This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
by Anna Bell
When you’re finally done with editing, and you’re sick of the sight of your manuscript, all you want to do is to get it out to an agent or editor, but, before you hit send, are you sure it’s ready?
Before I send my a WIP off to those in the industry – often the harshest of critics, I do one final read. I do it on a Kindle, as it’s the easiest way to simulate the look of a novel and spot the mistakes. I attempt to read it quickly, as a reader would do, trying not to get bogged down with tinkering unnecessarily. Instead, I go all eagle-eyed and look out for the following types of errors:
1. Teleporting characters
It’s amazing how often my characters seem to move through time and space as if by magic. My latest WIP saw two of my characters hop off a ferry and spot their friends in a pub garden in the distance, only for them to arrive at their table a few lines later, without reference to them having taken a single step. A simple addition of “she said, as they walked towards the pub” will help to literally move my characters along and make it less jarring for the reader.
2. Signposting between chapters
It’s rare that I work on more than one chapter in a single sitting; instead, I spend a long time focusing on a particular section. So when I do the final read through, it’s often the first time that I’ve really read the ending of one chapter and the beginning of the next in quick succession.
It’s then that I notice if there’s a smooth transition between the two or whether I need to add signposting to aid it. This can be as simple as inserting a little reference near the end of one chapter to an event that’s coming up in the next one, so that it’s less of an abrupt leap for the reader.
3. Keeping your characters straight
When you read through your work quickly you also tend to notice inconsistencies in your characters – if you have them. In particular, I try and make sure I’ve got details such as names, eye colour and physical descriptions straight. It’s also a good opportunity to see your characters through your readers’ eyes. Have you actually given any (or enough) description to your characters? Has it come early enough, before your reader has filled in the blanks with their own imagination?
4. Sense of place
Following on from your characters, do you get a sense of where your novel is set? I’ve moaned in the past that I hate reading novels that seem like the author’s swallowed a guide book, but at the same time,it’s helpful to get an idea of where the action is taking place. h
5. Repetition
A quick read through is a great way of spotting if you’ve been tap happy with certain words. My latest work saw my characters ‘looking in horror’ at whole host of events. I look out for overuse of particular phrases, and try and make sure I haven’t used the same jokes in different chapters.
6. Typos
No final read through would be complete without spotting those howlers. In particular, I’m always looking at those words that I often confuse in my writing – breath/breathe, you’re/your, they’re/their, hear/here and me/my.
What’s on your mental checklist when you do your final read through?