I asked Carolyn Wilhelm (see more about her in the the little bio I added at the end of this blog), to expand on one of her Facebook posts about group words for different species of birds. I found it fascinating and noticed there were enough Facebook shares to convince me I was not alone.
Knowing how I am about editing, my "other Carolyn" wrapped some of those group words (you know the words that describe groups but are treated as singular like "a pride of lions") into a kind of review of my editing book. I bet she has some group words you've never heard and some ideas for editing gleaned from my book that will inspire you to do one more edit before you submit your manuscript to a publisher or an agent.
Self-editing Writing Pieces with Flair
By Carolyn WilhelmIs it almost time to turn in a manuscript? Need some down to earth advice? Self-editing can be a daunting task as it is very difficult to see your own work with fresh eyes. You might not notice a mistake through several re-reads. When you finally notice you think, "How did I miss that? I've read this a hundred times. And how did my proofreaders miss it?"
Because the more familiar our brains are with the content in print, the less we are able to focus on details.
If you and your proofreaders know the about the story you are writing, you may not be enlisting enough help for publication. Word will not offer enough support. Grammarly and other programs alone won't find every error. The publisher will notice, though, and there are several important things to know.
Here are some creative ideas for adding flair to your writing piece when editing.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson says that many writers who are not poets occasionally find alliteration, assonance, and rhyme useful tools for leads, headlines, titles, and copywriting. She has more specific information about how to use poetic language in manuscripts in her The Frugal Editor. Scroll down for more information on that book from her HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson says that many writers who are not poets occasionally find alliteration, assonance, and rhyme useful tools for leads, headlines, titles, and copywriting. She has more specific information about how to use poetic language in manuscripts in her The Frugal Editor. Scroll down for more information on that book from her HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers.
1. Bepoetic
Recently, I was reading about collective nouns for birds. The earliest use of collective nouns stems from the Book of St. Albans, published in 1486. As a teacher, I found children loved the terms like "gaggle of geese." Supposedly such terms were supposed to be poetic as well as scientific in describing the birds. Two for one. Here is link to that resource. And here is an example.
"...an exaltation of larks is a poetic comment on the climb of the skylark high into the sky while uttering its twittering song."
We could say larks and that could be that, but how nice to say there was an exaltation of larks. Or we could adapt the word "exaltation" to describe the way they behave in a group. Where else could some poetic language replace plain language? Yes, we want to tell our stories, but it's good to give our readers the ability to form images in their minds. We can keep that in mind as we edit.
2. Use Figurative Language
My writing group enjoys passing out little items to help us when we are back at home and writing. I have a bookmark with figurative language definitions. Of course, we know that when we are writing that first draft (ignoring mistakes as we work, very tough for many people) we might not include such language. When we go back, we might wonder how to improve a sentence, but might forget to add similes or metaphor to help create more relatable imagery.
Howard-Johnson has suggestions in this area, also. She shares a tip on how using our search for adverbs can yield metaphors or similes, the kinds of associations that allow you to find and insert flecks of solid gold into your copy. Who knew?
Howard-Johnson has suggestions in this area, also. She shares a tip on how using our search for adverbs can yield metaphors or similes, the kinds of associations that allow you to find and insert flecks of solid gold into your copy. Who knew?
When I taught elementary school classes, I would tell the children to check with their ten fingers as they proofread. While reading, they put down a finger on the left hand if one of the five senses was included (sight, smell, sound, taste, or texture). OK, for the right hand, they checked for capital letters, punctuation, spelling, paragraph breaks, and neatness. A similar approach might be used by anyone to help check for what you need to add to strengthen your own writing. Make your own strategy for editing your own areas that need strengthening. You know yourself best.
3. Prepare Different Versions
Howard-Johnson says and guidelines for print and the Web are galaxies apart. She says to think of them as different genres. Be prepared to provide copy for print as well as possible requests from your publisher or own self-publishing efforts to ensure the best version to meet different guidelines. Be ready so you don't have to scramble later. She says this is especially true for rules surrounding dashes, hyphens, em dashes, and en dashes. If you don't know what these are, it is time to learn. The explanations are in her book. The Web is not the place to try to learn this information since it is different from print requirements. She provides many helpful examples.
