Hello,
Is there such as things as to much editing? I am preparing a short story which I want to enter into a competition. I have read the story over and over again, changing things constantly. Now I'm wondering if I am worrying to much about it and maybe have gone over the top with editing and should just leave it alone now.
Thank you so much Lorraine and Jimmy, your advice has been a great help!
I have taken everything you've both said on board. :)
Regards,
Catherine
Hi, Catherine!
Good replies from Renee and Lorraine. Give them each a "thumbs up", they deserve it. Renee's idea of sending it to somebody else after you think that nothing more can be done is excellent. Often other eyes will fix on something that our own have passed over dozens of times*. Last night I sent off 2 [SHORT] screenplays (for 2 variants of promo videos - for a picture book - that I'm going to bung onto YouTube) to my 2 co-actors, and asked them to read them aloud to each other and fire improvements back at me. The 10-year-old has added one word that she thinks will make it easier for her to read the line. (Personally, I'm not convinced that her version is quite as grammatically correct, but if it helps her to speak the line more clearly, I'm going for it.) We record tomorrow evening...
* For example, in your question, you twice wrote "to" when it should be "too". That sort of thing might influence judges. Also, "enter into a competition" sounds strange to me. Should it be "enter in a competition"? I honestly don't know. Lorraine is better at these details than I am. (BECAUSE I'm unsure, I would have gone for an alternative of which I AM sure: "submit to a competition")
Speaking of Lorraine, her "For a competition, make sure that you have no typos, no repetitions, no spelling errors" is good advice. The "to"s that I mentioned are an example of either the 1st or the 3rd. The word "now" beginning and ending your last sentence is an example of the 2nd.
PLEASE don't let my corrections discourage you. Let friends read through your story, give your own eyes - and your brain - a rest after all that work, and then (as Lorraine wrote) send it off.
Best of luck!
Yes, you can over-edit, to the point where you knock the stuffing out of a piece; but you can also improve it hugely by judicious editing.
For a competition, make sure that you have no typos, no repetitions, no spelling errors; make sure that the story goes from A-Z smoothly, and that the characters' names don't begin with the same letter.
Cut out 'he said, she said' where it isn't needed; and that includes all other words used instead of 'said'.
Make sure your story fits the rules of the comp - word count, font if stated, line spacing. Is it to be included in the email with your details, or separately? Have you got to pay a fee?
If you've got all that right, send it off now! Don't look at it again. You've done all you can.
Good luck with the comp!
Lorraine