Edit Your Own Writing

At a time when clear written communication is more important than ever, many of us may have temporarily lost our in-house editors—those co-workers we drop in on when we want a quick assessment of our first drafts. Learning to edit our own writing is a skill that will serve us well now and in the future.
 
Writing in The New York Times prolific freelance journalist Harry Guinness offers practical advice for DIY editors:

• All first tries can be improved: “Writing offers us one of the rare chances in life at a do-over: to get it right and say what we meant...” The time you put in reworking and refining can turn a “good enough” piece into something genuinely strong.
  
• Stay vigilant for common errors: Overuse of jargon, clichés, and “business speak” obscure the points you want to make.
  
• Don't ramble: When you’re not sure what you want to say, it’s common to phrase it three or four ways. A single direct sentence is almost always better than four that circle around a point.
  
• Give your work some space: If possible, put a draft aside and return later with a fresh eye. Even 10 minutes is better than nothing, although more is better—especially if you can sleep on it.
• Read your work aloud: You’ll catch more errors and get a feel for flow.
  
• Cut and cut some more: It’s more likely you’ve written too much than too little.
  
• Spend the most time with the beginning: If you don't capture the reader’s attention, all is lost.
  
• Pay attention to structure: For emails and other short pieces, the classic topic sentence followed by supporting paragraphs and a conclusion is hard to beat.
  
• Use resources: Nothing beats a good thesaurus. And the “Grammarly” writing assistant can help spot common mistakes.
  
  

What mistakes were you glad you found and what improvements were you glad you made the last time you edited your own writing? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.

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