3 Basic Self-Editing Tip for New Writers (Part 2)

Are you a new writer staring down the huge task of self-editing your first draft? It looks like a lot of work, but don’t worry. This blog series shares basic self-editing tips for new writers, with just 3 at a time so you can look at them little by little and make the self-editing stage feel a little more palatable.

Remember, it doesn’t have to be a massive hurdle. Take it in little steps.

‘How do you eat an elephant? A bite at a time.’

So here’s the second bunch of a few bites of the elephant to get you comfortable in attacking your first self-edit.

POV and Tense Check

Point of view (POV) is crucial in fiction writing as it dictates the flow of the narrative. Consistency is key: stick to one main character's perspective throughout the story to maintain coherence. Changing POV midway can alter the story's meaning and disrupt its flow.

If POV shifts are necessary, for example some fiction stories have multiple character POVs, use section breaks (***), and ensure consistency within each section. Keeping to one POV per section or chapter aids both publishers and readers in engaging with the story.

During editing, diligently check for POV consistency in every chapter to ensure you’re not dizzying readers with head hopping.

Tense accuracy is paramount. Ensure you're using the correct tenses—present, past, and future—to convey events accurately. Most genres will have their standard tense preference (e.g. fantasy is often written in past tense). Are you writing in the standard tense of your genre?

Along with this, much like POV, be vigilant for tense shifts within paragraphs, ensuring consistent usage throughout. It will confuse readers if you start in past tense and switch to current tense a couple of sentences later. To check for this, master the proper forms of verbs for each tense to maintain clarity and coherence in your writing (completed vs completing).

Keep Language Simple

Write for your audience and their best understanding. They’ve got to engage with your writing and enjoy it, after all. And good language plays a pivotal role in how they can engage with your book. Here are some key tips for enhancing language usage during your self-editing process:

• Avoid jargon: key for nonfiction writing, substitute technical terms with simpler alternatives to broaden your audience's understanding.

• Check your sentence length: aim for easy reading by avoiding overly long and convoluted sentences that make readers work too hard, and be sure to mix up sentence length for good flow.

• Prefer common words: choose familiar vocabulary and expressions to enhance accessibility—as they say, the simplest version of a word is the best one to use to avoid alienating your reader.

—Graham Swift, Author

Eliminate Repetition

To maintain reader engagement, do your best to avoid repetition and enrich your writing with varied language and vocabulary. Here's how you can eliminate redundancy:

• Reword sentences: rewrite sentences containing repeated phrases to convey the same meaning in a fresh manner.

• Use synonyms: written the same word too many times in the same sentence or paragraph? Seek alternative words with identical meanings to replace repetitive terms to avoid jarring your readers.

• Consider pronouns: employ pronouns to reference previously mentioned nouns, reducing repetition.

• Focus on key points: identify the central themes or ideas in your writing and trim the rest to avoid unnecessary repetition of information or dragging the message on too long.

• Use editing tools: try tools that can easily detect repetition in your writing, like Grammarly or a writing tool of your choice.

• Cut redundant phrases: helping you to trim your work all around, cutting unnecessary phrases that add little value to your writing will reduce repetition while also enhancing the clarity and conciseness of your work.

Following basic self-editing tips like these will help you develop your writing skills and enhance your WIP to ensure it’s the best it can be.

Like we said last time, take it step-by-step, focusing on one aspect at a time. Following the steps in this blog series will help you do just that.

We’ll see you in part 3!

Question for the readers: which self-editing tip has helped you the most so far?