Feb

Writing with Hats

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What is the difference between a good writer and a great one? We could hold lengthy discussions on that topic, coming up with a variety of differences. I think one would have to include editing. A great writer edits her work many times over. And over. A great writer constantly strives to improve her craft.

Just the word edit can cause for groans. But seldom is a piece so brilliant that it needs no polish to make it shine. When a novel of 80,000 words or more is complete and you type The End, the last thing you may feel like doing is fiddling with it again to check that it is the best it can be. It’s finished, it already is the best, right?

To keep from feeling too overwhelmed, I’ve devised a helpful method for editing. Whether your work is a full-length novel or a short story, you can use the following steps. I call these steps Writing with Hats. Basically, I have a hat for each function I need to complete in order to get my work to glow.

First I put on a hat I call Word Usage. When I have this hat on I focus solely on word usage, not on grammar or checking my spelling. My goal is to make sure I have not overused certain words and that the most effective word is used in every sentence, conveying what I want to say. After I’ve gone through the manuscript wearing that hat, I remove it, and put on the next hat. Dialogue is my favorite because it is the easiest to spot errors while wearing this feathered fedora I call Dialogue. By reading aloud, I can discern whether the conversation between my characters flows or if it is stilted.

Hopefully, now that you are more familiar with the concept of wearing different hats to edit your work, you’ll read along to see how this process works. And yes, finding actual hats to wear as you edit certainly makes this task much more fun!

Word Usage—This is a lesson in varying your word usage. Start by underlining words you tend to use over and over. You want variety, not repetition. By using a Thesaurus, insert other words that hold the same meaning as the ones you’ve repeated numerous times on the same page.
Dialogue —Go over all the conversations between your characters. Reading them aloud helps, and as you do, ask yourself: Are they natural? Do they move the story forward? Avoid preachy dialogue unless your character is known for this. Remember that we often talk in incomplete sentences. Make sure the vocabulary your characters use is in sync with their personalities. In other words, don’t have a street bum using million dollar words.
Descriptions—Spend time reading only your descriptions in your piece. Concentrate on what you’re describing. No one wants to read huge paragraphs about the sunset, so as you wear your Descriptions hat, keep in mind that less is more. Be consistent. If Aunt Gertrude’s eyes are blue on page 20, they still need to be blue in your description of her on page 52.
Narrative Voice—You set out to tell a story in a certain tone or voice. Read portions of your chapters aloud to see if you’ve kept true to this narrative voice. If you started out southern and sassy in chapters one and two, do the rest of the chapters carry that same tone?
Spell Check—I put on my Spell Check hat last. With technology nowadays, spell check is part of computer programs, so we certainly have it easier than Mark Twain did. Spend lots of time with your spell check device, as well as going over grammar usage.