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As I go through the edits that my beta readers have given me, I've noticed a few things. I use the phrase turned around and walked over a lot. Apparently I need to document their every move. It's funny how I couldn't see it before, even though I've read through my book numerous times. All it took was a fresh pair of eyes to notice it and point me in the right direction.
I often find it amazing how every time I read my book I can come up with better ways to say something. It makes me wonder why I didn't come up with that word the first time when it came so easily to me the second time.
Writing is a funny business, all I can hope for is to learn from my mistakes so eventually I won't make so many.
10 comments:
I do the same things. It's funny, isn't it? :-)
I use the phrase "looked away" a lot. I know I do it, and I strive not to, but it never fails that the phrase is in excess in my writing. Maybe eventually I'll stop. :)
Another set of eyes is a good thing. No matter how hard I try to catch everything in my manuscript that is amiss there is always something messed up that my beta's will pick up on.
Jen: That and walking downstairs and forgetting why I'm there are my biggest pet peeves right now.
Susan: I have a list of words I have to go do a find and edit for.
Natalie: It's amazing what you miss.
I read a blog post not long ago where the writer suggested highlighting a phrase or a certain set of words to see how often you used repetition.
Amazing exercise!
In my very first middle grade novel I used the word 'cool' 68 times. One of my later beta readers brought it to my attention.
It took me a considerable amount of time to revise all the cool's.
Tamika; That's what I plan on doing.
KM: I'm not looking forward to all the highlighting I have to do.
It is so easy to do that! Cover every breath and step, when a lot of it is just implied. I'm going to have to edit out a lot of nods in my book.
That's why once I have something in print or I post something, I can't read my own writing. I'll do the edit thing and wish I said something a different way and it will lead me to madness.
Jessie:I'm really trying to learn that you don't have to have your characters stand up and sit down all the time.
SW: I'm almost there.
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