Tips ‘n’ tricks

Going repeat­ed­ly over a man­u­script is not just hard; it can be tricky, tedious, and unpro­duc­tive. The famil­iar words, blocked out in famil­iar ways, pass before your eyes so that you see less and less. You are read­ing from mem­o­ry, not with a fresh mind.

Here, my com­put­er (and beyond) comes to my res­cue. Here are some of the ways I trick myself into see­ing a man­u­script fresh.

1. I change the back­ground color. 
2. I work on my laptop.
3. I work with my lap­top in a dif­fer­ent location.
4. I change the font.
5. I change the margins
6. I change the size of the font.
7. I break up the text into short­er chap­ters, work­ing with the beats of the sto­ry. (I will reassem­ble later.)
8. I will break down the book into four or five sec­tions, and work on those as enti­ties. (I will reassem­ble later.)
9. I search out repet­i­tive words.
10. I set a goal: “Cut ten pages.” “Cut two thou­sand words.”
11. Read it aloud to some­one, pen in hand.
12. I ask a trust­ed friend to read the man­u­script and give me a response. (Just lis­ten. Nev­er argue!)