How to edit a novel
With all the writing we do, that much more time is spent editing.
In editing Legend of the Protectors, my first manuscript, I went through it with a specific task in mind each time.
First, I went through for passiveness, trying to take out as many TO BE verbs as possible and replacing them with stronger vowels. The TO BE verbs are ARE, IS, WAS, WERE… They are sometimes necessary, so don’t take them all out, but if you’re new to this, you will want to see if taking them out won’t make the story stronger.
Some examples:
Passive: Sam was sitting in the chair watching Andrew.
Active: Sam sat in the chair watching Andrew.
Okay, I know these are weak, but you get the idea.
Next thing I did was to go through and look for REPETITIVE words. (On both of these use the find/search feature–or you can simple read through, but you’ll see, if you use find, that you’ve missed a lot.)
I had many words, that I wouldn’t think I used tons, used TONS. So if you us SO 352 times, you might want to take some of them out. 
Now, what are some common writing mistakes that you want to avoid? SoYouWanna.com has listed them here for you, and linked to more detail on each one. I will post them again, but encourage you to read the links.
1. MAKE YOUR SUBJECTS AND VERBS AGREE.
2. MAKE PRONOUNS AND ANTECEDENTS AGREE.
5. USE SIMILAR WORDS CORRECTLY. (Like accept and except.)
7. STOP MISUSING “HOPEFULLY”. (This is one I just learned. And yep, I have to go fix that one.)
So here you have a place to start. Take things one step at a time, and it will make things easier. And soon, you’ll see the mistakes, and fix them without having to LOOK for them. And one day, as you continue to write and practice your skills, you simply won’t make them.
Here’s to EDITING! Good luck!
When I edit my book I’ll remember to watch out for passiveness in my sentences now, thanks for the heads up!
Great advice! Thanks for all the help you’ve given me editing!
Check out the AutoCrit Editing Wizard. It finds overused and repeated words and phrases, plus a whole lot of other stuff. It really helps with the editing process.
Wonderful advice. And areas I know I’ll need to focus on.
I’ll nod and pretend to understand what you said.
GAH! Grammar rules are so confusing!
Ceylan
How to Write Good
The first set of rules was written by Frank L. Visco and originally published in the June 1986 issue of Writers’ digest.
The second set of rules is derived from William Safire’s Rules for Writers.
My several years in the word game have learnt me several rules:
1. Avoid Alliteration. Always.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They’re old hat.)
4. Employ the vernacular.
5. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
7. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
8. Contractions aren’t necessary.
9. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
10. One should never generalize.
11. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”
12. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
13. Don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous.
14. Profanity sucks.
15. Be more or less specific.
16. Understatement is always best.
17. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
18. One word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be avoided.
21. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
22. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
23. Who needs rhetorical questions?
1. Parenthetical words however must be enclosed in commas.
2. It behooves you to avoid archaic expressions.
3. Avoid archaeic spellings too.
4. Don’t repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before.
5. Don’t use commas, that, are not, necessary.
6. Do not use hyperbole; not one in a million can do it effectively.
7. Never use a big word when a diminutive alternative would suffice.
8. Subject and verb always has to agree.
9. Placing a comma between subject and predicate, is not correct.
10. Use youre spell chekker to avoid mispeling and to catch typograhpical errers.
11. Don’t repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before.
12. Use the apostrophe in it’s proper place and omit it when its not needed.
13. Don’t never use no double negatives.
14. Poofread carefully to see if you any words out.
15. Hopefully, you will use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
16. Eschew obfuscation.
17. No sentence fragments.
18. Don’t indulge in sesquipedalian lexicological constructions.
19. A writer must not shift your point of view.
20. Don’t overuse exclamation marks!!
21. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.
22. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
23. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
24. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
25. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.
26. Always pick on the correct idiom.
27. The adverb always follows the verb.
28. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
29. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be by rereading and editing.
30. And always be sure to finish what
*HEAD EXPLODES* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!! EDITING!!!!!
Dear. GOD. Have MERCY. On…….. ME.
Love it! I had hopefully-itis for awhile too. And “but.” That was another I had to ruthlessly slash. I’m combing mine for passive words again. They keep hiding.
It’s always a good idea to have one thing in mind and go through your entire manuscript only paying attention to that. Whether that thing is as “little” as the use of the word so, or as big as “characterization of so-and-so,” you will find your work growing and improving with each thing. A mentor of mine, A.J. Verdelle, calls this process “passes.” She also offers the great suggestion to Start Big; this will avoid the time-consuming process of deleting repetitive words out of sentences that you end up cutting because they don’t fit with another {much larger} piece of your work. Good luck! and I love your site, Sarah!