Editing Tips to Improve Your Writing Immediately

In keeping with the idea of "Study to show thyself approved . . . ," I will be posting about the mistakes I see most frequently when I am editing. Be sure to visit Write Pathway every Thursday to get the newest tip. Your writing will start to improve with the first tip. Learning to self-edit will save you money when it is time to hire an editor to polish your manuscript for an agent or publisher.

Editing Tip #1

Passive voice vs Active voice: The voice of a verb indicates whether the subject of the sentence is acting or being acted upon. Active verbs are preferred because they show things in motion. The subject is performing the action. Your reader is there when it happens and feels like he or she is participating in the action.

Passive voice verbs are less desirable because they show that the action has already taken place. The reader isn’t there when it happens and therefore, it makes less of an impact on the reader’s mind. Passive verbs also “encourage wordiness.”

Example:

I was impressed by your class presentation. (passive, past tense)
Your class presentation impresses me. (active, present tense)
Your class presentation is impressive. (active, present tense)
Your class presentation impressed me. (active, past tense)

Writing Contemporary Psalms

I was presenting at the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference. As an editor, it was my turn to meet with writers about their books and articles and to offer encouragement and suggestions for improvement.

One author sat across the table from me as I read several pages of her manuscript. It was amazing! I felt like I was reading the book of Psalms; only it was not about David or the other writers of Psalms. It was about her life experiences. God had given her a special gift: She had written contemporary psalms about her life and was completely unaware of what she had done. Truly, God had led her to do this for Him.

Has He given you this special creative genius? Would you like to find out?

Wait! Before you sit down to write psalms about your life, let me make a suggestion:

Discover how to write psalms of joy, praise, worship, prayer, and woe. Enrich your life by doing what God has called you to do for Him. In doing so, you will also bless those who read your contemporary psalms.

Using the Bible as our textbook, I teach a course “Writing Contemporary Psalms.” The cost is $40. It’s taught in four classes and begins the first Monday of every month. If you’d like to know more about the class or sign up to take the class, email me at annknowles03@aol.com and I’ll send you all the details.