Ink of Ages Update #10 ✂️ Snip snip: Self-editing tips

Welcome to the 10th issue of the Ink of Ages Update by me, Joanne Taylor, with a focus on writing, reading, and well ... more writing. Thanks for being here! If this email was forwarded to you, you can sign up here.

20 August 2025

Hi, Writer

Are you getting ready to submit your short story to Ink of Ages? Submissions close on 29 August 2025. This month: my favourite editing tips.

Writing and editing advice benefits from two disclaimers, I think:

1. You can do whatever you want as long as it works. And ...
2. You can choose to ignore writing advice that doesn't inspire you.

With those in mind, let's go!

How to tighten your writing

1. Take a break. Simple, but too easily missed when we're busy. When you've finished writing, take a break – even if you're pushed for time and it's only for a quick walk. If you can sleep on it, even better. Looking at your work when you're fresh enables you to see different things.
2. Bird's-eye-view pass first. Don't get bogged down in the details right away. Read through as if you were a reader. Do you have a main character or characters readers can connect to? Is your story clearly set in a time that is different from the present? (Very important for Ink of Ages!) Are there questions, intrigue, or excitement that will keep the reader reading? You might choose to make separate notes to come back to.
3. Triage. Choose the main things you want to work on in order of the impact you think they'll make on your overall story. You don't have to do everything at once or make it "perfect." Aim to create something you're proud of and have fun with your writing.
4. Fine-tooth comb pass. Once you've done your story-level edits, it's time for sentence-level edits. Preferably after another break (or sleep!). All the niggling details you skimmed over before, you can tweak now.
5. Tighten, tighten, tighten! Good short stories are like stock cubes – concentrated. Trim away anything that doesn't serve your story to make it more impactful. You can always have an "offcuts" document if you don't want to hit delete.
6. Check your word count. Last year, more than a few submissions were disqualified for being over the word count. Some entry forms stated an incorrect word count (2,000 words when it was 2,450) but we do notice. We're strict on this because we respect the time of our readers. Titles are not included in the word count.
7. Proofread. Pro tip: read your story out loud. Or use text-to-speech like Word's read aloud function to hear those pesky typos or any sentences you want to tweak. The free version of Grammarly is a helpful tool for certain things, just don't accept everything it says.
8. Check formatting. Sounds picky, but we read a lot of submissions and like to avoid eye strain! Size 12 font, Times New Roman or Calibri, double or 1.5 line spacing. Add the title and page numbers, but not your name. Name your file with your story title followed by the word count.

If you have questions about formatting or other rules, you can check the rules page on the contest website. And email me if your question isn't answered on there!

“History, mythology and folklore provide an ever fresh source of inspiration. There’s nothing quite like recognizing the themes and patterns of a well known folktale or historical event in a completely new setting. So I say to writers: make your characters feel things and take them places they themselves might not have considered!” —Helen Nde, author, researcher, and judge

Questions or comments? Feel free to hit reply and I'll see what I can do!

Guidelines reminder

If you write historical or mythology-inspired short fiction set at least 50 years ago, you can enter your story to win some great prizes from World History Encyclopedia and Oxford University Press!

For adult entrants aged 18+ submissions 1,500 to 2,000 words.

For youth entrants aged 13 to 17 submissions 800 to 1,000 words.

Our contest is free to enter and we accept submissions in English from anywhere in the world. Submissions are open from now until 29 August 2025.

Ink of Ages Fiction Prize is run by World History Encyclopedia and generously sponsored by Oxford University Press, and more details are available on the contest website.

Happy writing and editing!

Joanne

P.S. If the Ink of Ages website is being weird for you, please try clearing site cookies, a different browser, or a private/incognito tab.

Joanne Taylor

Proofreader & Editor

World History Encyclopedia

https://www.worldhistory.org