Editing Secrets
Once youve plotted out your book, developed the characters and
written the last word of text, the real work begins. As busy
editors are bombarded with hundreds or even thousands of
submissions a year, its more important than ever that authors
apply their own editing skills to their manuscripts before
putting them in the mail. Checking your basic grammar and
spelling are of course important, but authors need to go beyond
surface editing if their work has a chance of catching an
editors eye.
• Trim, tighten, hack away. First, second and even third drafts
of manuscripts are almost always laden with extra words and
scenes. Take a break from your book and then read it through with
a fresh eye. Write down your theme in one sentence (what the book
is about, such as working through shyness on the first day of
school or showing how Thomas Edisons childhood experiences
influenced his adult life). The plot (or progression of facts and
events in nonfiction) is your vehicle for conveying the theme to
the reader. Ask yourself if each character and scene advance the
plot toward communicating this theme. And decide at the beginning
that you will give up your precious words and finely-crafted
scenes for the betterment of the book. Pithy dialogue may be fun
to read, but if it pushes your story off track, its just a
literary dead end. Take the publishers suggested word limits
seriously: no, you dont really need 3000 words to tell your
picture book story about Freddy the Frogs adventures in the Big
Pond.
• The elements of speech. Well-crafted dialogue can be a writers
most important tool. Dialogue is not just there to break up the
paragraphs or show that your characters know how to talk;
ideally, it adds to character development, moves the plot along
and replaces sections of narrative. Each character should sound
like himself, with speech patterns and phrasing that are unique.
This is especially true with talking animal books. I see many of
these manuscripts where, if I took away the words that identify
the speakers, each character would sound exactly the same. Dont
have dialogue repeat the narrative and vice versa; "Did you hear
that? Someones at the door!" does not have to be preceded by
"They heard a sound at the door".
• Show dont tell. How many times have you heard this? Its still
true. Comb through your manuscript for sentences that tell the
reader how a character felt (Sara was sad) and replace with
sensory descriptions (Hot tears sprang to Saras eyes and rolled
down her cheeks.) Avoid telling the reader what to think about
the story (Jason foolishly decided to trust Mike one more time.)
Instead, present your characters actions and decisions to the
reader, and let the reader draw his or her own conclusions
(incidentally, this is how you "teach" without preaching).
• Wipe out passive writing. Search for verbs preceded by "would"
(would go, would sleep, would eat) replace with the past tense
(went, slept, ate). Also look for actions that seem to happen out
of thin air. "The door was opened" is passive, because the
sentence lacks a "doer". Remember, the reader needs to visualize
whats happening in the story. "The wind blew the door open" is
better, because the action can be attributed to something, and it
puts the most important element (strong wind) at the beginning of
the sentence. Simply rearranging the words ("The door blew open
from the wind") puts emphasis on a door that wont stay closed,
making that the subject of the sentence.
• Be precise. One of the best ways to make your writing come
alive for the reader is to use exact nouns, verbs, adjectives and
adverbs. One well-chosen word is always better than three vague
ones. Adjectives like big, little, cold, hot, beautiful, scary
and silly; adverbs such as quickly, slowly, loudly, and softly;
and general verbs like walk, went, stayed and ate dont draw a
vivid picture for your reader. Of course, sometimes these words
are appropriate, but try as a rule choosing words that describe
specifically what you want to communicate. Words that sound and
look interesting are also a plus. Tremendous, tiny, frigid,
scorching, plodded, sauntered and gulped are more fun to read,
and they each lend an emotional overtone to the sentence (if your
character gulps his food, you dont have to tell the reader hes
in a hurry).
And finally, make sure theres a logical cause and effect
relationship between the scenes of your book. Each event should
build upon the ones that came before. The plot should spring
intrinsically from your characters; nonfiction should unfold
because of the nature of your subject and your slant on the
material. Its when everything comes seamlessly together that you
have a winning book. Make it look easy, but dont skimp on all
the hard work it takes to get there.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Laura Backes is the publisher of Children's Book Insider, the
Newsletter for Children's Writers. For more information about
writing children's books, including free articles, market tips,
insider secrets and much more, visit Children's Book Insider's
home on the web at http://write4kids.com
Copyright 2001, Children's Book Insider, LLC
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