An Easy 3-Step Guide to Editing

Writing is rewriting, mostly. While great writing does not consist entirely of editing, without editing it won’t be worthy of the adjective great.

Think of editing as sculpting, where you start with a piece of stone and gradually chip away to reveal the masterpiece within. With that in mind, here’s an easy 3-step guide to editing. I hope it will allow you to refine your writing with precision.

How does it work?

In just three steps. Beginning with the basic rules of punctuation, progressing to the precise selection of words, and ending with a focus on narrative quality–that’s all. Let’s understand the process with the help of an example.

Original text: Many of us see our thoughts as someone sees the night sky from a polluted city. It’s all hazy and unclear, and we can’t make sense of it. Going to therapy might help. It is like going up in the mountains where we begin to notice the twinkling starry lights. It’s quite liberating. But if you are looking to get telescopic clarity there’s nothing like meditation.

Now let’s work on it with our 3-step guide to editing.

Step 1: Punctuation

Edit 1: Many of us see our thoughts as someone sees the night sky from a polluted city: it’s all hazy and unclear, and we can’t make sense of it. Going to therapy might help; it’s like going up in the mountains where we begin to notice the twinkling starry lights. It’s quite liberating, but if you are looking to get telescopic clarity, there’s nothing like meditation.

Explanation:

Added a colon after “polluted city” to connect closely related ideas.
Replaced a full stop with a semicolon after “might help” to indicate that the two clauses are closely related.
Added a comma before “but” and after “clarity” to improve readability.

Step 2: Word Choice

Edit 2: Many of us perceive our thoughts as one perceives the night sky from a smog-ridden city: it’s all blurry and indistinct, and we struggle to discern any clarity. Therapy can offer assistance; it’s like going up in the mountains where we begin to observe the shimmering celestial bodies. The experience is profoundly liberating, but for a telescopic clarity, there’s nothing like meditation.

Explanation:

Changed “see” to “perceive” to add depth.
“Polluted” changed to “smog-ridden” for specificity.
“Hazy and unclear” replaced with “blurry and indistinct” to avoid redundancy.
“Might help” changed to “can offer assistance” to make it sound more affirmative.
“Twinkling starry lights” changed to “shimmering celestial bodies” for poetic imagery and variation.
“Quite” changed to “profoundly” to add a little weight.

Step 3: Quality of Writing

Edit 3: Many of us navigate our inner landscapes much like a traveller trying to admire the night sky from a smog-ridden city: the view is blurry and indistinct, lacking clarity. Engaging in therapy can be a transformative journey; akin to ascending a serene mountain peak where the celestial wonders become visible. The experience is profoundly liberating. However, for those seeking the deepest introspective clarity, meditation stands as the ultimate telescope into one’s soul.

Explanation:

In this step, you might have noticed the role of subjectivity. The point is, you can have different ways to articulate the same message.
The analogy of “navigating our inner landscapes” is added to deepen the connection between thoughts and the night sky.
“Traveller trying to admire” gives a sense of purpose and connection.
“The view” instead of “it” returns the focus on imagery.
“Transformative journey” and “the celestial wonders” are used to improve the language.
The adjective “shimmering” is dropped to avoid unnecessary complexity.
The final sentence is rephrased to emphasise the power and depth of meditation.

I hope that this simple guide to editing will help you in your future (re)writing endeavours.