my top tip about how to edit
some "very professional" advice
A couple of posts ago, I shared my simple secret for how to write, and I received some lovely feedback about how helpful it was – thank you! Hearing that it was useful, I thought I’d share another top tip, this time about editing.
As with the writing advice, this one is also ultra simple, so much so that I almost didn’t share it. And it may not sound very professional (perhaps I should have chosen something from the CPD courses I’ve done or from one of my favourite style guides), but the more I think about it, the more this underlines itself as the most impactful editing advice I could share.
It’s this:
Take a break from whatever you’re editing to get up and go to the loo.
In my experience, something as simple as taking a toilet break creates a mini change of scene that instantly prompts writing/editing insights to arrive, solves issues I’m stuck on, and reveals previously hidden problems with the wording that now scream for my attention. Any activity that is physical or mechanical – moving around, washing your hands, doing the dishes, hanging out the laundry, walking, making a tea – is massively helpful to the mental task of word weaving. It can help you to see new ways the puzzle pieces could click into place and allow you to return to the words with fresher (and more reader-like) eyes.
I would go as far as to say that all the magic and problem-solving of editing takes place in those spaces between desk/screen time.
The ideal is to plan the editing process to allow for the maximum amount of ‘in-between’ space. If you can, give yourself the opportunity to ‘sleep on it’ but at the very least, take a two-minute1 bathroom break.
When I came back to this with fresh eyes, what jumped out was that I had been somewhat prescriptive about the timeframe for a toilet break. I guess I’m suggesting that two minutes is the minimum break time required to create the change of scene that’s necessary for you to come back to your writing with new insights and fresh eyes. But, and I hope it goes without saying, take as long as you need. Anyway, amongst this thought process, I did google it to find out, and I was not disappointed with the ‘most searched for’ dropdown:
Of course, I couldn’t post this without also supplying the answers I found, which are, respectively:
about 3 days
222 days
9 months
8 days, 3 hours, 18 minutes, and 35 seconds
about 3 days
around 10.5 hours
from house cats to elephants, most mammals take about 20 seconds to urinate and …… well, another piece of good writing and editing advice (we could call it tip number two) is to know when to stop writing and editing, so I think I’ll leave it there for today.
Not the same thing, but I find if I’m doing a crossword and am stuck on a clue, if I leave it and come back later I can fill it in straight away! The wonders of the sub- conscious!