How to Do a Substantive Edit

Okay, so when are we doing a substantive edit?

In the middle of the writing
As I am writing
When the first draft is finished

Gold star if you picked (c). Your reward is to continue reading. For you others, remedial reading of Should I Edit as I Go? and Copy Editing and Substantive.

Okay, so now we get into the guts or DNA of your novel.

Steps to doing a substantive edit

Step 1. Read the novel from start to finish.

Do not make any corrections/changes while reading. I know this is killing but remember you are doing a substantive edit, not copyediting.
Do read it as close to continuously as you can to get the full sweep of the story.

Step 2. Write down what you observed

Some questions which might help:

Does the novel move at the pace I want? Are there any places where it slows down too much? Or where I skipped over something which needs more elaboration?
Does your protagonist change and grow? This is not about him doing a lot of different things; this is about him learning and changing emotionally as a result. In an upcoming post, I’ll go into more detail on this one.
Does the ending feel satisfying? If it doesn’t to you, it probably won’t to your reader. ‘Satisfying’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘happy.’ Satisfying means that the ending flows in an emotionally logical (is that an oxymoron?) way from the story.
Is the theme represented strongly enough? You may have a theme in mind but the novel needs to show more than a couple of indications of it.

Step 3. Decide what needs to be changed

Make a list. Strengthen Dylan’s motivation for the stabbing; cut down the number of chase scenes; reinforce the theme with scenes which illustrate it; reshape the ending so it links better to the story.
Focus on what the novel needs, not whether or not you know how to make the fix.
Sometimes, just wrestling with a particular scene will help you find a way forward.
It can come down to craft —I don’t know how to show his determination; I want the ending but I don’t know how to make the prior events flow inevitably to it. If so, then go to writing blogs (like mine—ADV), work with a writing teacher, or ask fellow writers. Craft is learnable and teachable.

Don’t get discouraged

Step 3 may well generate a long list. It might feel daunting or as if you didn’t do it right the first time. Nothing can be further from the truth. Editing of all kinds is the lot of good writers. Don’t compare the present state of your manuscript with your favorite author’s completed novel. It’s apples and oranges. Your author’s work has undoubtedly gone through the same process as advocated here. That’s why it reads so well and flows so beautifully. And yours can, too.

May 22, 2020April 10, 2020

Appearing Naked on the Page

Naked on the page. Gives you shivers just thinking about it, doesn’t it? Even if you’re not quite sure what it means. Unfortunately, the explanation is not probably going to make you more comfortable.

What is being naked on the page?

I think my best writing has come when I am completely honest. No prettying up, no generous interpretations, no kind evasion. Being from a dysfunctional family, I write about the pain and cruelty, not about my mother’s cocktail parties.

Feels creepy, doesn’t it? I understand that. But it is, I believe, an important part of the humanity of the writer.

Why do I need to do it?

Stunning plot or appealing characters are important to your writing, but I believe that when readers ache for, identify with, and rejoice with a character, it is often because the writer has written from a place where she has allowed her rawest feelings to guide her writing.

Have you ever watched a stranger on TV cry? Because of the death of a loved one or other terrible experience. They show a vulnerability and openness which draws us in. Do we identify more with their plight? Do we like them more?

Yes and yes.

But it is not the tears themselves, I think, which move us but because we see part of their authentic, hurting self.

You also want to create that connection with a stranger (i.e. your protagonist) in your novel. And the only way I know how is to yourself be vulnerable and open when you write.

How do I do it?

Well, there’s no formula.

The best I can do is a tip which the author, W.O. Mitchell, gave and my first writing teacher, Barbara Turner-Vesselago, passed on to me. Go Fearward. That is, whenever you touch upon something from which you automatically shy away from, instead turn towards it. When your boyfriend said he was seeing somebody else; when you accepted your father was dying; when you betrayed your best friend.

Reach deep down and allow yourself to feel again the searing and write from that sear, not from the scar that has hidden it from view.

The only other thing I can give you is what I thought after following my writing teacher’s suggestion to write about my dysfunctional family.

I climbed the hill, the reluctance as strong as my panting. I wasn’t sure there was enough for a novel mostly because all I had was a feeling of a vast and terrifying darkness. Unrelieved abyss from which, on entry, one might never return. The dread of willingly consigning myself to years back in the hell. A hell from which, I thought, I had escaped.

