No matter what type of writing you do, it can be easy to miss your own mistakes in the editing process. Since you wrote the words, you often read what you intended to write (and not what is actually written). You can’t see any flaws in your writing because you’re just too close to it.
Use these five tips to edit your own work more effectively — and to improve your writing.
1. Let Your Writing Rest for a Few Hours or Days
The more distance you put between yourself and your writing, the easier it is to make improvements and find mistakes. When possible, let important writing sit for a few days. When you pick up the material again, it’s almost like proofing someone else’s work.
If you don’t have the luxury of letting your work sit for days, then a few hours will have to do. Find another activity that will help you distance yourself from the writing. You might want to take a jog, wash the dishes, or take your dog to the park. Do something that clears your mind. Ideally, you can approach the work from a fresh perspective.
2. Read Your Writing in a New Format
Seeing your writing in a different format can help you correct everything from misspellings to poor word choice. If you have access to a printer, make a paper copy that you can use to note changes.
If you don’t have a printer, you can get a fresh look at your text by changing it to a different font, color, or size. You can even convert your text to HTML for a new perspective. It’s almost like reading someone else’s work on the web.
3. Read Your Writing Out Loud
This is a helpful tip for writers of all skill levels. Brains are tricky machines that often see what they want to see. Reading silently makes it easier for your brain to correct mistakes and fill in gaps. If your brain expects to see the word “off,” then it will quietly transform similar words, such as “oft” or “of,” to match those expectations.
Reading out loud disrupts your brain’s attempt to make everything look perfect. You will likely find yourself stammering through poorly worded sentences and pausing at misspelled words. If you have difficulty reading a section, then you know you’ve found a piece of writing you could improve.
4. Read Backwards
Disrupting narrative flow can help you find mistakes you would otherwise miss. Try reading your work backwards, starting with the last paragraph and ending with the first. This approach forces you to pay careful attention to details and makes it harder for your brain to correct mistakes. When you’re fully engaged in reading, you’re more likely to see opportunities for improvement.
5. Use Grammarly to Find and Avoid Mistakes
Grammarly is an automated proofreader that acts as a fresh set of eyes to look over your work carefully and spot spelling and grammar mistakes. Grammarly checks more than 250 advanced rules to find mistakes such as:
double negatives
run-on sentences
comma splices
sentence fragments
double pronouns
dangling modifiers
Writers who use Grammarly can also avoid future mistakes. The proofreader acts as a grammar coach that points out common writing problems and explains how to correct them. After Grammarly proofreads your work a few times, you’ll start to see common weaknesses, so you know what skills you need to improve.
Amir.H.Ghazi
excellent advice…I am notorious for making changes, sometimes weeks or months after writing something.thank you!
LikeLiked by 3 people
You’re welcome:)
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you for these helpful tips!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Hope they can be useful:)
LikeLiked by 2 people
Very good advice.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some excellent tips, I’m always trying to make sure that my grammar is correct.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Good advice. As an editor, I wish more people would do these simple steps before submitting their manuscripts. It would make my job a little easier!
LikeLiked by 4 people
Aw you are an editor?!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reading your work out loud works for me! Thank you for the other tips.
Anita
LikeLiked by 3 people
I especially like number 1. It’s so true! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thanks for reading my posts 😉
LikeLiked by 2 people
And thank you for being a wonderful friend and being so inspirational! Thanks for all your kind comments and encouragement. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Aw that’s nice of you! I’m not that much wonderful:)
You are a good friend B.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Don’t say that! You are and thank you!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m good because I have friends such as you:)
LikeLiked by 2 people
Aww, thanks! 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
😉
LikeLiked by 2 people
Excellent advice! I personally can’t edit something properly without printing it out and reading it aloud. Something about looking at my writing on a screen just makes my brain lazy. I never thought of reading backwards though. 🙂
LikeLiked by 4 people
But they can’t be as useful as a professional editor!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Of course :). I’ve even found having a friend or family member (if you can face them reading your work) can sometimes point out an obvious mistake you can miss. Good place to start if you have the confidence to let them read your work :).
