FletcherPuns6

Asking for opinions: What is your favorite type of cliche? What cliche do you hate the most? And why?
          	
          	Working on a satire right now and I need inspiration to get my brain going.

JimHeter

Read it front to back with your spell checker running. Reading it is important because there are things the spell checker won't catch.

JimHeter

Good. One trouble is it can be easy to get wrapped up in your own story and forget you are looking for things that need fixing! But some things may jump out at you. The spell checker highlights are good reminders of what you are trying to do. But you may find you want to fix more than just the spelling glitches.
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FletcherPuns6

Oh, noted! I’m not the best at spell checking so it’s smart to use both at the same time. Thanks! 
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FletcherPuns6

Asking for advice! 
          
          I’ve finally finished a book front to back. Beginning to end. Start to finish. I’m so happy and simultaneously daunted by the editing I now need to do. 
          
          How do you all begin the editing process?  

JonLeePeto

@FletcherPuns6 Congratulations! When I'm ready, I often reread the first chapter and the last chapters to see how well they resonate/echo each other. Other than that there are so many things I usually have to focus on, like voice, dialogue,  basics like do sentences make sense and are they in an optimal order for veracity. Sometimes they're not, I guess because of my thought processes when I'm first getting down scenes.
            
            There are a lot of great revising books, and I like to refer to ones I've read to get me thinking. One of my recent favorites is Troubleshooting Your Novel by Steven James. He has a podcast too that I haven't checked out. I suspect it's useful...?
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persephonehale

@FletcherPuns6 congratulations on completing the book!! I'm so excited on your behalf, that is a huge achievement!
            
            I can tell you a bit about my editing process, but also keep in mind I haven't finished a book in three years, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. Still, I'll do my best to make this worth your time! XD
            
            (Another disclaimer: I haven't had much sleep so if you find anything I've written here to be confusing forgive me for that. Just let me know and I'll find a better way to explain it!)
            
            First, I go through the comments on each chapter. I'd specifically look for any constructive criticism a reader has given, but also keep an eye out for any specific parts that people liked (so you know what worked the best so you don't lose it in the next draft). Copy them into a document (organize the comments by chapter) and make sure to give yourself enough context so you remember what the comment was about. Then, as you edit each chapter, you have all the comments you need in one place to refer to.
            
            It can be a little overwhelming if you look at everything you need/want to change in a chapter all at once. It took me forever to realize that you don't have to fix everything in the second draft. So if you have a lot of feedback on a specific chapter, choose two to three of the biggest issues to prioritize for this time around instead of trying to wrangle everything at once.
            
            Last of all, when you start your second draft, instead of just going back through what you've already written, create a separate document to type it all up using your first draft as a reference. It may take a while but I find it's really helpful to physically type out everything again because a) you wrote it before so it'll be much easier the second time around and b) even if you rewrite entire paragraphs word-for-word, the writing process may spark new ideas or new ways to write a scene to make it even better than before.
            
            I hope this helps! Really proud of you <3 :D
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RowanCarver

I like Stephen King’s advice: second draft = first draft rewritten - 10%. I also really like his idea of putting aside this project and drafting something else for a while and then coming back to it for editing. Here are some fantastic resources I’d highly recommend checking out for ideas on the editing process:
            
            Self editing for Fiction Writers by David King
            Anatomy of Story by John Truby 
            Wired for Story by Lisa Cron gives fascinating ideas for the editing process based on the psychology of readers and how they may interpret your writing. 
            And The Right to Write by Julia Cameron for motivation and encouragement and learning to be kind to yourself when you have to constantly use self criticism during the editing process. 
            
            I hope this helps. I believe that rewriting is very much a part of the process (writing is rewriting) and you may enjoy revisiting what you’ve done with your current and improved skill set. I love your story so far and can’t wait to see the final draft on my bookshelf someday
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FletcherPuns6

Want wattpad friends? I’ve got a few suggestions…
          
          I recently hit 1k views on “Chaos King” which makes me feel fancy and official. I give a broad thank you to those that took time to read my story. Some readers really stood out! If you want to check out cool work, get feedback, or just interact with the writing community, I suggest getting to know these people:
          
          @Maddielb98
          @The_Warden15
          @jaspnshield 
          @RowanCarver
          @fellow1945
          And recently @persephonehale