Writing Process – Third Draft
There is no real point in performing major line edits and word smithing in your first two drafts. Things are so fluid that a section where you just perfected the language may wind up getting cut or completely turned around. You may as well save it until the structure of the story is all in place. Then you can make your general descriptions eloquent and turn the wooden dialogue into witty extensions of the character personalities.
I usually start by running a spell check and change the options to also check for grammar and, most importantly, passive voice. What is that you ask?
Example:
Passive voice: The letter was mailed by Tom
Active voice: Tom mailed the letter.
The difference is subtle, but can really make a big difference in a book’s readability. One co notates action and movement while the other is just sort of there blandly existing. Big red flags for passive voice I’ve found are verbs in the past tense like: was, had, done, or to be. Find them and fix them.
While you’re at it, also simplify things if at all possible. Why use 10 words when 5 will do. If a sentence or paragraph rambles on you must find a way to rephrase or streamline the passage. Also, make the writing more colorful by adding literary devices like: alliteration, personification, analogy, oxymoron, metaphors, or figures of speech. Careful not to go overboard on it though, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, but used at the right time these can really add color to your writing.
Next you need to watch out for common spelling errors that spell check will miss. For instance your vs you’re, heel vs heal, sad vs said, thought vs though and on and on. These are tough to find so do yourself a favor and keep a running list of them so you know what to watch out for and can perform a word find on them to make sure each instance is spelled the way you intend.
Finally you need to pay attention to your crutches and yank them away. By this I mean your go to descriptive phrases. For me it is the eyes and smiles. I am forever defaulting to so and so said this with a smile, grin, smirk. It’s fine the first couple times but gets old quick, lest you end up with a nauseatingly repetitive descriptive novel like Fifty Shades of Grey.
Next up: Peer Review
I usually start by running a spell check and change the options to also check for grammar and, most importantly, passive voice. What is that you ask?
Example:
Passive voice: The letter was mailed by Tom
Active voice: Tom mailed the letter.
The difference is subtle, but can really make a big difference in a book’s readability. One co notates action and movement while the other is just sort of there blandly existing. Big red flags for passive voice I’ve found are verbs in the past tense like: was, had, done, or to be. Find them and fix them.
While you’re at it, also simplify things if at all possible. Why use 10 words when 5 will do. If a sentence or paragraph rambles on you must find a way to rephrase or streamline the passage. Also, make the writing more colorful by adding literary devices like: alliteration, personification, analogy, oxymoron, metaphors, or figures of speech. Careful not to go overboard on it though, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, but used at the right time these can really add color to your writing.
Next you need to watch out for common spelling errors that spell check will miss. For instance your vs you’re, heel vs heal, sad vs said, thought vs though and on and on. These are tough to find so do yourself a favor and keep a running list of them so you know what to watch out for and can perform a word find on them to make sure each instance is spelled the way you intend.
Finally you need to pay attention to your crutches and yank them away. By this I mean your go to descriptive phrases. For me it is the eyes and smiles. I am forever defaulting to so and so said this with a smile, grin, smirk. It’s fine the first couple times but gets old quick, lest you end up with a nauseatingly repetitive descriptive novel like Fifty Shades of Grey.
Next up: Peer Review
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