What Should You Do When Editing Fiction Writing?

What Should You Do When Editing Fiction Writing?

All of the rules discussed in the chapter above apply to this case. Thus in this chapter, we’re not going to cover the same things that we discussed in the previous chapter. The focus of this chapter is to discuss some parts of the editing process that are unique to fiction writing. We are going to apply the same approach for editing: moving from the larger picture and then narrowing things down. Therefore, we are starting with the plot.

Edit the Plot in Your Book You need to start by looking at the structure of the entire book. Think about the plot of your book. Does the structure of the book make sense? Does one chapter flow well into the other? Keep the content in each chapter in mind when you’re thinking about the flow of the chapters. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself when evaluating the plot.

Does the Plot Make Logical Sense? Your plot has to be coherent and believable. If you have mentioned things that seem far-fetched in the book, make sure that you provide a believable explanation for its existence. This will keep your readers satisfied.

Did I Leave Anything Unanswered in the Plot? Readers don’t appreciate it when there are a lot of plot holes in a manuscript. Make sure that everything in your book is airtight. Readers should be able to find answers to any questions they have about the plot within the text itself. Question yourself about some details regarding the plot. If you can’t find the answers in the text, then you have to make sure to rewrite certain chapters and include the relevant details with them.

Have I Concluded Every Subplot in the Book? A lot of times, writers leave some of the subplots in their books unanswered. Make sure to double-check if you have ended every subplot. Provide your readers with some form of closure. If you plan on continuing a subplot into the next book in the series, try to make that clear to your readers. You can do that by leaving things on a cliffhanger.

Is There Enough Conflict in the Plot? Every good plot must have some level of conflict. This is usually expressed in terms of conflicting ideas on certain topics and beliefs. The conflict is manifested through character actions and dialogue. Your goal at this point is simply to check

whether your book has enough conflict or not. Don’t get too much into the details of the conflict (dialogue).

Are the Plot Twists Foreshadowed Well? A good plot twist always contains subtle bits of information that allude to it. These are so subtly placed within the text that most readers don’t see the twist coming. The process of placing these bits of information is foreshadowing. Every plot twist must be foreshadowed. Otherwise, it will feel like it came out of nowhere. When evaluating the plot, you must check if you added these pieces of information. Add them if you haven’t. This will make your plot more logical and believable for readers.

Edit the Characters in Your Book Your next step is to edit the characters. Editing is not simply about fixing the sentences in your book. It is about checking everything in your book, including abstract details. Some of these details include the character’s mannerisms and their motivations.

Your Characters Should Be Unique Each of your characters should be unique. They should have their quirks, behavioral patterns, and ideas. Your characters shouldn’t feel like caricatures; instead, they should feel like real human beings. Therefore, when you’re reading through your text, consciously evaluate what you think of your characters. Do they feel like real people to you? Are their motivations clear to you? Are they interesting and likable? Are they relatable?

If you have answered any of the questions above with a ‘no,’ then you have to fix that immediately. Take a blank piece of paper and write down some details about an uninteresting character in the book. Write a few details about who they are, what they are called, what they look like, what their role is in the book, and what their motivations are.

Once you have the complete information available, think about what you can add to bring some complexity in this character. Also, think of what you can do to make this character interesting for the audience. Make the changes in the text once you can identify why this character felt weak.

Edit the Dialogue in Your Book Other than checking the grammar, the last thing you need to do is read through the dialogue. Good dialogue is necessary for keeping your readers engaged. By good dialogue, we mean something that provides value to the text and sounds like something someone would say.

The Dialogue Should Sound Like Something People Would Say If the dialogue doesn’t sound like something someone would say, you must change it. Read it out loud and think about how it sounds to you. One tip is to add a lot of contractions to make it sound conversational. You must also not use dialogue to dump information on the reader. Use the narration for that. Think about a character’s feelings when they are saying their dialogue. This will help you write more appropriate words for their dialogue. You must remember that people don’t speak the same way they write. That is why the dialogue shouldn’t be written in the same way as the rest of the prose.

Make the Dialogue Unique for Each Character Make the dialogue unique for each character. Every person has a particular style of speaking – that should be reflected in the dialogue. This includes the grammar and vocabulary they use, and how they pronounce a few words. Distinctive dialogue gives a whole new dimension to your characters’ identities, making the characters more interesting forreaders. Think about Yoda’s (from Star Wars) style of speaking. It is very distinctive, and people all over the world will be able to identify his style of speaking. If Yoda were to say the sentence “I am reading this sentence,” he would say, “reading this sentence, am I.” We understand that Yoda’s example is a little extreme, but it helps us explain how a particular style of speaking is associated with a character’s identity.

Use Descriptive Language to Keep Your Readers Interested You may have heard the phrase “show; don’t tell” often in writing classes. W ell, that is because it is an important concept. You must never tell your reader that a certain character did a particular action. Instead, show the reader through your words.