Any time you add or revise some words, reread what surrounds them to ensure that everyth
ing else still fits. Often, a change
in one place will necessitate a change
in another. Naturally you must focus on each l
ine as you create it, but as soon as you have the first draft
in place, back up a few l
ines and read through the earlier text aga
in. You will sometimes f
ind that the latest addition doesn’t fit
in quite as it should—perhaps it restates a po
int already made, or doesn’t make a smooth enough transition from what came before.
As you form each new sentence, keep go
ing back and reread
ing it from the start to ensure that all its elements mesh together. As you form each new paragraph, keep reread
ing it from its first l
ine
to see how its sentences fit together: perhaps the topic shifts enough
that the paragraph should be broken up, or perhaps a particular word now
is repeated too many times with
in a short space.
Put your work aside for a while and then come back to it
You may be confident that you have polished
your words
into their f
inal form, only to f
ind that when you look at them a little later, problems jump out: illogical connections, clumsy sentence structures, a stra
ined-sound
ing tone, subtle grammatical errors. A lapse of time enables you to come back to
your work with a more objective eye. A day or more away is ideal, but even a few hours can make a difference.
Have someone else look your work over
Any writer, no matter how skilled, can benefit from gett
ing a second op
inion, because by def
inition one is always too close to one’s own work. Given that any writ
ing is ultimately
intended for other people’s consumption, it only makes sense to f
ind out how other people perceive it. The
individual whose op
inion you seek need not be a better writer than you, s
ince
the goal is not necessarily to have this person correct or revise what
you have done. Rather, it is to provide you with feedback on how
your po
ints and
your tone are com
ing across. If
your critic doesn’t get
your jokes, or f
inds a character you meant to be funny and sympathetic merely irritat
ing, or can’t follow some
instruction because you left out a step you thought would be perfectly obvious to anybody—at least consider the possibility of mak
ing changes (and do
your best to rema
in on speak
ing terms afterward). A professional editor is ideal, but if this is not practical or affordable, select someone whose op
inion you respect and who represents
your intended readership as nearly as possible.
Read your text aloud
This strategy is likeliest to be helpful if
your writ
ing is
intended for oral presentation, but can be useful for other genres as well. Hear
ing
your own words, as opposed to look
ing at them, may change
your impression of them and expose weaknesses such as pretentious-sound
ing terms, wooden dialogue, or rambl
ing sentences.
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