Self-Editing or Writing Editor: Lilli ☕ 
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“A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit.”
~ Richard Bach
“Put down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of it."
~ Colette, Casual Chance, 1964
“I'm writing a first draft and reminding myself that I'm simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.”
~ Shannon Hale
“I have rewritten — often several times — every word I have ever published. My pencils outlast their erasers.”
~ Vladimir Nabokov |
Editing our own fiction is a lot like performing surgery on our own brain. It requires precision, a high pain tolerance, and the ability to look at something you poured your heart into and say, “This has got to go.”
The biggest mistake most writers make is trying to edit while they write. (I have been guilty of this.) That is a recipe for a blank page. Writing is about generation; editing is about execution. Once that first draft is safely on paper, here is how you step up to the cutting table.
 1. Take a break!
Before you change a single comma, step away from the manuscript. Let it sit for a few days, at least. You need enough time to forget what you meant to write, so you can actually read what you wrote. If you dive in too fast, your brain will automatically fill in the blanks, blinding you to plot holes and clunky pacing.
2. Edit in stages.
Trying to fix typos, plot holes, and character development all at once is overwhelming. Instead, do the work in stages by focusing on one issue at a time.
Stage 1: Look at the big picture. Does the plot make sense? Are the stakes high enough? Does the structural pacing drag in the middle? If an entire scene doesn’t move the story forward, cut it. No matter how beautiful the prose is.
Stage 2: Ensure your characters’ motivations are consistent. Did a character magically learn information they shouldn’t know? Did their eye color change between paragraphs/chapters?
Stage 3: Now you get to polish the sentences. Hunt down passive voice, eliminate filler words (like “just,” “really,” and “suddenly”), and replace weak verbs with strong ones. Instead of “He walked slowly into the room,” try “He crept into the room.” Remember, “show vs. tell.
Stage 4: This is the final polish for typos, punctuation, and formatting.
3. Read it out loud!
If you only do one thing on this list, do this one. Your eyes will skim over mistakes, but your tongue will trip on them. Reading your dialogue and prose aloud forces you to feel the rhythm of the language. If you find yourself running out of breath, your sentences are too long. If it sounds robotic, you need to vary your sentence structures.
In A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King wrote, “Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.” It’s an old piece of advice, but it works. If you have a metaphor, a witty line, or a beautifully descriptive paragraph that you love, but it doesn’t serve the story, delete it. Save it in a separate “scraps” document if it makes you feel better, but get it out of the draft.
Editing isn’t just fixing mistakes; it’s where the actual art of writing happens. A first draft is just you telling yourself the story. Editing is the process of making it readable for everyone else. |
| | | Everything (E) A simple moment between a boy and his mom. |
| |  | Invalid Item This item number is not valid. #2361354 by Not Available. |
| | | Revival (E) A young man repairs his deceased father's old car as a means of coping with his loss. |
| | | Only (E) Angie is dreading the dance class her therapist recommended... |
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Comments received from my previous For Authors newsletter, "Staring into the Abyss" :
Quick-Quill  wrote:
What a great kick in the pants. For someone who needs to find their muse, you've given great suggestions. Watch your local news and ask WHAT IF. What if the new ice cream shop was held up? Or if someone poisoned the batch? What if it is always an instigator?
 Oooooh, I like where you're going with this!! Thank you for reading and commenting!
Liz B  wrote:
I especially like the tip about reading outside of our comfort zone. Great way to open the mind and make room for the creative muse. Thank you!
Thank you, too! I appreciate the kind comments.
DB Cooper wrote:
This is an outstanding newsletter.
Thank you so much! I appreciate it. |
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For Authors: July 01, 2026 Issue [#13823]
