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Last week I had the pleasure of attending another meeting with the St. Pete Writer’s group. This month the guest speaker was E Rose Sabin, a former English teacher and author of four science fantasy books.

Here are the tips she gave about revising and editing with you when writing:

~ During the opening of your book, be sure to grab your reader by having the character(s) doing something.
~Introduce the main character in opening pages
~Be cautious about starting with a long narrative in the beginning
~Beware of writing a flashback in the first few pages. Allow the reader to get to know the character(s) first.

The first draft is about getting the idea into written form, or as some people will call it, a brain dump. Sometime this is all you need in order to help you get over the “hump” of getting started in writing.
The first revision is about putting your writing into a form the reading can better understand.

During the 1st revision of your draft:
~Check for active verbs and solid nouns.
~Look over draft for excessive use adjectives and adverbs.
~Review your writing for over or under use of metaphors.
~Re read you have consistency in the details.
~Remember to appeal to all the senses – time of day, season, weather, light, sounds and smells.

The 2nd revision is about putting your writing into a form you understand and are comfortable with seeing on paper.

During the 2nd revision:
~Review possessives – don’t use to make a word or number plural .
~Check for misspelled words – don’t rely on the spell check on your computer, use a dictionary.
~The use of proper grammar. One thing that trips up writers are pronouns.
~Watch for dialogue format. Use a new paragraph when character who is speaking changes.
~Make sure you see plenty of white space on the page. It is easier for the reader to read the book.
~Check for punctuation. Watch for overuse of strong marks such as exclamation points.
~ Review of formatting of sentences on the paper. A hyphen should not be at the end of the line.

Here is a great list of suggested books to help with the revision process:
1) Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary
2) The Chicago Manual of Style
3) The Elements of Style
4) The Copy Editor’s Handbook by Amy Einsohn
5) Getting the Words Right: How to Rewrite, Edit and Revise by Theodore A Rees
6) Make Your Words Work by Gary Provost
7) Self-Editing for Fiction Writers – How to edit Yourself into Print by Renni Browne
The Writer’s Handbook for Editing and Revision by Rick Wilber
9) Revision by Kit Reed

Read more about E. Rose Sabin and her books