4. Editing your idiosyncratic adverbs
One of my writing friends uses no adverbs at all in her books. That is certainly one way around this problematic area. Mainly, writing pieces need to be checked for overused words. If you have favorites, first make a list of the words and find possible substitutions before you even edit. Use Control-A on your computer's keyboard to select all. Use that function to search for the words you you know you overuse. Ask friends to read and notice repeated words. Then as you encounter such words, you will have a ready list of substitutions. This requires thinking, considering, creativity. You won't want to auto replace, of course.
5. Make an Index
Carolyn Howard-Johnson states: "Ask your publisher who is responsible for making the index. Today, nonfiction authors are often asked to put them together even when their books are published traditionally. Anything that will help your reader is worth the time and effort. If you decide to build your own index, expect to spend time reading up on how to do it right; do not rely entirely on the index function of your word processor." That is so clearly stated her own words are best. Now here's a thought. As you make the index, better word choices might occur to you, so it is actually a help in self-editing. What would you like in your index? Maybe you would like some sparkly and interesting words? This is another time to consider word choice.
Thank you for reading,
Carolyn Wilhelm, UDEMY Self-Publishing from the Very, Very Beginning Instructor
MORE ABOUT THE GUEST BLOGGER
Carolyn Wilhelm is the author of several books for children including Alex Asks About Auntie's Airplane Day, an adoption day story, and an educator who runs Wise Owl Factory that offers teaching aids--including many that are free--on Pinterest ( https://www.pinterest.com/wiseowlfactory/) and some that cover editing-related topics like writing and grammar.
3. Prepare Different Versions
Howard-Johnson says and guidelines for print and the Web are galaxies apart. She says to think of them as different genres. Be prepared to provide copy for print as well as possible requests from your publisher or own self-publishing efforts to ensure the best version to meet different guidelines. Be ready so you don't have to scramble later. She says this is especially true for rules surrounding dashes, hyphens, em dashes, and en dashes. If you don't know what these are, it is time to learn. The explanations are in her book. The Web is not the place to try to learn this information since it is different from print requirements. She provides many helpful examples.
4. Editing your idiosyncratic adverbs
One of my writing friends uses no adverbs at all in her books. That is certainly one way around this problematic area. Mainly, writing pieces need to be checked for overused words. If you have favorites, first make a list of the words and find possible substitutions before you even edit. Use Control-A on your computer's keyboard to select all. Use that function to search for the words you you know you overuse. Ask friends to read and notice repeated words. Then as you encounter such words, you will have a ready list of substitutions. This requires thinking, considering, creativity. You won't want to auto replace, of course.
5. Make an Index
Carolyn Howard-Johnson states: "Ask your publisher who is responsible for making the index. Today, nonfiction authors are often asked to put them together even when their books are published traditionally. Anything that will help your reader is worth the time and effort. If you decide to build your own index, expect to spend time reading up on how to do it right; do not rely entirely on the index function of your word processor." That is so clearly stated her own words are best. Now here's a thought. As you make the index, better word choices might occur to you, so it is actually a help in self-editing. What would you like in your index? Maybe you would like some sparkly and interesting words? This is another time to consider word choice.
Thank you for reading,
Carolyn Wilhelm, UDEMY Self-Publishing from the Very, Very Beginning Instructor
MORE ABOUT THE GUEST BLOGGER
Carolyn Wilhelm is the author of several books for children including Alex Asks About Auntie's Airplane Day, an adoption day story, and an educator who runs Wise Owl Factory that offers teaching aids--including many that are free--on Pinterest ( https://www.pinterest.com/wiseowlfactory/) and some that cover editing-related topics like writing and grammar.
Curriculum Writer and Author, Wise Owl Factory LLC
MORE ABOUT THE FRUGAL, SMART, AND TUNED-IN BLOGGER
Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the award-winning second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor. Her latest is in the series is How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more on her Amazon profile page, http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile. Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and The Great First Impression Book Proposal, another booklet, helps writers who want to be traditionally published. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at The Frugal, Smart,and Tuned-In Editor (http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com). Her SharingwithWriters.blogspot.com blog focuses on the writing life and book marketing and promotion. It is a Writers' Digest 101 Best blogs pick.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the award-winning second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor. Her latest is in the series is How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more on her Amazon profile page, http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile. Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and The Great First Impression Book Proposal, another booklet, helps writers who want to be traditionally published. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at The Frugal, Smart,and Tuned-In Editor (http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com). Her SharingwithWriters.blogspot.com blog focuses on the writing life and book marketing and promotion. It is a Writers' Digest 101 Best blogs pick.
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