Writing Basics: Editing

So you've got your rough draft. You've spent untold hours on your little bundle of hair-pulling, writer's block busting, coffee-drenched joy. Now, be ready to hack it to pieces. .
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Or so a lot of people will make it sound. I've seen a lot of questions and general anxiety about editing recently. First and foremost, it is your creation, you are free to do with it what you will. .
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With that out of the way, here's some editing tips that have really helped me in kicking my books out of the nest:
1. Edit while you write. Don't mess up your groove if you're in one, but if you're stuck on a sentence go back through the paragraph and mix up your mind a bit.
2. Grammatical and spelling mistakes are your top priority. Look for tricky mistakes like homophones hiding out from your word processor's spell check.
3. Read your work out loud. Yes, you will feel crazy. Yes, your pets will be confused, but this will immediately illuminate any words or phrases that just don't flow.
4. Let others read your work. The brain has a funny way of patching things that you've seen many times before without you realizing it. This also highlights points where you can clarify anything that might not make sense to a reader.
5. Don't worry so much about trimming fat. You get to determine what is or isn't necessary in your work. .
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There. Feel better about editing? I hope so! You're killing it!
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If you have any questions about editing or writing, please feel free to leave me a comment!