Self-Editing Checklist

Self-Editing Checklist: "If your original creative writing looks bumbling or unpolished, it could benefit from a good edit. As hiring an editor isn't always a readily available option, most of the time you get the 'opportunity' to perform that job yourself. When you wrestle with ideas, phrasing, and adjectives to place your intended picture into the reader's mind, you appreciate that writing is hard work. Editing is just as backbreaking -- a good job of editing usually takes nearly as long as the initial creative writing. Still though, it is worth the effort.

Editing is a multiple-pass project that takes considerable patience. I list below some reasonable ideas for each edit cycle. The sequence that you execute these steps may impact the style you produce; experiment a bit to see what order works best for your writing. You will know you are done editing when you are positively sick and tired of reading your work again."