then again, sometimes the problem is too many ideas. Freewriting can help to clear the blockage in that case as well.

Grab your favorite writing device, be it manual or electronic, and dump your brain. Put down every word, sentence, or random thought that pops into your head. Don’t worry about making complete sentences or fixing spelling mistakes. Just let your fingers fly and see where it takes you.

If something keys an idea, follow it and see where it goes. When you start throwing stuff at the wall fast and furiously, something is bound to stick.

2. Switch Projects

There’s no hard and fast rule that says if you’re setting word count goals all the words must be in one single manuscript. At the end of the day all the words count. If you’re bogged down or losing interest in a project, drop it and move on to something else until inspiration hits again.

I never have less than three or four stories in the works at any one time. When I hit a creative wall in one, I shift gears and switch to another project for a while. The change of focus gives me the opportunity to talk to a different cast of characters and get my mind out of a rut.

Sometimes I feel the need to get away from fiction entirely. Doing something totally different can be very refreshing for your brain. That’s usually when I do my research and write my blog entries for WITS. I know the “No” in NaNoWriMo stands for novel, but the lessons I learn while blogging eventually end up improving my novel writing. That makes the words novel-adjacent, so I think it counts!

3. Change Your Scenery

If you’re like me, trying to force things just doesn’t work. The harder I try, the deeper my brain sinks into darkness. I can physically feel the walls closing in. When this happens, it’s time for a little self-care. I’ve found the best thing I can do is hit save, get up, and walk away.

Getting out of your usual writing space and breathing some different air can be one of the best things to do for your mental health. Whether it’s taking a short walk, driving around the block, or doing a little shopping, the change of scenery gives your brain a break.

Writing in a different location can also be a good way to re-energize your creativity. I’ve written in libraries, parks, doctor’s office waiting rooms, and bars. You encounter a lot of different characters when you write in public spaces. You never know who or what might inspire you.

4. Talk to Other Writers

While being a writer is generally a solitary endeavor, having writer friends you can talk to is priceless. They understand what you’re going through better than anyone else can. I can’t stress enough how important it is to build a network of like-minded people you can lean on in hard times.

I belong to a pretty tight knit group of writers. We’ve been meeting on a video group call every week for years. We bounce ideas off each other, talk through sticky plot points, and offer general support to get through the rough times in life. This group also gives us a place to celebrate the victories, big and small, as well.

One thing we have going for us is that technology allows us to connect without being in the same physical location. If you can’t find a local group to lean on, try social media. There are many supportive writing communities out there on a multitude of platforms. Look around, try a few out, and find one where you fit in.

5. Reevaluate and Adjust Your Goals

Let’s face it, sometimes we all bite off more than we can chew. It’s human nature. We set lofty goals for ourselves only to find we lack the tools, time, or skills to achieve them. When we fall short, we often end up questioning why we ever thought we could succeed in the first place.

If you find yourself in this situation don’t beat yourself up. You haven’t failed, you’ve gained experience. You now know how not to do what you were attempting. My father always told us you only fail when you stop trying.

Take a step back and examine your process to figure out where things might have gone wrong. Was your word goal too ambitious for the writing time you’ve allotted? Did you miss something in your preplanning? Is there a specific skill you need to acquire to move forward effectively?

When you think you’ve identified the problem, come up with a new plan and try again. If you still come up short, repeat the process. Keep pecking away at your roadblocks like this and eventually you will succeed.

Final Thoughts

One thing to keep in mind is that NaNoWriMo is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes a lot of training for an athlete to work up to the mileage needed to finish the race. They learn to pace themselves and pay attention to what their bodies are telling them. Many don’t succeed on their first try, but that doesn’t stop them from trying again.

Writing a novel in a month requires a similar approach. It takes time to get your brain in shape and develop the mental skills and stamina to get across that finish line. Give yourself the time and training you need, and you’ll eventually win the race.

Are you attempting NaNoWriMo this year? What tips and tricks have you found work to get you over the hill and across the finish line? Let your fellow writers know in the comments.

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About Bob

Eldred Bird writes contemporary fiction, short stories, and personal essays. He has spent a great deal of time exploring the deserts, forests, and deep canyons inside his home state of Arizona. His James McCarthy adventures, Killing Karma, Catching Karma, and Cold Karma, reflect this love of the Grand Canyon State even as his character solves mysteries amidst danger. Eldred explores the boundaries of short fiction in his stories, The Waking Room, Treble in Paradise: A Tale of Sax and Violins, and The Smell of Fear.

When he’s not writing, Eldred spends time cycling, hiking, and juggling (yes, juggling…bowling balls and 21-inch knives).

His passion for photography allows him to record his travels. He can be found on Twitter or Facebook, or at his website.

