# What's Your Biggest Editing Challenge?



## Justin Attas (May 3, 2020)

What's something you find you make the most mistakes with when you do your full read through? Is it tense confusion? Dialogue tags? Just plain old typos? 

For me, it's its! I constantly mix up which "its" to use in the heat of my writing flow. I know "it's" is a contraction and "its" is possessive but it's (lol) hard to remember when I'm typing away. What's your biggest editing challenge?


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## Olly Buckle (May 11, 2020)

It's hard when you're typing away, but when you edit surely you can very easily tell if 'it is' is a valid substitute?

It's always hardest to edit my own work, but I don't think that is what you are asking. The toughest part of editing my own work is deciding how much information makes a sentence and when I should start a new one. 
I can play safe and make short, choppy sentences. I can think these things are related and put them together.
No, wait a minute.
I can play safe and make short, choppy sentences, or I can think these things are related and put them together.


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## Cephus (May 11, 2020)

I do a very minimalist first draft and always add a lot of words in revision. I'll just leave myself notes to add things that I didn't want to flesh out the first time through.


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## RD Meyer (Jun 21, 2020)

Always get a proofreader.  I'll read through a story I've written several times and not find that I've left out words or made mistakes that I couldn't see(it's into its, your into you're, etc).


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## Olly Buckle (Jun 21, 2020)

Cephus said:


> I do a very minimalist first draft and always add a lot of words in revision. I'll just leave myself notes to add things that I didn't want to flesh out the first time through.


I quite often write what I feel is a minimalist first draft, but when I have edited I find it is actually much shorter. Mind you, I also often find that the shorter, edited, version contains more information better expressed. I was banging out the basic idea thinking about the plot line and the things that struck me. When I go back I am looking for stuff like the order of ideas, concision, assonance, consonance, rhythm; I am writing up the ideas, but in doing so I often reduce the word count.


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## Olly Buckle (Jun 21, 2020)

RD Meyer said:


> Always get a proofreader.  I'll read through a story I've written several times and not find that I've left out words or made mistakes that I couldn't see(it's into its, your into you're, etc).


Yes, the hardest bit of editing is actually seeing what needs changing, it is not just things like omissions. I realise I have done things like putting related things at the opposite ends of sentences, something I regularly point out in crits, and read it through several times without noticing. I find that the more I edit the more sensitive I become to there being something wrong, then I work out what it is.


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## James Leggott (Jun 26, 2020)

Not be biased and fail to notice mistakes


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## VRanger (Jun 26, 2020)

My two biggies are useless adverbs and calling names in dialogue.

I removed 600 adverbs in a revision of my latest manuscript. I evidently LOVE "actually" and "really". That was AFTER I removed 900 superfluous words in my first proofread.

I'm somewhat ambivalent about calling names in dialogue, though. You can read experts who say "Don't do that", because people in real life seldom call the other party's name in conversation ... so it's not "REAL". Other experts discuss dialogue and advise, "Dialogue in fiction should be dramatic, not how people really speak."

Well, calling names in dialogue IS more dramatic. So I do it, but when I revise, I cut it down to less than I originally included. In a long conversation, I'll throw one in here and there to keep the speakers straight. I don't use dialogue tags unless they include a helpful reference to emotion or stage direction.


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## Olly Buckle (Jun 26, 2020)

I like the idea that dialog tags need to contain more than one bit of information. I quite often look at the tag and think 'That is not needed, that is the way she talks, not him'. Then I get nervous and wonder if it is something only I would notice, do the readers know my characters well enough this far into the story? My guess is they do, and if they don't they should wake up! I'm not editing this for my benefit, I know the story.


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## Joker (Jul 16, 2020)

Not starting sentences with "s/he verbed".


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## Turnbull (Jul 16, 2020)

Probably using superfluous language.  Repeating myself constantly.  No new information.  Really annoying.


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## Taylor (Jul 16, 2020)

Using the wrong words.  Their, instead of there or they're. Were instead of where or wear.  Drives me crazy!


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## Olly Buckle (Jul 21, 2020)

Turnbull said:


> Probably using superfluous language.  Repeating myself constantly.  No new information.  Really annoying.



Do you mean going over things several times, just using different words, not saying different things, but saying the same thing in different ways?    Know that one!


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## Olly Buckle (Jul 22, 2020)

Taylor said:


> Using the wrong words.  Their, instead of there or they're. Were instead of where or wear.  Drives me crazy!



You are not alone in that, it's very common as far as I can see. I found some old school books a while ago when we moved, including spelling tests. I think I felt that if a word was in a spelling test is was probably a difficult one designed to catch you out, there were lots with unnecessary things like 'wh' 'gh' or 'ph' in them for 'w', 'g' and 'f'  

At least you are aware, that will probably mean you get on top of it in time.


