The Editing Process

Now that my chapter book is complete, I have been editing it for the past week.  While I enjoy the research and writing process, I also enjoy the editing process.  I take delight in finding "le mot juste", a French expression which means "the appropriate word".  I enjoy double checking historical facts.  I tend to write in the passive voice.  Editing gives me the chance to turn passive verbs into active ones.  I look for opportunities to use the five senses to bring the reader into the scene.  Apparently smell, more than any other sense, jogs the memory.  I add dialogue to move the story forward or to show conflict.  I make sure that characters with accents sound consistent.  I double check each chapter to see if the central theme is evident. I make sure that I stay true to my point of view (in this case, the main character's).  I re-organize the paragraphs, often cutting one big paragraph into two smaller ones.  I look at sentence length, making sure I've included both long, medium and short ones.  Finally, with a sigh, I save my work and submit my document.  Happy Editing! 

 

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