Ink of Ages Update #2 🔎 Self-editing 101

Welcome to the 2nd issue of the Ink of Ages Update, a monthly email 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.

02 September 2024

Hey, Writer

Are you getting ready to submit your short story? Submissions close on 15 September 2024. If you missed last month's email, you can find out what judges are looking for here. This month, my favourite editing tips.

I feel like all writing and editing advice should have two disclaimers: Do whatever you want as long as it works. And, ignore anything that doesn't inspire you. With those in mind, here we 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 a quick walk. If you can sleep on it, even better.
2. Bird's-eye-view pass first. Don't get bogged down in the details right away. Read through as a reader. Do you have a main character or characters you can connect to? Is it clearly set in a time that is different from the present? Are there questions, intrigue, or excitement that will keep the reader reading? You might choose to make notes.
3. Triage. Choose the main things you want to work on in order of impact you think they'll make. You don't have to do everything at once or make it "perfect". Just create something you're proud of and have fun with your writing.
4. Fine-tooth comb pass. You've done your story-level edits, now 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. 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 assistant, just don't accept everything it says. Ludwig.guru is also a good writing assistant with a free plan and translation assistance. (Not an affiliate, I just use them myself!)
7. 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 15 September 2024.

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 & editing!

Joanne

Joanne Taylor

Proofreader & Editor

World History Encyclopedia

https://www.worldhistory.org