Top Image by viarami via Pixabay

by A. Dani

When the page is no longer blank, what then? What’s next?

Many of us are writing stories this November, whether powered up during the writer-encouraging event of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) or as part of our usual writing schedule. Pages on pages on pages are going from blank to cluttered with wonderful words and phrases that we love—and perhaps even some we’ll hate. And that’s okay, because it’s said that ‘the first draft is for you,’ the writer.

A little ways into my writing career I realized the second part of that adage, “the second draft is for them” didn’t work for me. Let me explain. While writing, I’d still start worrying about that second draft, the Editing, that loomed ahead. What if I couldn’t whip that rough draft into shape for a professional editor to take a look, let alone a beta reader? I had to—and still have to—consciously remind myself that it’s not time, that the edits come later, and that Perfection is on an all-expenses-paid vacation for the month anyway. The extra worries, the extra stress, wasn’t necessary because I couldn’t edit blank pages, right? Why worry about words I hadn’t written yet?

After the First Draft is Written

Thing is, as soon as I got to The End, I’d immediately go “time to edit for them!” and swap over to a mode I didn’t like very much. That’s because of the pressure I put on myself when Perfection pounced back on my words like it’d been starved for a month instead of being fed grapes by a pool.

The self-editing phase, at least the very first one? I realized I had to tackle things for me again, not others, not yet. I had to find ways to make even this part of the journey more relaxing, and dare I say it? Fun. 

And that’s what I’m going to share with you today: how to self-edit with ease. How to look ahead to what comes after The End not with dread, as so many of us do when it comes to draft two, but instead with an easy breath, and even, perhaps, excitement! Dread no more. This December, you’re going to be ready. 

1: Sleeping on the Job

The first thing I do after writing a story is tuck it away for a few days. I need fresh eyes to see the words clearly…and if I’ve been scribbling like mad for days on end, I probably need a good night’s sleep on top of that. 

A few days later, I read the whole thing. Do I edit at that point? I try not to. I take notes, maybe fix some typos along the way, but mostly, I just want to see and really drive into my brain what story came out after I poured my creativity into it for so long.

And then I get another good night’s sleep. Yeah, I like those.  But also, with the words all together and fresh in my mind, sometimes that good night’s sleep will work out problems I had with the story. A toasty shower will work out a lot more of them. If my pain levels are low enough, a walk outside in a park where the birds are chirping (as long as I have my Merlin app closed and am not trying to figure out what’s singing lol) will just about solve every remaining plot hole without fail.

Time to Edit

When I’m back to my desk, the big fixes I need to put in usually arrive in my head whole.

Then it’s time to:

• Jot down heavy notes for bigger edits.
• File reminders for plot holes, or dive in and fill them.

The draft starts to take shape as a more complete story, and this pass of editing is done.

I don’t just do this for the second draft, either; letting our brains wander is useful for so much self-editing. Next time you get a stuck spot while editing? Put the writing down for a bit. Do 1-3 of the following: Nap. Shower. Walk. And finally, fix the thing!

2: Bad Words and Naughty Notes

I have a bad word list.

• Things I overuse in my writing, that I prefer to cut out entirely when I edit.
• Expressions a character would never say and what they would say instead.
• Swear words that don’t exist for certain worlds. 

Sometimes I time myself to see how fast I can chop “just, only, very” out of my manuscript without using Find+Replace. Occasionally I make a BINGO board and throw words on it to see how soon I can win. Sometimes I keep a running tally and reward myself accordingly for how many bad ones I can eliminate. And every time I do my self-editing, I see if I’ve created a new bad word that needs to be added to the list!

Benefits of a Bad Word List

You’ll probably cultivate a list too, the longer you write. That list can be the single most important thing in your self-editing toolbox. You know your habits and which phrases and words you lean on more than others. Having the list means you can simply do a run-down and get them all cut or replaced in a jiff. It’ll also help you identify them in the future, so self-edits go faster next time, when you’re not hunting down words that have been procreating without permission.

The Naughty List

I write romance, so I not only have a ‘bad word’ list, but I also have a naughty list.  It reminds me to check all the body parts in the scene and make sure the love interest isn’t just a torso with legs or gaining an extra arm when they’re not that kind of alien. 

I use the naughty list to:

• Make my hot scenes hotter.
• Be sure I’m hitting the relationship steps needed to ramp up intimacy in measurable ways.
• Make sure that I’ve actually replaced any mentions of “woohoo” – my Sims-playing nerd shorthand for “insert intimate scene here” – with actual scenes. 

If I forgot to write a sex scene, I’ve definitely got some work to do, and my naughty list is my thrusting off point to getting those scenes started.

To create one of those, you’ll want to first find your overused words, movements, and descriptions. After that, you’ll need to “research”—definitely the fun part! —and make yourself a naughty list of possible word and sensory detail replacements, ideas for future scenes, and all the things you want to look out for the next time you run through a self-edit.

