Improve your writing

Editing

Editing

This is the main part so we will discuss it in detail-

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Some people confuse “editing” with “proofreading.” Both are important, but editing focuses on considering what your content is and how it works. Don’t become so attached to your wording or a particular idea that you aren’t willing to change it if you discover that your ideas would be more clear or effective presented in another way.

Proofreading is more technical and catches errors of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting.

We will discuss the technical terms in later chapters.

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First start with easy things.

I'll give you tips on self-editing.

I've read lots of blogs and articles so let's share what I got :D

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First of all re-read your work and search for trouble words.

“Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.” — Mark Twain

All writers have specific words and phrases that (which?) always cause them to (too?) second-guess whether (weather?) they’re (their?) using them correctly. If you know what your (you’re?) troubling words are, use your word processor’s search function to locate every possible variant of that word or phrase.

To help you consider what your troubling words might be, here’s a good starting list, excerpted from the first chapter of Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing:

a lot/alot
affect/effect
can/may
further/farther
good/well
i.e./e.g.
into/in to
it’s/its
lay/lie
less/fewer
that/who
their/they’re/there
then/than
who/whom
your/you’re

If you’re unsure of how to properly use these words, there’s no shame in looking them up. Just Google it.

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Run spell check or use an automated editing program

“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you’ll die of a misprint.” — Markus Herz

I think writers become too accustomed to the colorful squiggles under words and sentences on their digital pages; I know I do. In an effort to get ideas on the page, we might run rampant over grammar and usage.

Yet those squiggles mean something. At the very least, run spell check before sending your manuscript to an editor or beta reader. It’s a built-in editor that I’m not sure every writer uses to their advantage. You may not accept every recommendation, but at least you’ll save your editor some time correcting basic errors.

You might also consider trying out automated editing programs. The Write Life’s From Grammarly to WordRake: A Review of 6 Automatic Editing Tools provides a great overview of six top editing services. I have yet to try them all, but I’m a fan of Grammarly.

Yes, I've used grammarly when I started writing and it's an amazing tool for new writers.

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Wait for next update to learn about punctuation. Ugh? Right... but it's basic thing so learn it with a smile!