HOW TO SELF-EDIT Part 3 - Looking at the BIG picture

In a way I have started my series of self-editing tips back-to-front but I find it's the small stuff that people tend to look at first and also find the hardest to do.

There's a story about how some famous author [whose name escapes me] would spend all morning putting one word in and then all afternoon taking it out again. When you first look at your own writing you have to be prepared to cut swathes of text out.

Taking a 500-word piece to 250-words [How to Self-Edit Part 2] is a good exercise in seeing what's not needed.

The best way to write is to just write. All the editing stuff happens after, and never ever during, the writing.

And now - Looking at the BIG picture!

Before you go back and re-read your novel, prepare for the task. You'll need 6 different coloured highlighters [more colours if you can get them]; a mind that doesn't acknowledge this is your writing - pretend it's someone else's so you can be hard and ruthless; lots of desk/bench/floor space; at least a day and a large pot of tea.

First - read the pages quickly and without judgement - skim. You're looking for and identifying the scenes. Put a mark at the top right hand corner of each page. Everytime there is a change of scene, change your highlighter colour. You'll run out of colours so the first green scene pages can be all numbered one, first pink scene is two etc [or work out a system that fits with the way you think]. Clip the pages together into their separate scenes.

Second - if you're a panster*, do up a list of all the scenes. Put in a few words to remind you what's happening in each scene. If you're a plotter**, you'll have already done this.

Third - look at the list. Is your first scene really, truly your first scene. Is it strong enough? Is it back story? Does it do anything for the story at all? Don't re-read the scene! Work off the list and your memory.

Why? Because, sure as eggs, you'll find some lovely turn of phrase or really clever metaphor that you'll want to keep. But you don't need to keep the whole scene just for that one phrase or metaphor.

Fourth - if you haven't lost at least 10 scenes you aren't trying hard enough.

Fifth - see if you can add suspense, foreshadow events and keep the reader turning pages by moving the scenes around. If things need to happen in a strictly chronological order skip this step.

Sixth - take the scenes you have left and go through them separately applying Parts 1 & 2 of How to Self-Edit.

Last - After you apply all the changes to your electronic copy print your novel again with each scene on different coloured paper - saves your highlighters. Then do steps 2 to 6 again.


Jennifer

PS: several more 'that's' bit the dust for this one too...
*Pantser = someone who writes by the seat of their pants.
** Plotter = someone who develops a plot and then writes to that.