But so strong was my wish to write, I ventured in. And found, to my growing delight, that it was not entirely a place of shadow and terror. That is was also of light and laughter. That in the wish to escape the night, I had forgotten the day. And also, in a bastardization of Shakespeare, that the remembering fed upon itself and I remembered more and more. So, in the long run, it was a gift. It gave me back who I was. Not all darkness, not all light. But me.

It is an act of bravery but one which I think writers must attempt if they wish to truly move their readers.

May 15, 2020April 9, 2020

How Copyediting Helps Your Writing Quality

You do copyediting after you’ve finished a piece. No, there’s no problem if you add the occasional word or take one out if you are rereading the piece. But the picky, close scrutiny of the words is best left to after the piece is complete. Otherwise, it will run the risk of derailing your creative process as discussed in another post.

But copyediting can help your writing be tighter, more focused and even more interesting. In this post (which is a little longer than usual), I want to show how copyediting can help the quality of your writing.

Original piece

This is the passage I originally wrote for a scene in my novel Scam!

Now that they are around the dinner table, Eleanor is tempted to let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Steve finally cuts the tension. “Well, quite the scene.”

“It’s just like him—” Patsy begins.

“That’s enough,” says Eleanor sharply. “We have a guest—we don’t air our dirty laundry in front of guests.”

“What, Kim?” Steve asks. “She’s not a guest. She’s practically family.”

Eleanor shakes her head. “Nevertheless. I want everyone to keep a civil tongue in their heads. Patsy, will you help me bring in the coffee?”

Eleanor and Patsy work in silence in the kitchen. But she remembers where everything is and in short order the cups and cream are on a tray.

“You take that in and I’ll bring the coffee in when it’s done,” Eleanor directs Patsy.

So not that awful, don’t you think? This is 133 words.

Finished piece

Now compare the previous piece with how it ended up.

Around the dinner table, Eleanor is tempted to let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Steve finally cuts the tension. “Well, quite the scene.”

“It’s just like him—” Patsy begins.

“That’s enough,” says Eleanor sharply. “We have a guest—we don’t air our dirty laundry.”

“What, Kim?” Steve asks. “She’s practically family.”

“Nevertheless. I want everyone to keep a civil tongue. Patsy, will you help me bring in the coffee?”

They work in silence in the kitchen. But she remembers where everything is and in short order the cups and cream are on a tray.

“You take that in and I’ll bring the coffee,” Eleanor directs Patsy.

This version, now 108 words, reads a little more smoothly and more importantly, is more focused on the action. You might think that the changes don’t make an earth-shattering difference and you would be right. But over the course of the novel, this kind of cleaning up and focusing can make the plot move forward faster and more effortlessly.

Copyediting the piece

This is the original passage with the edits.

Now that they are around the dinner table, Eleanor is tempted to let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Steve finally cuts the tension. “Well, quite the scene.”

“It’s just like him—” Patsy begins.

“That’s enough,” says Eleanor sharply. “We have a guest—we don’t air our dirty laundry in front of guests.”

“What, Kim?” Steve asks. “She’s not a guest. She’s practically family.”

Eleanor shakes her head. “Nevertheless. I want everyone to keep a civil tongue in their heads. Patsy, will you help me bring in the coffee?”

Eleanor and Patsy they work in silence in the kitchen. But she remembers where everything is and in short order the cups and cream are on a tray.

“You take that in and I’ll bring the coffee in when it’s done,” Eleanor directs Patsy.

It may be surprising that so many words were chopped out. But extraneous words and thoughts (when it’s done) just clog up the reading. Keep your reader focused on what you are really writing about.

So copyediting can and should be about punctuation, missed and extra words, misspellings, and other annoyances that might kick your reader out of your continuous dream. But it can also up the overall quality of the writing. And is worth doing.

May 8, 2020May 8, 2020

Copy Editing and Substantive

Okay, I’m not exactly saying that this will be a boring post but we do need to make sure we are using the terms in the same way. So grit your teeth and read on.

Definitions

There are various definitions of these terms, all very similar but with enough differences to murk things up. So here are my interpretations:

Copy editing: Fact checking, spell check, punctuation, grammar, tense consistency, missing words, etc. It is the more mechanical of the two but still valuable to avoid kicking your reader out of the continuous dream. I don’t want to be caught up short in my reading by affect? Shouldn’t that be effect?

Substantive editing: looks at the whole sweep of the novel. Themes, character growth, forward action, plausibility, even missed opportunities. All the big things which make your novel unique.

Copy editing example

This is pretty easy although time consuming. Here’s the original piece, followed by the copy editing in BOLD.

