Creative Writing Week 5: Editing

Writers' Workshop

Bringing your work for criticism, especially for the first time, can be daunting. Remember, good writers' groups are there to support your work at all stages of development and will take a positive approach to helping you improve. Here are some guidelines I like to set in the groups I facilitate. 

• We are here to help and support each other, and encourage writers at all levels to improve, please do so with kindness and respect. 
• Express what you liked about a piece first and then find specific details that might help improve the piece. End with saying something positive. 
• Be polite: try not to say, "it 's boring" or "I don't understand it." - think about ways to phrase your concerns that will help the writer, "The piece was a bit slow here. It may help to take out some of the adjectives ..."
• Don't get personal, stick to the text.
• The writer makes the final decision on whether to accept or reject any criticism. Respect their wishes and don't push it. 
• Be respectful  Even if you dislike the piece, the writer has invested time and effort on the work. Try to use the kind of language you would like used for yourself.
• Try not to take it personally: suggestions to improve your work are not criticism of you as a person. Try not to be defensive - listen carefully, write everything down and make. considered decision later - perhaps even two weeks later. 

Some editing tips:

• Read your piece out loud several times. 
• Make note of the story structure. You might use the 8 point story arc to help you. How can the structure be improved? You may also think about The Story Grid to help you edit plot structure. 
• Think about genre and content. See Story Grid 2
• See more about editing developed by editor Shawn Coyne
• Also, Writers Digest has some helpful tips. 
• Here are some simple tips for editing your own work: The Write Life
• Here's Magma Magazine's 25 Rules for Editing Poems
• The Purdue Owl Writing Lab has many resources to help you with mechanics: spelling, sentence structure and grammar. 
• Clichés can weaken a story, poem or play. Try to avoid them and find a new way, in your own voice. Here's what Writer's Digest have to say about avoiding clichés in writing.