Marvin's words of the day

When you have completed your novel or short story, put it away for a at least a couple of days before you do anything with it. Read a book, start on another project or go on a holiday, but drive your finished product from your mind. Then, in a few days time, return with a fresh mind to your completed manuscript and read through it. Only now should you contemplate editing or rewriting.

Marvin's words of the day

When editing your novel, start reading it from the end forward, or start at the end of chapters and work your way back to the beginning. That way you won't be getting lost in the story and will be able to keep your mind fresh for noticing spelling, grammar and punctuation errors as well as missing words.

Marvin's words for the day

When editing your novel or short story, you can easily get lost in the minutiae of detail. Don't forget the big picture though. Write out flash cards of the themes, tones and character developments that you want to keep an eye on as you edit, and refer to them along the path.