Editing Your Own Work

As I'm currently in the process of editing (and trying to steer away from some authors' habits of over-editing i.e. ad nauseum, Word without end), and always on the lookout for point form information on 'how to's', here's some information I've researched or come up with myself which I find somewhat helpful (nothing is ever 'absolute') and maybe it'll prove so to others:

1. Find the appropriate narrative voice for the story and stick to it.

2. Fight any addiction to too many words and long sentences. Reduce by 24% at least, to some level of clarity---make sure every word counts , and chop the rest.

3. Used a word too often? There's no shame in using your computer as a Thesaurus for synonyms or to define vague words. Keep a screen open so you can flip back and forth as you're editing. Don't necessarily rely on the Computer Program's Editing Tool review selections. Strengthen your vocabulary as necessary with what feels right in the sentence and/or context.

4. Plethora of adverbs ? Condense a sentence by removing unnecessary adverbs when you can. Stronger verbs may be more suitable in the instance !

5. If you read your work out loud or use the Text to Voice function on your computer , it will give you a sense of the rhythm in your paragraphs. Pay attention to sentence length and variety i.e. questions, exclamations, statements. Assess the rough spots and 'smooth' out any jarring incidents.

6. Action or dialogue should demonstrate a character 's emotion. Some 'cozy' publishers appear to want almost nothing but dialogue these days, but in deleting adverbs don't throw adjectives out with the bathwater too-- sometimes an extra brush stroke completes the picture.