Editing Secrets Everyone Should Know
By: Garin Kilpatrick
“A writer is unfair to himself when he is unable to be hard on himself.” -Marianne Moore
There is a scene from the Academy Award Winning movie A River Runs Through it where a young boy brings his paper to his teacher, repeatedly, for review. Time after time, the burly teacher hands young Norman back his paper and demands “half as long!” Eventually, after several frustrating fails, Norman’s teacher is satisfied with Norman’s paper. Norman’s final paper is only a fraction of the original size, yet tells the same story, and Norman has received the editing lesson of his life. While we’re not Norman’s teacher, we do have a few tips to help you edit your own writing more effectively.
Sharpen Your Scissors
“I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil.” -Truman Capote
You will need your scissors to be sharp because there should be no resistance when cutting dead weight from your paper. Make sure each sentence advances the overall purpose of the paper. Writing is rarely perfect the first time around. One method is to write more than necessary and then only keep the parts that really shine. Knowing how to cut the dead leaves from your essay is precisely what will help it bloom.
Edit without your Larynx
The technique shown in the video below depicts how to remove the impulse to vocalize words while reading. By reading with your eyes only, you can absorb sentences much faster than when you try to vocalize and consequently this has a positive impact on the wpm (words per minute) you can read.
By redirecting the attention of the larynx, you train yourself to dissociate vocalization from reading. So, if you’re writing an essay in a bind, you should still have the time to quickly scan your paper and remove unnecessary words.
Edit with your Larynx
Read your essay aloud. Ears are great for detecting doubt when it exists, helping analyze what is said, and identifying how it can be improved. When a sentence sounds doubtful, confusing, or miscalculated, follow the advice of Philip Cosby: “when in doubt, delete it.”
Be tough on your most dazzling sentences. As you revise, you may find that sentences you needed in earlier drafts no longer belong—and these may be the sentences you’re most fond of. We’re all guilty of trying to sneak in our favorite sentences where they don’t belong, because we can’t bear to cut them. But great writers are ruthless and will throw out brilliant lines if they’re no longer relevant or necessary. They know that readers will be less struck by the brilliance than by the inappropriateness of those sentences and they let them go.
Have Someone Else Edit it For You
I learned this trick the hard way. After handing in several essays only edited by myself in University, I was disappointed to get them back covered in red ink! Since I knew an older student who is a skilled writer, I had her proofread and edit whatever I wrote before I handed it in. Her experience rubbed off on my paper — and me — and in the end my marks were improved and she did less editing. That’s right, I learned to write better from having her edit my papers.
Now if I were to hand in a paper today, I would just use Eduify. I can earn points by helping others and use those points for editing services. If you don’t have an Eduify account yet, sign up for a beta invite and gain access to expert editing services to help unlock your true writing potential.
Feedback
Do you know any other secrets to editing success? If so share them in the comments below!
