Chapter 6 of 10All chapters
Chapter 6 of 10
Editing
A separate job from writing.
Separate the passes
Draft badly and quickly, then edit. Trying to write and judge simultaneously produces slow, stiff prose and often no draft at all.
- Leave time between drafting and editing; distance is what makes errors visible.
- Edit in passes: structure, then sentences, then words, then proofreading.
Cutting
Aim to remove a tenth of the words without losing meaning. Almost every draft supports it, and the result reads faster and more confidently.