How to Hate Your Writing Successfully; Editing and Reading Strategies If you don't hate your work, someone else will do it for you

Harsh, but true. Your words spill out on to the page as you type and they probably look ok to start with. Trouble is - fingers aren't very clever and they are the ones doing the thinking. These guys spend half their free-time exploring your nostrils. Do you really trust them to do a flawless job?

If you trust your first draft you are asking for trouble. Your editor will throw it back at you, your clients will be disappointed and you will probably read it back yourself a little later and cringe.

Aim for perfection

You need to revise and re-revise your work before it can be published. Be your own worst nightmare because mediocrity will not do. Writing should always be word-perfect.

It is hard to judge your own work objectively, so you must learn to hate it. Don't look for what's right, look backwards and see what's wrong. You can employ different reading strategies to test your writing in various ways. They work well because you begin to see your work in a different light.

Reading strategy

Chronological: - reading from the first word to the last, in order.

Advantages: If you read your text from beginning to end you will get an overview. You will know if the structure works and will get a feel for the pace and flow of the piece.

 

Disadvantages: You're likely to miss your mistakes. Some errors are easy to spot, but others aren't. When a person reads they scan; eyes move fast and re-contextualise misspelled words, they do not examine each individual word because that would take far too long. Mistakes are missed because you read what you meant to say, rather than what you really said.

 

Your word-processor is an unintelligent beast. The spell-check may work well for spelling errors, but what about misplaced words and stealth-typos? When one inadvertently puts a 'their' instead of a 'they're' - or an 'an' instead of an 'and' - the processor is often unaware and will not help you out.

'Retro-logical' and 'Chaotic' reading: - reading up from the end of the document and random paragraphs.

Advantages: If you dip into your text at random points you will not be reading in the same way. This is microcosmic reading; you see the detail rather than the whole picture. You can tweak the syntax and lexical choice without being blinded by the 'what I meant to say' effect.

 

Disadvantages: You miss the flow of the piece. The structure is as important as content, so it is best to read retro-logically then scan the whole piece afterwards.

 

Just to reiterate: Let words be your irritation

I lay in the dark last night and listened. There was a little, sharp droning sound and it was patrolling my airspace. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn't. It was impossible to sleep in the same room as something that wanted to eat me. I knew that as soon as I was unaware it would start to suck my blood. I hate mosquitoes.

I turned on my light and the sound stopped. I couldn't see the blasted thing anywhere. I thought it had flown off to irritate another member of my household (which is fine by me). As soon as I had settled down again, the little blighter was on me and I am now covered in tiny puncture wounds that make me want to scratch my legs off.

My words whine at me like that mosquito. I see them sitting there in a line and some of them shout at me. The poke at me, they whimper, they downright annoy me until I do something drastic. But it's not always easy to see what needs changing. You read through the text again, and your mistakes are invisible. It's like turning on the light only to find the mosquito has landed. They might be hard to spot, but your words will bite you, unless you do something about them first of course.

Being brutal

I'm not saying you should flame your work. The Delete key should be your enemy, not your friend. Many a good word has gone to cyber-heaven because an author has been too trigger-happy when it comes to pressing [back-space] or worse - [Ctrl + A, Delete-delete-delete].

If you get too frustrated you may well destroy good work, don't let this happen. Save your text as another file, so you can go back to the original if you have to.

But you should be brutal. Your words are there to be beaten into shape. Hack at them, whip them into line with authority. Once they know their place your text will form a whole that you can be proud of and that your readers will accept, not hate.

Hiring an editor

If you don't want to go through the hassle of copy-editing you can hire a freelancer to do it for you. Look for knowledge and experience; do they have any qualification? Some will read through it and do nothing. Others will provide you with feedback and constructive criticism. If you can't bear to hack at your own texts, or you have a problem spotting weakness, it might be the best way forward.

George Chilton is an experienced Advertising and SEO copywriter at Herds of Words. He has fourteen years experience as a magician and public speaker and can be contacted at george@herdsofwords.co.uk.

Or come join the herd at Herds of Words - Freelance Copywriters.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=George_Chilton