This is the final part in the Editing Your Novel series. Click to read about the read-through, beta readers, and the macro-edit.
The final step in the editing process is the micro-edit. Now that you’ve fixed all the bigger problems, had other people read it for you, and fixed it again, you can dive into the nit-picky stuff. Personally, this is my favorite part of the editing process. I love being able to compare what a scene looks like when I finish it to what it looked like when I started, and clearly see how it’s improved. But not everyone feels this way—it’s wading into the weeds of your book, focusing on every sentence and making sure it’s the best it can possibly be. Which can be overwhelming, to say the least.
Once I figured out a step-by-step process for the micro-edit, it became a little less intimidating. I had a checklist and knew how to go forward, no matter what point I was at. So today, I’m sharing that process with you. You may have to adjust it to find what works best for you, but this can be a starting point so the micro-edit isn’t so daunting.
1. Find and replace
I have a list of words that often indicate I’m telling, not showing (which you can get here!). I also make a list of words that I personally tend to overuse as I write. My first step is to use the search function for these words throughout the whole document, and consider each instance: Is this telling? Can I change it? Is there anyway to make it better? Sometimes the answer is no—it just makes the most sense and sounds best to leave it as is. Often, though, replacing that word with a vivid image will drastically improve the sentence. This step is time-consuming, but I promise if you stick with it, your manuscript will already be so much better once you start reading it scene by scene.
2. Plug it into Hemingway Editor
The Hemingway Editor is possibly my favorite tool online. I’ve written about it before but it’s a crucial part of my editing process. I paste the scene I’m editing into the website, and it highlights adverbs, passive voice, and sentences that are hard to understand. I go through each of these problems and see decide if it needs to be fixed or if I should leave it for the sake of voice and clarity. Often, in dialogue, I’m more willing to leave adverbs and passive voice, since it should sound more natural anyways. But in narration, I do whatever I can to replace those adverbs with something stronger—a more active verb, a metaphor, or just deleting it entirely.
3. Read it through, thoroughly
Next, I read through the scene with a fine-tooth comb. Look at every verb, and see if it could be stronger. Do you repeat any words too close together? Does the rhythm of the sentences create a nice flow, or is it awkward? Are any of the sentences unnecessary, and need to be deleted or combined together? I try to get the prose as close to perfect as I can, reading each sentence multiple times, then reading the whole paragraph together to make sure it clicks. Obviously there will always be things to improve, and I’m sure in five years as I grow as a writer, I’ll look back on these scenes and cringe. But for now, I get it as good as I possibly can.
4. Put yourself in your characters’ shoes
I usually write to instrumental music, because I get too distracted by lyrics. But once I hit this stage, I created playlists for each of my biggest characters (the ones who appear most often and have the largest effect on the plot). After I’ve gotten the scene as tight as I can, I read it through once from the perspective of every major character in the scene. I’ll put on the playlist for that character, put myself into their head, and start reading. I usually mentally act out their actions, and if anything I naturally do in my head isn’t in the scene—like walking to a table, crossing their arms, rolling their eyes—I’ll add it in. I also closely examine their dialogue here. Does it sound like something they would say? Can it be tightened at all? Would they use that word? What tone would they have? When I’m really in the zone, I’ll actually have to take a second to switch into third person when making an edit, out of the first person I’m using in my head. Depending on how many characters you have and how complex the scene is, this step can take a while as well. It may mean rereading three or four times, if all your big characters are in the scene together. But especially if your book primarily takes place from one character’s perspective that you’re used to reading it from, it’s helpful to think through how the other characters are feeling and what they’re doing in a scene.
5. Read it out loud
The final step is to actually read it out loud to yourself. You’d be amazed at all the skipped or repeated words and awkward phrasing you’ve missed before that you pick up on when trying to say it aloud. It can also help to have your computer read the scene to you, since your brain might still automatically fix things, but the computer will read it exactly as it’s written and allow you to catch any slip-ups.
The micro-edit can be a tedious process, but it’s the final step to making sure your book is as good as it can be. At this point, you’re polishing everything before you send it to your beta readers one last time, and then to an agent. Decide that your writing and your story are worth the time, and be willing to commit to do whatever it takes to make it better—even if that means reading each scene half a dozen times! As I mentioned at the start, these steps are what works for me, but they may not make sense for you. Hopefully, you can use some of them as a jumping off point, and tweak your process until it becomes something that fits your writing style and personality.
Want to give yourself a boost in micro-editing? Get the Micro-Editing Checklist here!
Featured image by Angelina Litvin