| Re: How to edit and redraft a manuscript?
For me, I have three steps when I think its ready:
1. Read on screen, changing little mistakes as I go.
2. Print and read, making notes of little mistakes as I go, then going through on screen and making the changes.
3. Print and read aloud. This takes some time, but really gives you a handle on dialogue and how sentences actually read.
It is important to do these in order, from start to finish, because then you have three complete run-throughs to highlight any structural errors, plot problems, 'dead zones' (i.e. boring bits), and so on. I find that it gives me a really good idea of how the story flows, and whether or not I'm being repetitive, dropping information too early, etc.
Again I stress that this is simply the method I use. It is different for everyone, methinks. |