LikeLiked by 2 people
Unfortunately I’m the only person in my family who’s able to speak or write English. Rest of my family speak Persian.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Well, in that case family might not be able to help, but getting some friends, even online ones you trust to read something can sometimes help. Just like you said, coming back to your work is like using a fresh pair of eyes and another person can help too :). And actually coming back to your work after a long while, maybe a week or two at least (if you can afford that time) really makes you see your work differently. I’ve written some short stories before, unpublished, and come back to them after a few weeks and was able to really edit my work and make it far better. Of course I haven’t anything published so mine is just a personal opinion but it has helped me :).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very helpful! I didn’t know about Grammarly so far… Will check it out..
LikeLiked by 3 people
thank you! excellent!
✌👍✊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
khahesh mikonam
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh! You can speak Persian?!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
spent 4 years in Tehran in the mid-90s
LikeLiked by 1 person
Farsi-e-man khaily zaeef shode. tamreen na dareem
LikeLiked by 1 person
But you are so good at Persian!
LikeLiked by 2 people
na, baba-joon! I wish I learned Farsi better so that I could appreciate the greats like Hafiz, Saadi et al
LikeLiked by 1 person
wishing you well and a safe and peaceful and joyous new year for all
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! Wish you a wonderful year Afzal:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
moteshakkaram, doost-e-man
LikeLiked by 1 person
Khahesh mikonam!
LikeLiked by 1 person
#3 always works…end up with so many more edits! I might get totally lost on #4!!!! But the best one for me is to put it away for a while and see what happens next.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Some good ideas here. Talking about seeing things from a new format, I’ve noticed that I catch things in the blog “preview” that I don’t catch in my Word or Pages document.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Another well written post on editing one’s writing! Thank you!
LikeLiked by 2 people
You’re welcome!
LikeLike
I like the change of format tip. Never thought of that before. Reading aloud is one of the best things ever for editing. If the words don’t sound right when spoken, they won’t sound right in your readers’ heads.
LikeLiked by 3 people
As always ~excellent points. Editing is grueling task, but it must be done. Thank you for the sound advice!
LikeLiked by 2 people
And thank you for taking your time to read my post!:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great tips! This post actually reminds me of how I used to edit my essays in uni! 😛
xx
Yvonne
http://tellmeyblog.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great advice which I desperately need! I’m a beginner at blogging and need all of the help I can get! Thank you for sharing your wisdom !
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for the tips. I often do the number 3. And I just found out about the Grammarly. Thanks again!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for reading the post!:)
LikeLike
I often read my text aloud, but I see how viewing it in another format could help. Printed word is usually easier for me to profread than viewing it on the screen. Good tips!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great advice. It’s finding the time! The trouble is – editing is a different skill to writing. Some are good at one and some the other. Doing both equally well is rare.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for sharing these tips! I find the tip of “sit for a few days” is especially useful 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for stopping by:)
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Still Another Writer's Blog.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Green Dragon's Cave, Author and Artist and commented:
Some good tips here!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I will have to check out Grammarly. I am ever so lazy and ever looking for shortcuts!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excellent tips, all.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! Hope you found them useful;)
LikeLike
great tips!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for taking your time to read!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great tips! I’ve never tried reading backwards as an editing strategy, but I will give it a try.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great advice! I really like the idea of reading backwards.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
Would you please visit the link in my post ‘hi again’ and vote for me?
Thank you!:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on Eric Lahti and commented:
I really need to put my MA in Speech Comm to good use and start reading my work out loud. Maybe I’ll even cut a short MP3.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Seems like I’ve got to find some space first for #3. Never done that. But thank you, nevertheless 🙂 Salam.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Really great advice! I had never heard of Grammarly before, so thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I will definitly try some of these I really struggle with editing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great tips! I always find it useful to have someone else look over it before I go away and do a final edit. Also double-spacing the text while writing or proof-reading makes things way easier for your eyes to spot.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great List of Editing Items 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
I find editing difficult because I oftentimes think of it as a final once-over, but I found by reading a plethora of articles that my subtle changes here and there are really part of the whole editing process. Whew!
LikeLiked by 1 person