Editing+our+own+writing

HOW DO I EDIT MY FIRST DRAFT? Read through what you have written so far. You already have a 'feel' for your story. Now think about whether that is coming across in your words. In particular, think about: 1. Read through what you have written and think about the order of your ideas: -Do they flow? Do they link together logically? How could you rearrange them for a greater effect? 2. Think about whether everything that you know in your head is actually down on paper, so that other people will be able to understand what has happened in your story. Have you given your readers enough information, details, or clues? You might want to add in some extra details. Ask yourself: could some further descriptions enrich the writing and the story, giving readers more information and more opportunities to 'see' the story? 3. Look at each individual sentence and think about whether you want to: -Change the order of your words: could they be moved around to sound better? -Remove any 'weasel' words: words that are cliché and/or don't have punch -Remove any words that repeat what you are saying elsewhere in a way that weakens rather than intensifies the story -Add in some adjectives, similes, metaphors or other descriptive imagery -Use verbs to 'move' the story along When you have altered your draft by thinking about these things, you only have to work on dotting your i's and crossing your t's. This means thinking about: 4. Punctuation: appropriate use of commas, full stops, and quotation marks Try not to use too many exclamation marks! These become meaningless if they are used too much! Sometimes italics can work just as well to convey tone, but these also need to be used sparingly! (You see what I mean!) 5. Grammar: in comparison with formal writing, in creative writing you have more leeway to adapt grammar rules, but there are still some rules which should be followed so that your story makes sense and your narration is sound. If you are writing a 'newspaper style' ending, you will need to make sure your grammar and writing style is formal (and therefore precise). Try using the grammar check in Word or reading your story out loud to make sure the grammar makes sense.
 * __ A. Structure  __**
 * __ B. Detail  __**
 * __ C. Expression  __**
 * __ D. Writing Conventions  __**