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## Tiamat (Jul 22, 2020)

"Funny or stupid?"

I ask myself that question several dozen times on every draft. Sometimes I'm wrong. Also I'm really great at just leaving out entire words from sentences, then filling in the blanks when I'm re-reading without ever noticing that they're missing.


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## James Leggott (Jul 31, 2020)

Not to be biased


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## Taylor (Aug 1, 2020)

James Leggott said:


> Not to be biased



That's in interesting one. I had to think about it for a moment.  

Is it only a problem for non-fiction?  Or can it be a problem for fiction as well?


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## CyberWar (Aug 2, 2020)

Keeping sentences reasonably short. It is entirely possible to write a page-long sentence in my native language and still be both grammatically-correct and make sense, but I've been repeatedly informed that it's not common or good practice in English and confuses the readers.


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## SueC (Aug 2, 2020)

CyberWar said:


> Keeping sentences reasonably short. It is entirely possible to write a page-long sentence in my native language and still be both grammatically-correct and make sense, but I've been repeatedly informed that it's not common or good practice in English and confuses the readers.



CW, short sentences are good for a punch. But I confess to a love of long sentences, I think because that is how I sometimes talk! LOL.


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## James Leggott (Aug 2, 2020)

Taylor said:


> That's in interesting one. I had to think about it for a moment.
> 
> Is it only a problem for non-fiction?  Or can it be a problem for fiction as well?



I can't comment about non-fiction, I've only written fiction (as that is what I am interested in).


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## Taylor (Aug 2, 2020)

James Leggott said:


> I can't comment about non-fiction, I've only written fiction (as that is what I am interested in).



So do you mean not to share your own personal biases when developing themes and characters?   I have never thought about it before, but I guess it can be a problem with your target audience, if for example you bring politics into it.  

But in some cases, is it ok to express a bias, provided it doesn't cause any harm to anyone?


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## James Leggott (Aug 2, 2020)

Taylor said:


> So do you mean not to share your own personal biases when developing themes and characters?   I have never thought about it before, but I guess it can be a problem with your target audience, if for example you bring politics into it.
> 
> But in some cases, is it ok to express a bias, provided it doesn't cause any harm to anyone?



Well I try not to cause harm to anyone, but somebody is always going to get offended by something, no matter what you do. So don't do it intentionally and you should be fine.


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## EternalGreen (Aug 2, 2020)

Dialogue.


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## TL Murphy (Aug 2, 2020)

Editors


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## Tiamat (Aug 3, 2020)

The words, man. All the freaking words.


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## seigfried007 (Aug 3, 2020)

Spaghetti monster plots.


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## bdcharles (Aug 4, 2020)

My biggest editorial challenge is applying the fixes I insist on others implementing, to my own work. It's been ... revelatory.

And tightening up my character's through-line / motivation. I've had a rare thought about that this morning and it's looking like another rewrite. But this one I am excited about.


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## Bloggsworth (Aug 4, 2020)

Ennui...


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## JackSlater28 (Dec 22, 2020)

Man. My real problem is that I see far too much of the bigger picture. I'm not very good at either sub-plots, nor editing my grammar properly. I don't know why that is. My mind is only focused on the bigger picture. I look at it again and again, but by my 7th draft, I have to rely on Grammerly. I don't get it. It's like my mind passes by all the grammatical mistakes. It'll pass by misspellings, plural issues, rambling internal monologues and it all goes to crap. I feel ya.


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## Olly Buckle (Dec 22, 2020)

Tiamat said:


> The words, man. All the freaking words.



That and the punctuation.


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## Tiamat (Dec 22, 2020)

Olly Buckle said:


> That and the punctuation.


Nah, I like to just vomit commas all over the place and hope for the best.


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## EternalGreen (Dec 23, 2020)

1. Making the draft coherent.
2. Making the draft _not _noxiously bad.
3. ​avoiding horny jail (occasionally)


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## The Cynical Philosopher (Jan 13, 2021)

I actually find editing/revising more enjoyable than writing the first draft. However, after reading through my own manuscript for the octillionth time (and still finding plenty of errors and little fixes to how sentences are structured) I just get bored of my own story.


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## BrandonTheWriter (Jan 13, 2021)

Slimming my story down usually. There is often a lot of sentences that probably don't need to be there, but I often worry about messing with the flow by removing them.


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## estranguerro (Jan 14, 2021)

Making sentences brief. I tend to ramble on in my drafts, which results in most of my editing time summarizing and paraphrasing the strings of sentences I've written, while still keeping my style.


