Editing

Last night I was clicking around in an old folder full of my A363 Advanced Creative Writing notes and I cam across some pieces that I’d done back in 2012. It was strange to note how my writing style has changed over the years and although two of the stories were biographical they held a strange fascination for me. Like I was discovering treasure or the secrets of the universe.

I would share them but… well they are biographical.

At the moment I’m busy doing so many things that no day is the same for me. I’ve Beta read someone’s story (And as soon as it is published I’ll be advertising the heck out of it!), I’ve been reading.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned that I’ve had a problem with reading. Stemming from my writing courses I’ve found that no matter what I’m reading I’ve got a tendency to edit as I read. Sometimes not even edit, in my head I’m re-writing whole chapters. Considering how much I love reading it is so annoying and frustrating that I can’t switch this off.

I’ve been doing some editing work too. I’ll definitely be telling you about this later. This is quite possibly the biggest think that I’ve done for ages. The biggest challenge I’ve taken on. It’s taken time, research, and the constant telling myself that I can do this. Fear is something that I’m currently living with! The dread in the pit of your stomach kind of fear that everything is going to go wrong in some way.

Instead of dwelling on this I’m putting the focus on the work. I’m encouraging people and guiding them. I’m not letting my fears hold me back as they have done in the past.

I don’t know why I’m not writing at the moment. I’m not sure if the story I’ve got going on has become boring to me in some way or if the lack of fans is putting me off. Although the view count is quite high there are fewer people commenting on my story. It’s off-putting. Still I can’t leave the characters in limbo forever so hopefully I’ll get back to it soon.

That’s all for now. Speak to you soon.

Oh, and feel free to comment below. It would be nice to connect with you…

For those of you that don’t know I offer the following editing services:

Teresa’s Editing Services:

Standard proofreading:

Standard proofreading involves making sure writing is free of mechanical errors – in spelling, punctuation, consistency, and some elements of formatting – and is grammatically correct.

Editorial proofreading:

Editorial proofreading encompasses all the tasks in standard proofreading, plus a few minor tweaks to ensure clarity and correct word choice.

Copyediting:

Copyediting involves all proofreading tasks and also improves phrasing and organisation to make the writing more effective.

Manuscript Editing:

As this is for a longer document then a fixed rate will apply rather than payments by the hour. The author sets the rate that editing takes place whether for a whole manuscript or for individual chapters.

When looking at manuscripts the following will be checked:

Grammar and punctuation issues
Misspellings, usage errors, and clarity in your writing
Continuity – ie. if Frank went to work, why is he now in the room with the protagonist? In addition I will check to ensure that if your character’s name is Laura you don’t suddenly refer to her by an alternate name.
Pacing considerations
How a sentence reads (ie. Is it clunky? Is the dialogue stilted?)
Character development
Plot issue/s

Assistance with Essays and Dissertations:

To ensure that there can be no cases of plagiarism, in the first instance all writing of Essays and Dissertations will be done by you, however my services will include assistance with structuring, grammar and punctuation checks. Further there will be time spent on researching the subject to ensure that I have a grasp of meanings and constructs and the following will be checked: