Search
Most Popular Articles
- Discussion of the Human Body Defense System
- The story of the 12 animals zodiac in China
- How to Balance Your Body to Get Pregnant
- How To Stop Your Cat Scratching - Get Rid Of Those Fleas
- Eating Junk Food -- The Hidden Price
- Ski Boots -- Testing 1, 2, 3
- Wear it Up or Wear it Down?
- Cat Care, Cat Products and Cat Diseases
- Choosing a Cell Phone
- Artificial Satellite Types
Navel Gazing: How to Edit Yourself
 Category |
: Writing |
 Times Read |
: 90 |
 Date |
: 20 May 2008 07:00 |
Writers around the world agree... its nearly impossible to edit your own writing. We tend to fall in love with our words the moment they burst onto the screen and, as you know, love is blind. Obviously a professional proofreader/copy editor is the ideal solution. It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a village of helpers to nurture a blockbuster like the one youre writing. But what if you cant afford it or youre under deadline pressure with no time for a second opinion? This is not a happy situation, but in a pinch you can edit your own material. Heres how:-After youve finished the piece and spell-checked it, give it a rest. Wait as long as you can -- sleep on it, if possible -- before coming back and proofing it for errors you missed the first time. Re-read it at least ten times. Then read it backwards, last sentence to first.-Be ruthless. Whittle convoluted thoughts down into the fewest words without losing the meaning. For example, "She received the support of 21 senators among those senators who were present for the vote" becomes, "Twenty-one senators voted for her." -Root out passive statements and flip them into active ones. Your Microsoft Word spell checker has a feature that will tell you how many passive sentences are in a document. It even tells you what grade level your piece is written for. Hint: Aim as low as possible - below grade eight if you can. (To activate this feature, check the box beside "show readability statistics" on the Spelling and Grammar options page).-One idea per sentence, please. You will immediately understand why when you read the following lead from a published news story: "Carlos Manuel Geronimo Alfonseca, one of the supposedly confessed authors of the murder of the Senator, told journalists at the New City courthouse when he was being taken back to his cell after being questioned by Judge Nelson Rodriguez on the day of his hearing that he was not the person who wore the mask when the Senator was killed." Come again?-Check the math. In economics stories especially, its easy to drop a zero and even easier to duplicate somebody elses mistakes. -Double check for double meanings. For example, the following site description recently turned up in an ad for casinograpevine.com: "The Casino News Portal for Women that Men Cant Resist!" So its a portal for women who are irresistible to the opposite sex or... ? -Keep an eagle eye open for the little oopsy-daisies we all make. Typing "you" instead of "your" is a common one. So is using "that" instead of "who". Example: "All the people THAT proofread their stories carefully win Pulitzer Prizes." If you need a grammar booster shot, visit any of these sites: http://www.webgrammar.com http://ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/ http://www.grammarlady.com/faq.html http://englishplus.com/grammar/ -Find out what style manual/guidelines are used by the publication youre writing for and be sure your piece agrees with them.-Now do the first item on this list again. I cant tell you how many times Ive caught my own bloopers or found a better way to phrase something on the 15th or 20th pass!So thats how, in an emergency, you can do your own editing. Sure, working without an editor can have its upside. It means never having to say, "You corrupted my work, you creep!" But the downside is that you will probably overlook mistakes that the "village" would have caught. Whenever possible, get a talented friend or a professional editor or even an English major to lend an eyeball. Believe me, they arent nearly as in love with your words as you are!
About the Author
Heather Reimer has been a professional writer for 16 years. She now specializes in writing and editing e-zine and web content, sales letters, ads and articles. For fast, effective and memorable e-content, mailto:heatherreimer@codetel.net.do
Random Article 1 |
Random Article 2 |
by: Laurie Meade Wannabe writers, are full of excuses as to why they arent writing yet. Many of these excuses can be changed to proactive statements with a mere switch in attitude and perspective. How many times have you read an article, and said to yourself, I could have written |
Writers: Top 10 Signs Your TV Interview Is Not Going So Hot!By Dr. Letitia S. Wright, D.C.Copyright 2005When a writers book becomes hot or happens to be exactly what the TV show is talking about, the writer will be asked to be on the show.Most writers do not bother to prepare for media because they
|
Random Article 3 |
Random Article 4 |
Your print ads should do more than just get noticed. Their job is to bring you business, and if all they do is lay around and attract attention, theyre no different from the lazy employee who does nothing all day but look busy.You wouldnt give him more hours in the hopes that one day something produ
|
by: Roy E. Klienwachter It would be very selfless or noble of me to tell you that I have created my web site only to help you and the rest of humanity. The reason for me spending so much time and energy into my writing and this site is selfish. And I must remind myself of that from ti |
| indir notebook hiperucuz.com teknoloji forum hava kargo adtech ile reklam 2.0 dönemi ba?l?yor ve Trkycmhrytllbtpydrklcktr r10.net seo yar??mas? |