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## Olly Buckle (Jan 14, 2021)

estranguerro said:


> Making sentences brief. I tend to ramble on in my drafts, which results in most of my editing time summarizing and paraphrasing the strings of sentences I've written, while still keeping my style.



You are far from alone in this one, it gets easier. Sometimes I even catch myself before I do it nowadays, sometimes.

Congratulations on reaching ten posts, the forum is now your oyster


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## Olly Buckle (Jan 14, 2021)

estranguerro said:


> Making sentences brief. I tend to ramble on in my drafts, which results in most of my editing time summarizing and paraphrasing the strings of sentences I've written, while still keeping my style.



You are far from alone in this one, it gets easier. Sometimes I even catch myself before I do it nowadays, sometimes.

Congratulations on reaching ten posts, the forum is now your oyster


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## BrandonTheWriter (Jan 14, 2021)

Olly Buckle said:


> You are far from alone in this one, it gets easier. Sometimes I even catch myself before I do it nowadays, sometimes.
> 
> Congratulations on reaching ten posts, the forum is now your oyster



Appreciate the PM on my sentence!

Really opened my eyes to how I can change some stuff in the future.


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## ideasmith (Feb 21, 2021)

Inertia. I’ve gone into writing sessions, frankly *made* myself write, ended up producing some pretty good first-draft prose. Good enough to keep and improve upon. The magic moment comes, you write. But if it doesn’t come...you still write.


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## indianroads (Feb 22, 2021)

Commas... sounds simplistic, but I either have too many or too few of those nasty little buggers.

Plot holes, or redundant plot points were an issue, but I have a method in place to help with that now.


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## Olly Buckle (Feb 26, 2021)

Don't talk to me about commas. I've read books about them, and written articles based on it to try and help me internalise it, and still I look at them and think, "Is that right, or not? I don't know."

PS, This is one of the joys of making videos of my short stories, no punctuation at all


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## ScifiWriter (Feb 26, 2021)

I often wonder how many commas it takes to write a novel. I use a professional grammar / punctuation service to edit my novels and spend half my time correcting commas. I do, however, find that an occasional extra comma makes a sentence more readable, and so, I leave it in. There is no shame in one too many commas.

As far as real edits, I am terrible. The stories all get longer every time I edit them. It's as if my damned keyboard just keeps finding more story to add.  I even threw out one keyboard and replaced it, only to find that the new one came with even more words in it. I am doomed.


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## Deleted member 65533 (Mar 3, 2021)

ScifiWriter said:


> I often wonder how many commas it takes to write a novel. I use a professional grammar / punctuation service to edit my novels and spend half my time correcting commas. I do, however, find that an occasional extra comma makes a sentence more readable, and so, I leave it in. There is no shame in one too many commas.
> 
> As far as real edits, I am terrible. The stories all get longer every time I edit them. It's as if my damned keyboard just keeps finding more story to add.  I even threw out one keyboard and replaced it, only to find that the new one came with even more words in it. I am doomed.



I'm on my second draft at the moment and spend an age on a chapter, adding, deleting, adding again, then adding another sentence or two to change the narrative slightly, it is annoying yet wonderful at the same time.

Does that even make sense?

I am finding, though, entering back into the world i created is fun and the editing is much more enjoyable with that mindset


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## indianroads (Mar 8, 2021)

I'm taking a break after completing my second editing pass. I'm cheap, so I usually run through about eight passes before the MS goes to my editor (less for her do do = less time = less money).

I use excel spread sheets to track things like plot points (looking for holes), along with descriptions, character phrasing, and such. It helps, but editing remains a chore.


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## Djwadsa (Mar 19, 2021)

What is the best way forward for editing ? should you do it your self or look for another party to do it ? what are the benefits for both ?


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## Olly Buckle (Mar 20, 2021)

Djwadsa said:


> What is the best way forward for editing ? should you do it your self or look for another party to do it ? what are the benefits for both ?



Depends a bit on you. I reckon you should certainly do at least a first edit yourself. Most people miss something, but practice makes you better and the better the work you pay to have edited the less time the editor has to spend on it, so the less it costs you; look at what Indian Roads said a couple of posts back. Are you ready to publish and go commercial? Or are you still practicing? There is a lot of room to improve for most people by reading through the crits. here, both of your own work and other people's, and plenty of ideas to pick up in writing discussion. I don't know how far you have come, but it always irks me a bit thinking someone else might improve on what I have written, I should have thought of that. On the other hand we all do things like writing a word twice twice and being blind blind to it


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