Line editing
making your writing flow beautifully
Is your manuscript ready for line editing?
When you're happy with the structure of your novel, the next step is a line edit. This is a stylistic edit, working at sentence level to address clarity, style, sense and flow of your text. It'll still be your voice, but without anything to distract your readers from the story you've worked so hard to write.
A line edit, which also includes a copy edit, will cover:
Characterisation
Is the phrasing and word choice appropriate for the character?
Narration
Is the narrative style consistent?
Are the viewpoints clear?
Engagement
Are there awkward metaphors?
Too many cliches?
Dialogue
Does it sound authentic?
Is there too much or too little?
Use of action beats.
Pace & flow
Is there too much repetition or overwriting which is slowing down the story?
Is it too fast?
Tense
Is it effective and consistent?
Exposition
Told verses shown prose.
You'll want readers to be engrossed in your story, so I'll be concentrating on:
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inconsistencies within the text
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point of view
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tense
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timeline
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plot holes
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making sure the dialogue is appropriate for the character
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dialogue tags
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too much description
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smoothing awkward sentences
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repetition
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word choice
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spelling, punctuation and grammar
It feels as if I've taken a master class in creative writing
I'm delighted to have worked with Deborah on the editing of my novel. It feels as it I've taken a master class in creative writing tailored specifically to my style, alerting me to habitual weaknesses and helping me to build on strengths in narrative and dialogue.
Tina Beattie, author