Editing is one of the most important skills you can learn as an author. While you might think writing, in and of it is a challenging task, proofreading your work for errors is even more so. Of course it's easy to say that someone else can proof your work leaving you to just create but the proofing process is something that you should be involved in as well. By learning the proper techniques you can actually make you a better writer.

One of the most important things you can do to start editing is nothing. When you are finished writing for the day is not the time to go back through your work looking for errors. You need time away from the piece to get a clear prospective on your work. The mind is a funny thing; it can make you think you wrote what you wanted when actually you didn't. Taking the time to step away before going back through it means your mind will be playing fewer tricks on you.

Once you've taken a break from your work it's time to delve in. Go back through you document and look for any grammar or spelling editors that your grammar/spell checker program caught for you. These are often the simplest mistakes to pick-up so start with them first. Bear in mind though there is more to editing than letting the computer do the work. Often there are things that the computer will miss such as using "their" instead of "there", both words are spelled correctly and the computer might not catch that the word is used wrong in the sentence.

Once you have all of those marks picked up go back to the beginning and read the content aloud. By listening to how the writing sounds you'll be able to pick up on those awkward sounding statements that can make your article difficult to read. If you are editing on the computer mark the area with a highlight or symbol. Don't worry about changing it right now, just mark it and come back to in when you are done.

HG Nadel suggests going through your piece and editing one thing at a time. You don't want to look for both grammatical errors and spelling errors at once. If you do you'll miss something. By going through at least once for strictly grammatical errors and then a separate time for spelling errors, you will more effectively proofread your document.

There is no harm in allowing someone else to read your work. Once you have proofed the document for both grammatical and spelling errors, and corrected those errors, allow someone else to read the content. They may catch or question issues in the work that you overlooked. They can also tell you if the piece flows well.

The editing process takes time and practice. If you have never proofed before take the time to review grammar rules before starting. There are several great books available to help you ensure you are using the proper techniques. By learning how to edit your own documents you will become a better writer.

HG Nadel writes short stories, novels and much more. She is an excellent screenplay and script writer, self published author, recording artist, and a musician.
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