Oh, and my dear writerly friends: Remember to set a timer, so you don’t get buried in that tantalizing “research!”

3: Pizza and Beer

I tend to use this one both before AND after my first draft. Before the draft, I want to know about the character who’s talking so much in my head. So, I take them out “for pizza and beer.” (Or boba tea, coffee, or earl grey, depending on the character!)

I sit down and start writing out a conversation with that character as if I’m taking down a casual interview or having a first date. There’s time, before the first draft, to ask questions about likes and dislikes, hopes, fears, maybe to share some memories. All of it could be useful while writing—more than just a regular character sheet—because it’s working with the character’s own voice.

The Second Date

At the end of the draft, I like to return to that pizzeria, or coffee shop, or…you get the picture. I revisit what we talked about before, as well as the story itself:

• I ask about what they went through.
• If they’d change anything.
• If they discovered something was different than they thought the last time we spoke. 

Finally, we talk about how things have changed for them, because the journey—if I wrote it the way I should have—will have small impacts building all along the way and a bigger impact overall. If they don’t know what that is, either we get another beer/tea/order of dessert and figure it out together, or there’s some revisiting to be done to get those elements into the draft.

Another interview might be needed to get me the rest of the way there. Or maybe we’ll have discovered that the character I thought the story was about…isn’t the main character after all. If I want to keep them that way, it’s going to require a pizza party with some other characters so we can hash it out!

However the conversation goes, plenty comes up so I can work through the manuscript and self-edit corrections to the character, their dialogue, backstory, emotions, points of view, and even behaviors.

I look forward to hearing about the kinds of outings you’ll take your characters on, and what discoveries you make!

4: Playing With Markers

Another self-editing trick I like is color-coding various parts of my manuscript.  I’ll make a color key (which is different every time because I just grab colors and go lol) as I read through to highlight:

• Main plotlines.
• Secondary plotlines.
• Romantic threads.
• Villain threads.
• Timeline notes.
• Different POVs.
• Mystery threads.
• Exposition.
• Sensory descriptions. 

I'll follow those colors through the manuscript to see if:

• I’m missing something entirely from a chapter.
• I drop a thread.
• There’s an “info-dump” with too much explanation in one spot.
• I need to split up some points of view and give a different character page time. 

Sometimes I highlight my words in whatever program I’m using. Other times, I need to get craftier, and I print the novel out, then draw all over the manuscript. When I’m done with this round of self-edits, I have a stack of paper that looks like I set a second grader loose with a giant-sized pack of highlighters.

It feels GREAT. 

Having it printed makes the novel more real. Giving myself space to take notes by hand activates different creative brain parts that love to draw and play and brainstorm. Plus, I got away from the computer screen and played with markers, which is awesome as it is. 

I get to read through the manuscript, analyze it from a big picture perspective, and have a clearer picture of what I wrote. And I have a comprehensive visual representation of the flow of the book. Having the colors there so vividly means I know exactly where things need to be changed.

Not all novels need a change of pace for self-editing. But if you’re just not getting into the flow of it, or the work isn’t pulling together, coloring all over your words is a game I highly recommend.

Final Thoughts

Those are just some of the many ways you can take a self-edit pass and turn it into something that isn’t stressful any longer. Dare your muse to try them out this year. Before you know it, you’ll have improved your words and leveled up your writing one playful step at a time.

And more than that:

• Put the editing worries on pause, even past the end of November, okay? 
• Get all the fresh words down that you can right now, roll around in them like catnip.
• Zoom into December this year with some of these gizmos in your pockets. 

Come back and review these methods, invent your own, mix them up. Any way you choose to self-edit your words, remember: 

• Show up without Fear.
• Tell Perfection to take several seats.
• Teach your inner editor how to PLAY. 

Which self-editing techniques are you going to try this year?  Do you have others to share with the wonderful folks in this community? Share them in the comments and let’s get down to some great self-editing brainstorms!

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About A. Dani

A. Dani is a published author of paranormal, science fiction, and steampunk romance. Her heroes are broken, her worlds are crumbling, but the love her characters find even in chaos stands on an unshakable foundation.

She adores being a goal coach for creatives and helping writers cut through their overwhelm. Through her work as a fiction editor her favorite thing is helping authors bring their worlds to life--and to others.

Dani lives in South Carolina with her Husband, Kidlet, a cat who thinks she's human, a cat who thinks he's in perpetual stranger-danger, and a kitten who turns every piece of furniture into a dangerous, lurking mimic. Visit her work at Luridity.com and https://www.worldanvil.com/w/luridity or come chat with DaniAdventures on Discord and Twitch! 

Top Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay