If you’re like me, you have old old manuscripts (finished or unfinished), that you want to revise. So old they are .doc files. Saving As a .docx is simple, but I found I had other issues to deal with in my YA novel.
Two spaces after periods. Easy fix, Find and Replace.
Tabs instead of indents. How I fixed it:
- Use find (drop down on find, let’s you choose tab character) and replace with nothing. Of course, that means I have to go back into my header and add back in tabs that are needed.
- Next, I Select All, and go to my ruler and change the indent. Yay, now when I add a new paragraph, it will indent automatically.
Ellipses. I used to use the Chicago Manual style with spaces between the periods. Somewhere along the line, I switched to AP style, no spaces…which means . . . looks funny to me. Again, I used Find and Replace to make them consistent.
Those changes made, I saved my file as a .docx.
BUT THEN THE SERIOUS CHANGES COME! (I’ve learned a lot since I wrote the manuscript I recently opened.)
Eliminate distancing. Also known as filtering, the character sees/hears instead of the action just happening. I must edit those instances. If you’re not familiar with this concept, check out this post.
Establish setting better. Am I taking advantage of my setting to help with mood or tension? Can I slip in specific details about the place to help bring it more alive? Does the reader know where we are? Not so much, then I’d better revise some more. “Ground Me,” might be a helpful post for your revisions.
Move the characters. It’s so easy to have characters sitting around talking. But I can do better than that. Here’s a post that might be a helpful reminder for all of us.
Check sensory details. Am I using a mix or relying on sight? Yes and no, but I can go further. Like deepening emotion or mood with a sense. Or adding what this particular character has a tendency to focus on. This article has some helpful suggestions. I would also add the sense of temperature—it doesn’t quite fit touch, but it’s something I definitely react to and my character can too.
Some writers may wait to fix these after a manuscript draft is done. But for me, it helps the world of my story feel more real and important while I work on it. It makes me want to move forward, instead of sending the whole .doc or .docx into the trash bin.
Getting to “The End.” Basically, I must keep writing, writing, writing. For further thoughts on that topic (under my writing for adults name) read this: “11 Reasons Why You Can’t Write the End of the Story.”