Editing

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been so lazy lately, moving into a new college room is not easy. Also, am I the only one who feels like everything I learned in the past two semesters (that I need to carry over to this semester's classes) mysteriously vanished out of my head? No? Bane of college students everywhere? Thought so :) Anyway, enough about me, today I wanted to talk about editing. Editing can be either delightful or tedious, depending on how you approach it, so let's dive into this :)

Unless you're some sort of genius who can produce amazing compositions on your first try (if so, hats off to you!) then you have had some sort of experience with editing. As I said before, editing can be a total pain in the you-know-what, or it can be a great opportunity for you to grow as a writer. Editing is a necessary evil, but it's the best way for your writing to grow and improve. When it comes to editing, your own opinion is second best. It's very easy for a writer to skim over and miss something that doesn't flow just right, because as the author you don't see the flaw. This being said, the best way to edit is getting someone else to read your work. However, when picking someone to read your work (especially if you're very private about your writing), you have to choose carefully. Get someone who you'd be comfortable with reading your pieces, but someone who won't be nice about it. Don't get a person who loves criticizing and tearing down others either, get someone honest, who will give you completely candid (but not unnecessarily nasty) feedback. But if you don't want someone else editing your work (understandable) here's a few of my tried and true tips on self-editing.
unum: Read out loud. That way you can catch typos and grammar flops that you may miss if reading to yourself.
duo: Edit in parts. Do a little bit, then put it aside and resume at a later date. Trying to edit all 300 pages of your newest novel at once simply won't work. Trust me.
tres: Know when to stop. Editing is a delicate thing where you can edit and keep editing even after you're done. Know when to stop, put it away and love it for what it is.
quattor: Just like in a relationship, you can't please everyone. Don't try to edit according to feedback that 20 different people give you. You can't please everyone.
quinque: If you're an NCIS DC fan (like me :D ) then you'll like this reference: Trust your gut. You know your writing and your purpose better than anyone.
Like, dislike, questions or comments, hit me up and let me know! Thanks for reading :)