Read this sentence:
“the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?”
If you could read the above sentence then imagine how difficult it is to edit an entire manuscript written in this manner. The sentence above was inspired by a supposed Cambridge University study that the mind will fill in the missing blanks. Especially if the word or phrase is a familiar one. I am simplifying the study’s results but that is the gist of it. So what can you do if you decide to self-edit your work? How do you avoid missing the obvious?
A couple tips:
- Do not rely on spellcheck. I love spellcheck but it will not tell you if a correctly spelled word in the wrong place is in error. For example: I love chocolate bake. Huh?
- Edit your work randomly. If you begin editing from start to finish your mind may be trained to miss the mistakes. Edit pages out of order. This won’t work if you’re editing the flow of the novel, but it does help if you’re searching for grammatical and/or spelling errors.
- James Scott Bell has a good book out there Write Great Fiction Revision And Self-Editing (Write Great Fiction)
. I would suggest taking a look for a deeper look at techniques and advice on editing your own work.
After a thorough self-editing session I strongly suggest sharing your work with a close friend for another round. You will be surprised at how many errors you missed on your own. Gude luk.
Posted with input from Robert Griffin
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Laurie 06.23.08 at 11:15 am
I can’t edit my own work well. My mind tend to read what I was thinking instead of the words on the page. But, I’m pretty good at finding errors in others work. he he he.
I thnik Im gud at fndnig erurs in wrtign becuz I usta teech kindrgrtn.
:O)
Have a super day!
Rick 06.23.08 at 1:18 pm
Great mixed up sentence above, Laurie. I could read it perfectly!
Mark - Productivity501 06.23.08 at 5:45 pm
I find that reading something I’ve written out loud can help with editing. I also have an assistant who helps proof a lot of what I write now.
Rick 06.23.08 at 7:35 pm
That’s a great tip, Mark. Reading it out loud especially helps with dialogue editing too. Thanks for the advice.
Rick
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