Wednesday 15 May 2013

Twenty Tips to get editing - get your teeth into it

1) Pinpoint the problem.  What is stopping you edit?  What is the problem?  If it's a point of academic disagreement, then swallow your pride and accept your editor's points.
2) Just do it.  Open the document.  Work on one sentence at a time.  Then a paragraph, then a page.
3) Give yourself free treats as rewards for completing bits.  Whatever floats your boat.
4) Have motivational chats with people as your free treats.
5) Draft an email that you may never send, to your editor, addressing their points.
6) Get into a routine of edit, then reward, edit, then reward.
7) Block your time 'In the next hour I am going to edit 200 words'.
8) Make a date with yourself to edit.
9) Ask an expert how they do it.
10) Get warm and comfortable.
11) Have your references close to hand and well organised.
12) Refer back to your original sources, look again at what they said.
13) Are you procrastinating or are you thinking? - write down your thoughts in a short bullet point list.
14) Chunk it - break down the task into doable chunks of even a few minutes at a time.
15) Present your piece verbally to see where the holes are.
16) Read it again.
17) Look at your proof readers' comments again.
18) Use the Writers' diet website
19) Evaluate your progress - how much have you done today, what helped you get going?
20) If you're desperate ask for an extension to your deadline!