I turned quickly. “What are you doing here?” I ask.

She shrugs. “You know I compliment you, Tom.“

“Helen, being with you is like living on top of an earthquake.”

Copy edit

I turned [rest of passage in present tense] quickly. “What are you doing here?” ~~I ask.~~

She shrugs. “You know I compliment [complement or complete] you, Tom.”

“Helen [wasn’t her name Jennifer?], being with you is like living on top of an earthquake [volcano].”

You might think that getting the name wrong of the love (sic) interest wouldn’t happen but it can if half-way though you decide to change her name and don’t catch all the switches.

See, useful and necessary.

Substantive editing example

As the whole novel is covered in a substantive edit, you’ll need to take my word for it that the comments make sense.

Original passage

“No, I won’t do it!” Bryan brought his fist down on the table.

“Hon, you’ve got to! Please, for my sake.” Hannah said.

“Not even for you, Hannah. No.”

Editor’s comments

We have seen this argument a couple of times before. I think Bryan’s intransigence has already been established. Is anything going to change? If so, it is an opportunity for Bryan’s growth as a character. If not, then somebody needs to do something to move the action forward. It might be realistic in real life for couples to be stuck in repetitive fighting but in a novel, some resolution or movement is necessary to keep the reader reading.

A substantive edit is focused on making the novel the best it can be. Its intent should not be to change its direction or theme (unless of course, you are doing your own editing, in which case, go for it).

When to edit

This is probably the most important bit. As I discussed in the previous post on editing as you go, I think it helps the quality of your writing and makes it less likely that you will be stalled or taken off track to do all editing after you have finished a first draft.

Naturally, I’m not saying you should continue down a path you’re convinced isn’t working, but if it is just a suspicion or worry, I’d stick with the course you’re on and see how you feel once you read the whole thing.

So, hope you’re still awake. Now onto the event more exciting: How copywriting can help the quality of your writing. Stick with this—you do actually need to know this stuff.

May 1, 2020April 9, 2020

Challenge Yourself in Your Writing

We of course want to concentrate on writing a good story. But because it is the pre-eminent goal doesn’t mean it has to be the only challenge you undertake. I have found my writing most personally satisfying when I learn something new, either technically or emotionally, as I am working on a project.

For example, in my novel Scam!, I wanted to write a novel with multiple Points of View (POV). I switched among four while also moving the plot forward. So when the main characters were all in the same scene, I had to pay special attention to staying within each worldview. That is, risk-taking Lauren can’t suddenly be timid to make the plot flow more smoothly. And carefree Chris can’t become a strategist. This way, I was writing what I wanted while increasing my facility with the craft.

What kind of challenge?

What writing challenge you undertake depends on where you are in your writing process.

Just starting out

If you are just starting, learning all you need to can seem daunting. But rather than being overwhelmed, remember that, like almost anything else, it is doable if you work on a chunk at a time.

What should you work on? Reread what you have written as if it is a stranger’s work and see if it prompts any ideas. If not, ask a friend to read it and discuss what he liked and what could be improved. However, remember that you need to know how to translate what your reader says into writerly action. Getting the Most Out of Readers’ Opinions discusses how.

If that doesn’t work, here are some suggestions.

Get rid of fancy-dancy speech tags like “he uttered, he shouted” and do the small fixes which still allow you to get across your intent. Read He Uttered! He exclaimed! for help.
Adverbs (gently, sadly, angrily) can be a short-cut way to describe emotion rather than showing what it looks and feels like. Address that using The Danger of Adverbs.
How we talk in real life—stuttering, pausing, repeating etc.—is perfectly okay. In real life. Even though fiction aims to simulate reality, fictional dialogue has its own rules. Find out what they are in Conversations versus Fictional Dialog.

Any of these would improve the quality of your writing and are eminently doable.

Farther along

If you’ve been writing for longer in either time or intensity, the best source of challenge is still a cool self-analysis of your writing. But here are some other possibilities.

Readers are most engaged by protagonists who fight to change things. But writers often like to write about those who like to observe the world. Like they do. Using the post, Don’t Write about Passive Observers—Like You, review your story to ensure you have an active heroine.
Besides writing great characters, you need to immerse your reader in a credible and captivating world. Use Creating the Fictional World to provide that.

So, write what interests you, of course. But try to include an aspect which challenges and increases the mastery of your craft. It will grow your confidence in your skill. It prevents you from getting stuck in a rut. And most of all, it’s fun.