If you know that glorious moment when you write THE END on the final page of your novel, you know that after the high wears off, you have more work to do.
Writing the rough draft is an act of complete creativity. All of your soul should be poured into those 70,000 - 100,000 words you've typed into your computer. Now it's time to take a surgical knife to your soul.
This isn't as scary as it sounds. You're not trimming the parts that will someday make you an example of genius in literature. You're cutting the stuff that distracts people from really experiencing your unique voice.
The greatest writer in the world will still have these problems in a rough draft. Even though I've noticed I have less to edit as the years go by, I still have plenty. And if I'm not convinced it's there, my editor is always happy to point it out! :)
These are four tips with examples that will give you a polished, professional edge with your manuscript:
1. DON'T BE PASSIVE
2. LOOK FOR "WAS"
3. NO CLICHES!
4. GIVE A POSITIVE SPIN
Look at the examples in the illustration for more info. Remember, you aren't cutting your genius moments. But you do want to edit out the parts that whisper of amateur. And you want to cut anything that doesn't change or define the plot or characters.
Happy writing!
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