ADVANCED CREATIVE WRITING TECHNIQUES

Editing your early draft is where you get to make your writing work. James McCreet shows you how effective editing can be by workshopping original text into focussed writing that does what it needs to

Even an advanced writer recognises that full responsibility for editing one’s own work is dangerous. Some errors are simply invisible to the author.

Still, an advanced writer should have a sufficient grasp of technique to do a pretty solid edit – good enough that a publisher or agent will see the quality and potentially offer an additional editorial scan.

The edit is an opportunity to cut extraneous matter, refine description, sharpen character and polish the narrative. It might mean rewriting a sentence or simply choosing better word. Here are some before-and-after snapshots showing how small changes can make a big difference.

Original

With the blinds down and the subdued lighting, David thought: looks like someone has already died. He looked down at his father’s yellowish skin and hollow eyes – just a shell of the brawny, virile man he’d been not long ago.

Edit

The curtains were drawn and the lighting subdued – like someone had already died. Dad’s jaundiced skin and hollow eyes showed just a shadow of the brawny, virile man he’d so recently been.

• Avoid starting with a subordinate clause, which can unnecessarily convolute the sentence and put the focus on the room rather than the person in it. Moreover, the grammar is wrong, suggesting that David has his blinds down and lighting subdued.